Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

, France. It is the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of the department of

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

was 516,973. Tours sits on the lower reaches of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, between

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman

Emperor Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the

Tours Amphitheatre The Tours amphitheater (also known as the Caesarodunum amphitheater) is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic city center of Tours, France, immediately behind the well known Tours Cathedral, Tours cathedral. It was built in the 1st cent ...

. Known for the

Battle of Tours The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs (), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle during the Umayyad invasion of Gaul. It resulted in victory for the Frankish an ...

in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

and the

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid ...

, with the Capetians making the kingdom's currency the

Livre tournois The (; ; abbreviation: ₶ or £) was one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages, medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in early modern France. The 1262 monetary reform esta ...

. Saint Martin and

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

were from Tours. Tours was once part of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

, a former province of France. Tours was the first city of the silk industry. It was taken by

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, as the royal capital under the Valois Kings with its Loire castles and city of art with the School of Tours. The prefecture was partially destroyed during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

in the late 16th century and again during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in June 1940. The White and Blue city keeps a historical center registered in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, and is home to the Vieux-Tours, a patrimonial site. The garden city has a green heritage and its urban landscape has been strongly influenced by its natural space. The historic city is nicknamed "''Le Petit Paris''". The city is a university city with more than 30,000 students in 2019. Tours is a popular culinary city with specialties such as:

rillettes Rillettes (, also , ) is a preservation method similar to confit where meat is seasoned then submerged in fat and cooked slowly over the course of several hours (4 to 10 hours). The meat is shredded and packed into sterile containers covered in ...

, rillons, Touraine vineyards, AOC Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine cheeses and nougats. The city is also the end-point of the annual

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

cycle race. The region, due to its history and culture, has always been a land of birth or host to many personalities and international sporting events.

Etymology

A popular folk etymology of the word "Tours" is that it comes from ''Turonus'', the nephew of

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

. Turonus died in a war between

Corineus Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall. ''History of the Kings of Britain'' In Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history '' History of the Kings of Britain'' ...

and the king of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

, Goffarius Pictus, provoked by Corineus hunting in the king's forests without permission. It is said that Turonus was buried in Tours and the city is founded around his grave.

History

In Gallic times, Tours was an important crossing point over the

. It became part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

during the 1st century AD, and the city was named ' ("hill of Caesar"). The name evolved in the 4th century when the original Gallic name,

Turones The Turoni or Turones were a Gallic tribe of dwelling in the later Touraine region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were among the first tribes to give support to the Gallic coalition against Rome led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC, the ...

, became ''Civitas Turonum'' and then ''Tours''. It was at this time that the

was built. Tours became a metropolis in the Roman province of

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...

towards 380–388 AD, dominating

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, Brittany, and the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

. One important figure in the city was Saint

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

, a bishop who shared his coat with a naked beggar in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

. The importance of Martin in the medieval Christian West made Tours, and its position on the route of pilgrimage to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

, a major centre during the Middle Ages.

Middle Ages

In the 6th century,

, author of the ''Ten Books of History'', restored a cathedral destroyed by a fire in 561. Saint Martin's monastery benefited from its inception, at the very start of the 6th century from patronage and support from the Frankish king,

Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...

, which increased considerably the influence of the saint, the abbey and the city in Gaul. In the 9th century, Tours was at the heart of the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne's reign led to an intellectual revival beginning in the 8th century and continuing throughout the 9th ...

, in particular because of

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

, of York in Northumbria, a renowned book collector and an abbot of Marmoutier Abbey. In 732, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi and an army of Muslim horsemen from

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

advanced deep into France, and were stopped at the

at Moussais-la-Bataille (between

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; ) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the residents are cal ...

and

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

) by

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

and his infantry. The Muslim army was defeated, preventing an Islamic conquest of France. In 845, Tours repelled the first attack of the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

chief Haesten. In 850, the Vikings settled at the mouths of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

and the Loire. Still led by Haesten, they went up the Loire again in 852 and sacked

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

, Tours and Marmoutier Abbey. During the Middle Ages, Tours consisted of two juxtaposed and competing centres. The "City" in the east, successor of the late Roman '

