Tour: Top 10 sights of the ancient French city

Old Town

The half-timbered houses and staircase towers jutting out around Plumero Square have been carefully restored and turned into a city landmark. Here all the grandeur and beauty of the old European city is gathered.

North of the Nationale, encircling Plumero Square, stand half-timbered houses and towers with a lean-to staircase. After restoration, they have become a true urban monument. Next to Robert Peak Square, the workshops of modern artisans are nestled between the medieval buildings. There are also many expensive restaurants and clubs. Noteworthy is the cozy Resistans Square, where many pilgrims used to gather. Next to the Laura River you can see two towers - this is all that has been preserved from the ancient royal palace. Especially interesting is the School of Living Languages with beautiful sculptures of dogs, frogs and monsters.

St. Gatien Cathedral

Even as you approach Tours, you can see from afar the two tall towers of the cathedral, named after St. Gatien, one of the seven preachers who were sent from Rome to Gaul in the 3rd century to spread the Christian faith. Gatien, who came to Tours and became the local bishop, devoted much of his life to preaching Christianity among the pagans.

Nowadays, the Cathedral of Tours is the main tourist attraction of the city. It houses the Archdiocese of Tours. The beginning of construction dates back to 1170. It is created in the Gothic and partly Renaissance style, which gives the shrine an unusually beautiful appearance.

Wilson's Bridge

One of the symbols of Tours is the arched bridge over the river (after the World War, the Wilson Bridge). The bridge was first built in 1778, after which it has endured a series of tragic troubles, explosions, landslides (most recently in 1978) and reconstructions over the years.

But its main outlines have consistently remained constant. The bridge overlooks the river and the city.

Museum of Fine Arts

The city's art museum is nestled in the Palace of Bishops, standing next to the cathedral. The palace itself is a local landmark: it was built in the twentieth century and incorporated parts of Halo-Roman buildings into its design.

The museum's collection includes periods from the Middle Ages to the present and contains works by many masters. A real monument of the collection are three frescoes by Andrei Mantegna, taken from Italy by Napoleon. Another pride of the collection is the engravings "The Five Senses" by Abraham Bossuet, taken as the basis for the large canvases in the study of Louis XIII. There are also works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Delacroix and Caravaggio.

Tura Botanical Garden

The Municipal Botanical Garden of Tours, covering an area of 5 hectares, is the oldest park in the city. The garden was laid out after collecting signatures from the inhabitants in 1843.

This luxurious garden has a collection of about 2,000 medicinal and exotic plants growing in greenhouses, orchards and flowerbeds. A greenhouse and zoo were added in 1863, and new greenhouses were added in 1890. The garden suffered considerable damage during the bombing raids of World War II, but has since regained its grandeur and is once again delighting visitors with unrealistically beautiful views and aromas.

Charlemagne Tower

The Charlemagne Tower is an interesting historical monument. It is the only part of the preserved ancient abbey, which was built in the 5th century.

At the beginning of the 19th century there was no trace left of the abbey, only the tower was preserved, which was used by the locals as an ammunition storehouse. In the middle of the 19th century it was used to store clean water supplies, only by a miracle the architectural monument managed to survive to this day. The locals have made every effort to restore the tower, and today it hosts interesting excursions.

Marmoutier Abbey

The beautiful Marmoutier Abbey was founded in the 4th century by St. Martin of Tours. The locals consider him the patron saint of winemaking, and for them the ancient abbey is an outstanding religious monument.

The ancient monastery was badly damaged in the 9th century during the Norman invasion, but it was completely restored. Already in the 11th century it was one of the richest monasteries in Europe. The monastery has been partially preserved to this day, the complex includes several buildings and towers, as well as part of the fortress wall. Next to the monastery is the St. Radegonda Park, considered one of the most beautiful in the city.

City Hall

In the historical center of the city there is another attraction - the main city hall. It was built at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

A good monumental building harmoniously combines different architectural styles, including Gothic and Renaissance. The facade is decorated with sculptures of Atlanteans by François Sicard as allegorical images of human virtues. The interior decoration of the town hall was done by Henri Varenne.

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Parc Perrodière

Formerly belonging to the Archbishops of Tours, the park was transformed into the Perrodières City Park at the end of the 19th century. It is home to more than 120 species of plants that provide comfortable shade during a walk. The park offers a picturesque panoramic view of the town of Tours and the Loire River.

There is an educational mini-farm with different animals, an apiary with a special educational beehive - it is equipped with a viewing window; in the upper part of the park there is a large-scale playground for children.

In the spacious Charles X exhibition pavilion you can view the works of painters, sculptors and photographers throughout the year.

Hotel Goüin

This mansion was built in the 15th century and was mistakenly thought to be the home of Jean de Xaincoings, the treasurer of King Charles VII. In fact, the name Goüin comes from a wealthy family of Breton bankers who bought the mansion in 1738.

It is now home to the Goüin Museum. In 1967, on the occasion of the 40th Congress of the French Federation of Philatelic Societies, the house appeared on postage stamps worth 0.40 francs.