Novotel Tours Sud

University city

by d_d

In Tours there's a big university with many subjects.
It's in front of the Loire river, and it's well connected to the city center by a main street if you travel by car, or a a bridge if you want to go there by walking.

Chateau de VILLANDRY

by Lalique

Villandry was built in XVI cent. by Jean le Breton, Francois the 1st Minister of France. After changing hands in the beginning of XX cent. the castle was purchased by Dr. Joachim Carvallo, great grand father of the current owner. He created French style XVI cent. gardens, which made the Chateau clearly distinctive among the others. Definitely worth visiting!

Can you imagine that majority of these magnificent flower beds are just simply groceries such as cabbage and other ordinary stuff, planted in such extrodinary way.... My Mom would've bitten her elbows seing how the beds in her country house might be arranged...

Tours Cathedral

by June.b

Since the year 337, Tours cathedral or Saint Gatien's Cathedral had undergone several rebuilding, restoration and rededication. It's a gothic roman catholic church.

Work on Tours Cathedral proceeded over the centuries until 1547. The lowermost stages of the west towers belong is of 12th century. The rest of the west end is in the profusely detailed 15th century flamboyant gothic. Completed just as the Renaissance was flourishing.

Tours

by smetser

"Moving to Tours"

This was not the first time that I have seen the French city of Tours. However, it was the first time that I did not just see it from the highway A10 crossing the city. When I was younger we used to pass the city on our way to the south of France. This time I was moving the younger sister of my girlfriend to Tours for a half year of studying abroad.

Although Tours is not that big, there is plenty to see and do in the city and the surrounding countryside. The city lies along the banks of the rivers Loire and [...]. If you just follow the banks of those rivers you'll find lots of beautiful castles taking you back to the times of the French kings. We visited the well known castle of [...] If you don't like big crowds, skip this one (however, it really is beautiful as it is build over the river).

Like most french cities what you do in Tours is hang around and enjoy a glass of wine before while you are waiting to take dinner late at night. There are plenty of nice bars and restaurants around the central square in the centre of the old city. If you enjoy being away from all the other tourists, just move east of the old city centre towards the cathedral.

We stayed in an excellent hotel (clean, nice beds, big rooms, friendly personnel...and cheap!) just across the Tourist Information Centre, along the Avenue [...].