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

', was composed of the cathedral and palace of the archbishops as well as the castle of Tours. The castle of Tours acted as a seat of the authority of the Counts of Tours (later Counts of Anjou) and the King of France. In the west, the "new city" structured around the Abbey of Saint Martin was freed from the control of the city during the 10th century (an enclosure was built towards 918) and became "Châteauneuf". This space, organized between Saint Martin and the Loire, became the economic centre of Tours. Between these two centres were Varennes, vineyards and fields, little occupied except for the Abbaye Saint-Julien established on the banks of the Loire. The two centres were linked during the 14th century. Tours became the capital of the county of Tours or

, a territory bitterly disputed between the counts of Blois and Anjou – the latter were victorious in the 11th century. It was the capital of France at the time of Louis XI, who had settled in the castle of Montils (today the castle of Plessis-les-Tours, at the junction of the Loire and the Indre rivers). Tours and Touraine remained a permanent residence of the kings and court until the 16th century. The Renaissance gave Tours and Touraine many private mansions and castles, joined to some extent under the generic name of the Châteaux of the Loire. It is also at the time of Louis XI that the silk industry was introduced – despite difficulties, the industry still survives to this day.

16th–18th centuries

Charles IX passed through the city at the time of his royal tour of France between 1564 and 1566, accompanied by the Court and various noblemen: his brother the

Duke of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the title of count. ...

, Henri de Navarre, the cardinals of Bourbon and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. At this time, the Catholics returned to power in Angers: the attendant assumed the right to nominate the aldermen. The

Massacre of Saint-Barthelemy The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre () in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed ...

was not repeated at Tours. The Protestants were imprisoned by the aldermen – a measure which prevented their extermination. The permanent return of the Court to Paris and then Versailles marked the beginning of a slow but permanent decline. Guillaume the Metayer (1763–1798), known as Rochambeau, the well-known counter-revolutionary chief of Mayenne, was shot in Tours.

19th to 20th centuries

The arrival of the railway in the 19th century saved the city by making it an important nodal point. The main railway station is known as Tours-Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. At that time, Tours was expanding towards the south into a district known as the Prébendes. The importance of the city as a centre of communications contributed to its revival and, as the 20th century progressed, Tours became a dynamic conurbation, economically oriented towards the service sector. The city was briefly the ''de facto'' capital of France during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

playing host to

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, ...

and representatives of the

Government of National Defence The Government of National Defense () was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclamation of the Republic in Paris on 4 Septembe ...

who escaped the then ongoing Siege of Paris.

First World War

The city was greatly affected by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. A force of 25,000 American soldiers arrived in 1917, setting up textile factories for the manufacture of uniforms, repair shops for military equipment, munitions dumps, an army post office and an American military hospital at Augustins. Because of this, Tours became a garrison town with a resident general staff. The American presence is remembered today by the

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

Bridge over the Loire, which was officially opened in July 1918 and bears the name of the President of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from 1913 to 1921. Three American air force squadrons, including the 492nd, were based at the

Parçay-Meslay Parçay-Meslay () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, central France. Population Education the commune has one school with 217 students, with 75 in preschool (''école maternelle'') and 142 in elementary school.

airfield, their personnel playing an active part in the life of the city. Americans paraded at funerals and award ceremonies for the Croix de Guerre. They also took part in festivals and their

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

organised shows for the troops. Some men married women from Tours.

Inter-war years

In 1920, the city hosted the Congress of Tours, which saw the creation of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

. One future consequence of that congress was the presence of

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

, the

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

nationalist, who became one of the first members of the party.

Second World War

Tours was also marked by the

, as the city suffered massive destruction in 1940. For four years it was a city of military camps and fortifications. From 10 to 13 June 1940, Tours was the temporary seat of the French government before its move to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. German incendiary bombs caused a huge fire, which blazed out of control from 20 to 22 June and destroyed part of the city centre. Some architectural masterpieces of the 16th and 17th centuries were lost, as was the monumental entry to the city. The Wilson Bridge, which carried a water main that supplied the city, was dynamited to slow the progress of the German advance. With the water main severed, nobody could extinguish the inferno. That made inhabitants have no option but to flee to safety. More heavy air raids by Allied forces devastated the area around the railway station in 1944, causing several hundred deaths.

