Tours

Tours ( ; French:) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 138,668 inhabitants as of 2022 while the population of the whole metropolitan area was 526,370.

Tours sits on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman Emperor Augustus, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the Tours Amphitheatre. Known for the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the Merovingians and the Carolingians, with the Capetians making the kingdom's currency the Livre tournois. Saint Martin and Gregory of Tours were from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former province of France. Tours was the first city of the silk industry. It was taken by Louis XI, 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 in the late 16th century and again during the Second World War in June 1940.

The historical centre of Tours is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is also 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 the "White and Blue City" and "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, rillons, Touraine vineyards, AOC Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine cheeses and nougats. The city is also the end-point of the annual Paris–Tourscycle race. The region, due to its history and culture, has always been a place of birth or home to many personalities and international sporting events.