Post-war developments

A plan for the rebuilding of the central area drawn up by the local architect Camille Lefèvre had been adopted even before the end of the war. The plan was for 20 small quadrangular blocks of housing to be arranged around the main road (la rue Nationale), which was widened. This regular layout attempted to echo but simplify the 18th-century architecture. Pierre Patout succeeded Lefèvre as the architect in charge of rebuilding in 1945. At one time, there was talk of demolishing the southern side of the rue Nationale to make it in keeping with the new development. The recent history of Tours is marked by the personality of

Jean Royer Jean Royer (31 October 1920 – 25 March 2011) was a French Catholic conservative politician who was a minister and mayor of Tours. Biography Mayor of Tours Born in Nevers, Nièvre, Royer was at first a teacher. In 1958 he was elected as a r ...

, who was mayor for 36 years and helped save the old town from demolition by establishing one of the first Conservation Areas. This example of conservation policy would later inspire the Malraux Law for the safeguarding of historic city centres. In the 1970s, Jean Royer also extended the city to the south by diverting the course of the Cher River to create the districts of Rives du Cher and des Fontaines. At the time, it was one of the largest urban developments in Europe. In 1970, the François Rabelais University was founded and centred on the bank of the Loire in the downtown area, not, as was the current practice, in a campus in the suburbs. The latter solution was also chosen by the twin university of Orleans. Royer's long term as mayor was, however, not without controversy, as is exemplified by the construction of the practical but aesthetically unattractive motorway, which runs along the bed of a former canal just from the cathedral. Another bone of contention was the original Vinci Congress Centre by

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

. The project incurred debts although it at least made Tours one of France's principal conference centres. Jean Germain, a member of the Socialist Party, became mayor in 1995 and made debt reduction his priority. Ten years later, his economic management was regarded as much wiser than that of his predecessor because of the financial stability of the city returning. However, his achievements were criticised by the municipal opposition for a lack of ambition. There were no large building projects instituted under his two terms. That position is disputed by those in power, who affirm their policy of concentrating on the quality of life, as evidenced by urban restoration, the development of public transport and cultural activities.

Climate

Tours has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

that is very mild for such a northern latitude. Summers are influenced by its inland position, resulting in frequent days of or warmer, whereas winters are kept mild by Atlantic air masses. The entire valley between Orlans and Angers is famous for the luminosity of its air and for its fabulous châteaux, most of them Renaissance (over 600 between Orlans and Angers).

Sights

Cathedral

The Cathedral of Tours, dedicated to Saint Gatien, its

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

first

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, was begun about 1170 to replace the cathedral that was burnt out in 1166 during the dispute between

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

and

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

. The lowermost stages of the western towers belong to the 12th century, but the rest of the west end is in the profusely detailed 15th-century Flamboyant Gothic, which were completed just as the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

was affecting the patrons who planned the châteaux of Touraine. The towers were being constructed at the same time as, for example, the Château de Chenonceau. When the 15th-century illuminator Jean Fouquet was set the task of illuminating

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

's ''Jewish Antiquities'', his depiction of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

was modelled on the nearly complete cathedral of Tours. The atmosphere of the Gothic cathedral close permeates

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

's dark short novel of jealousy and provincial intrigues, '' Le Curé de Tours'' (''The Curate of Tours'') and his medieval story '' Maître Cornélius'' opens in the cathedral itself.

Other points of interest

* *

Jardin botanique de Tours The Jardin botanique de Tours (5 hectares) is a municipal botanical garden and arboretum located at 33, Boulevard Tonnellé, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is open daily; admission is free. The garden was established by p ...

, the municipal

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

* Medieval enclosure at Tours *

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours (English: Museum of Fine Arts of Tours) is located in the bishop's former palace, near the cathedral St. Gatien, where it has been since 1910. It displays rich and varied collections, including that of painting ...

* Hôtel Goüin * Château de Tours * Basilique St-Martin *Place Plumereau, the old town *Grand Théâtre, housing the Opéra de Tours *Tour Charlemagne

Language

Before the French Revolution, the inhabitants of Tours (''Les Tourangeaux'') were known for speaking the "purest" form of French in the entire country. The pronunciation of Touraine was traditionally regarded as the most standard pronunciation of the French language, until the 19th century when the standard pronunciation of French shifted to that of the Parisian bourgeoisie. That is explained by the fact that the court of France lived in

between 1430 and 1530. French, the language of the court, had become the official language of the entire kingdom. A Council of Tours in 813 decided that priests should preach sermons in different languages because the common people could no longer understand

classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...

. This was the first official recognition of an early French language distinct from Latin, and can be considered as the birth of French. The Ordinance of Montils-lès-Tours, promulgated by Charles VII in 1454, made it mandatory to write laws and oral customs in the native language of the area. An ordinance of Charles VIII (born in

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...

, near Tours) in 1490 and one of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

(born in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

, near Tours) in 1510 broaden the scope of the ordinance of Charles VII. Finally, the

Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (, ) is an extensive piece of reform legislation signed into law by Francis I of France on August 10, 1539, in the city of Villers-Cotterêts and the oldest French legislation still used partly by French court ...

, signed into law by Francis I in 1539, called for the use of French in all legal acts, notarized contracts and official legislation to avoid any linguistic confusion.

wrote in the 6th century that some people in the area could still speak

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

City

The city has a population of 140,000 and is called "Le Jardin de la France" ("The Garden of France"). There are several parks located within the city. Tours is located between two rivers, the Loire to the north and the Cher to the south. The buildings of Tours are white with blue

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

(called ''Ardoise'') roofs; this style is common in the north of France, while most buildings in the south of France have

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

roofs. Tours is famous for its original medieval district, called ''le Vieux Tours''. Unique to the Old City are its preserved

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

buildings and ''la Place Plumereau'', a square with busy pubs and restaurants, whose open-air tables fill the centre of the square. The Boulevard Beranger crosses the Rue Nationale at the Place Jean-Jaures and is the location of weekly markets and fairs. Tours is famous for its many bridges crossing the river Loire. One of them, Wilson Bridge, collapsed in 1978 but was rebuilt. In the garden of the ancient Palais des Archevêques (now ''Musée des Beaux-Arts'') is a huge

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

tree said to have been planted by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The garden also has a stuffed elephant named Fritz. He escaped from the Barnum and Bailey circus during their stay in Tours in 1902. He went mad and had to be shot down, but the city paid to honor him, and he was taxidermied as a result. Tours is home to

University of Tours The University of Tours (), formerly François Rabelais University of Tours (), is a public university in Tours, France. Founded in 1969, the university was formerly named after the French writer François Rabelais. It is the largest university ...

(formerly known as University François Rabelais of Tours), the site of one of the most important choral competitions, called ''Florilège Vocal de Tours'' International Choir Competition, and is a member city of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Tours proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Tours absorbed the former commune of Saint-Étienne in 1845 and Sainte-Radegonde-en-Touraine and Saint-Symphorien in 1964.

Transportation

Today, with extensive rail (including

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

) and '' autoroute'' connections linking to the rest of the country, Tours is a jumping-off point for tourist visits to the

and the royal

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

x. Tours is on one of the main lines of the TGV. It is possible to travel to the west coast of

in an hour and forty minutes. From there, the line follows the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast via

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, and then to Spain and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. There are also lines to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. It takes less than one hour by train to get from Tours to Paris by TGV and one and a half hours to get to

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

. Tours has two main stations: Gare de Tours, the central station, and Gare de Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, used by trains that do not terminate in Tours.

Tours Loire Valley Airport Tours Val de Loire Airport () is an airport in the French Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire, north-northeast of the city of Tours in the Loire Valley (''Val de Loire''). The airport is located partly on the territory of the co ...

connects the Loire Valley to European cities. Historically, Tours was served by

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

s and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es, the trolleybus system lasting from 1949 to 1968. Tram service returned to the city in 2013, when a new

tram system A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include seg ...

began operation. Twenty-one

Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents ...

trams were ordered. There is also a bus service, the main central stop being ''Jean Jaurès'', next to the Hôtel de Ville, and '' rue Nationale'', the

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

of Tours. The tram and bus networks are operated by Fil Bleu and they share a ticketing system. A second tram line is scheduled for 2025.

Sport

The city's premier

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club,

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), was a football club based in Tours, France. Formed in 1919, the club adopted the name Tours FC in 1951 after several other name changes. The club was dissolved on 26 February 2025 d ...

, was dissolved in 2025 after 106 years of activity due to years of financial struggles. They also have a second team, CCSP Tours. CCSP's home stadium is the Stade des Tourettes and they play in the

Division d'Honneur Regionale de Centre Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

, the seventh tier of the

French football league system The French football league system, also known as the French football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France and Monaco, and includes one Spanish side. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Footb ...

. Tours has served as the finish location for

, a one-day

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws a ...

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

race held almost every October since 1896. Tours also has a volleyball club named the Tours VB.

Catholics from Tours

Tours is a special place for Catholics who follow the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus and the adoration of the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. In 1843, Sister Marie of St Peter of Tours reported a vision which started the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, in reparation for the many insults Christ suffered in His Passion. The '' Golden Arrow Prayer'' was first made public by her. The

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Leo Dupont Leo Dupont (24 January 1797 – 18 March 1876), also known as "the holy man of Tours" or "the apostle of the Holy Face", was a Roman Catholic layman who helped spread various devotions such as that of the Holy Face of Jesus and the nightly E ...

also known as The Holy Man of Tours lived in Tours at about the same time. In 1849 he started the nightly adoration of the

, which spread throughout France. Upon hearing of Sister Marie of St Peter's reported visions, he started to burn a vigil lamp continuously before a picture of the Holy Face of Jesus. The devotion was eventually approved by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1958 and he formally declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics. The Oratory of the Holy Face on Rue St. Etienne in Tours receives many pilgrims every year. Tours was the site of the episcopal activity of

St. Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted to ...

and has further Christian connotations in that the pivotal

in 732 is often considered the first decisive victory over the invading Islamic forces, turning the tide against them. The battle also helped lay the foundations of the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...

Notable people

Public service

* Berengarius of Tours (999–1088), theologian * William Firmatus (1026–1103), a Norman hermit, pilgrim, saint * Bernard of Tours (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1147, d. before 1178), philosopher and poet * Jeanne-Marie de Maille (1331–1414), saint *

Charles of Valois Charles, Count of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328. He was the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella o ...

(1446–1472), son of Charles VII of France, younger brother of King Louis XI *Louise de la Vallière (1644–1710), noblewoman and courtesan *André-Michel Guerry (1802–1866), lawyer and statistician * Marie of St Peter (1816–1848), mystic Carmelite nun *Régis de Trobriand (1816–1897), American military officer and author *Paul Viollet (1840–1914), historian *Louis Rimbault (1877–1949), Individualist anarchism, individualist anarchist, promoted of simple living and veganism *Emile B. De Sauzé (1878–1964), language educator * Baron Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel (1912–1992), nobleman, soldier and diplomat *René Laurentin (1917–2017), theologian, student of Mariology *

(1920–2011), former Minister and former Mayor of Tours *Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe (1940–2007), philosopher, literary critic and translator * Jean-Louis Bruguière (born 1943), top French investigating judge (France), investigating judge *Serge Babary (born 1946), politician, Mayor of Tours between 2014 and 2017 *Dominique Bussereau (born 1952), politician *Catherine Colonna (born 1956) a French diplomat and politician

Arts

* Jean Fouquet (1420–1481), painter and miniaturist *Juste de Juste (ca.1505 – ca.1559), Franco-Italian sculptor and printmaker in etching *François Clouet (ca.1510 – 1572), French Renaissance Portrait miniature, miniaturist and painter *Abraham Bosse (1604–1676), artist as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour *François de Paule Bretonneau (1660–1741), preacher, librettist and playwright *Philippe Néricault Destouches (1680–1754), dramatist and playwright *Louis Dutens (1730–1812), writer, lived most of his life in Britain *Jean Baudrais (1749–1832), writer and magistrate *Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (1763–1842), playwright and librettist *Philippe Musard (1792–1859), conductor and composer *

(1799–1850), novelist and playwright *Jules Moinaux (1815–1895), writer, playwright and librettist *Louisa Emily Dobrée (ca.1852 – 1917), writer of novels, short stories and juvenile literature *Georges Courteline (1858–1929), dramatist and novelist *Daniel Mendaille (1885–1963), stage and film actor *Paul Nizan (1905–1940), novelist and philosopher *Yves Bonnefoy (1923–2016), poet and art historian *Paul Guers (1927–2016), film actor *Jean-Claude Narcy (born 1938), journalist and news anchor on TF1 *Jean Chalopin (born 1950), TV and movie producer, director and writer *Jacques Villeret (1951–2005), actor *Yves Ker Ambrun (born 1954), cartoonist and graphic artist; known as ''YKA'' *Laurent Petitguillaume (born 1960), radio and television host *Luc Delahaye (born 1962), photographer of large-scale colour works about social issues *Stéphane Audeguy (born 1964), writer, literary critic and teacher *Laurent Mauvignier (born 1967), writer of prose and for the theatre *Sinclair (singer), Mathieu Blanc-Francard (born 1970), musician and singer-songwriter, stage name ''Sinclair'' *Nâdiya, Nadia Zighem (born 1973), a Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, stage name ''Nâdiya'' *Harry Roselmack (born 1973), television presenter *Delphine Bardin (born 1974), classical pianist *Zaz (singer), Isabelle Geffroy (born 1980), singer who mixes jazzy styles, stage name ''Zaz'' *Biga Ranx, Gabriel Piotrowski (born 1988), reggae singer, producer and writer, stage name ''Biga Ranx'' *Lexie Agresti (born 1995), art historian and transgender rights activist

Science and business

*Guillaume Rouillé ( – 1589), prominent humanist bookseller-printer *Julien Le Roy (1686–1759), clockmaker and watchmaker *Nicolas Heurteloup (1750–1812), a military physician and surgeon *Alexandre Goüin (1792–1872), banker and politician; linked with Hôtel Goüin *Gabriel Lamé (1795–1870), mathematician, worked on partial differential equations *Félix Dujardin (1801–1860), biologist, researched protozoans *Armand Trousseau (1801–1867), internist; found Trousseau sign of malignancy *Théophile Archambault (1806–1863), psychiatrist, also taught mental pathology *Ernest Goüin (1815–1885), civil engineer and industrialist *Eugène Goüin (1818–1909), banker and politician *Jules Haime (1824–1856), geologist, paleontologist and zoologist; researched coral *Émile Delahaye (1843–1905), automobile pioneer, founded Delahaye an automobile manufacturer *Maurice Couette (1858–1943), physicist, studied of fluidity & rheology

Sport

*Mervin Glennie (1918–1986) English first-class cricketer *Catherine Poirot (born 1963) former breaststroke swimmer, bronze medallist in the 1984 Summer Olympics *Pascal Hervé (born 1964), a road racing cyclist *Xavier Gravelaine (born 1968), former footballer with 405 club caps and 4 for France national football team, France *Maamar Mamouni (born 1976) a former footballer with over 290 club caps and 29 for Algeria national football team, Algeria *Laurent Mekies (born 1977), assistant team principal and race director for Scuderia Ferrari *Ludovic Roy (born 1977), footballer with 234 club caps (all in Scotland) *Frédéric Dambier (born 1977), figure skater, landed a quadruple Salchow jump, salchow in competition *Luc Ducalcon (born 1984), rugby union player with over 250 club caps and 17 for France national rugby union team, France *Josselin Ouanna (born 1986) a retired French tennis player *Abdou Diallo (born 1996), footballer with over 150 club caps and 22 for Senegal national football team, Senegal *Mathieu Inthasane (born 1986), football goalkeeper

Twin towns — sister cities

Tours is twinned with: * Mülheim, Germany, since 1962 * Segovia, Spain, since 1972 * Parma, Italy, since 1976 * Luoyang, China, since 1982 * Trois-Rivières, Canada, since 1987 * Takamatsu, Kagawa, Takamatsu, Japan, since 1988 * Brașov, Romania, since 1990 * Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, since 1991

Gallery

File:Public garden in Tours, France.jpg, File:Hotel Gouin.JPG, File:Loire Indre Tours3 tango7174.jpg, File:Rooftops of Tours, France.jpg, File:Pont Mirabeau Tours from the rivers north bank.jpg, File:Guinguette de Tours, été 2011.jpg,

References

External links

*
Official tourism information about Tours, on the Departemental Tourism Board website
{{Authority control Tours, France, Communes of Indre-et-Loire Prefectures in France Gallia Lugdunensis Touraine Turonian, Cities in France

Etymology

History

Middle Ages

16th–18th centuries

19th to 20th centuries

First World War

Inter-war years

Second World War

Post-war developments

Climate

Sights

Cathedral

Other points of interest

Language

City

Population

Transportation

Sport

Catholics from Tours

Notable people

Public service

Arts

Science and business

Sport

Twin towns — sister cities

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links