Centre Things to Do

  Da Vinci Memorial, Amboise, July 2008
by von.otter
 
  • Da Vinci Memorial, Amboise, July 2008
      Da Vinci Memorial, Amboise, July 2008
    by von.otter
  •   Castles
    by June.b
  •   Castles
    by June.b
  •   Castles
    by June.b
  •   Castles
    by June.b
 

Most Viewed Things to Do in Centre

1.

Castles   Tours

Castles, Tours

 33 Reviews  1hour south of Chinon is the beautiful castle of Rivau. You have to drive there (exit st maure) but it is worth it as the gardens are really beautiful ! I went there with my kids and they loved it,... 

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2.

Old town   Tours

Old town, Tours

 18 Reviews  Place Plumereau is the central square of Tours. It is the most picturesque and busiest place in Tours. Restaurants here are affordable, contrary to the habit of raising the price like hell in central... 

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3.

Churches   Tours

Churches, Tours

 40 Reviews  Amateurs of the architecture of the end of the XIX century cannot pass by the extravagant pseudo-Byzantian basils. Sacred Martin's relics is based in a crypt. A legend tells us that he was a soldier... 

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4.

Museum   Tours

Museum, Tours

 3 Reviews  The building of the museum is the former archbishop palace in Tours. One of France best provincial museum, it houses wide range collections of painting and rugs from the great houses of Touraine... 

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5.

Loire river   Tours

Loire river, Tours

 2 Reviews  Loire - the river of the French kings. The history of France was managed on coasts of this small but very important river. Earlier it was navigable within all the year. Now its channel is essentially... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Bicycling in the Loire - Loire a velo

by Beausoleil

For bicycle touring in France, I found an incredibly useful web site . . . oddly found it from the Peugeot Open-Europe automobile lease folks. The web site lists itineraries, accomodation specifically for bicyclists, places to hire bicycles, places to repair bicycles and also package holidays for those who don’t want to do anything except bike and enjoy the scenery.You can click on several links at this web site to get a map of the entire Loire Bicycle Route, particular itineraries, places to stay and to eat, where to get your bike repaired or tours for those who want a bit of loving care on the way.The Logis de France chain of small, family-owned hotels also offers a bicycle option that caters to bicyclists. http://www.logishotels.com/en/

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chateau de Chambord

by didier06

Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire valley and very recognizable for its French renaissance architecture. This castle was built by the king Francois 1er. Its features 32 apartments, more than 400 rooms and 84 staircases. One of the highlights of the castle is the double helix staircase attributed to Leonardo DA VINCI. The castle is surrounded by the largest enclosed forest park in Europe.

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chateau de Chenonceau

by didier06

It was built in 1513 by Katherine BRICONNET and her husband Thomas BOHIER, they destroyed a former fortified mill on the river " Le Cher" and retains only the dungeon. A new castle was built on the site of the old mill, then Chenonceau became the property of the king Francois 1er. The king Henri II gave Chenonceau to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, who built the bridge on " Le Cher" expected by the Bohier. After the king was dead, his widow Catherine de Medicis recovered the castle, in 1576 she built a gallery on the bridge. Builders and owners of Chenonceau were often women, this explains why chenonceau is also called " Chateau des Dames"

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chateau d'Ussé

by didier06

In the fifteenth century, the bueil family build a castle on the site of a former stronghold.After some different owners, the castle became in 1885 the property of the comte de Blacas.Today the castle belongs to his descendant.Legend has is that charles Perrault would have recognized the chateau d'Ussé as that of "Sleeping Beauty" (the first of Perrault's tales).

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Le clos luce

by didier06

A mansion located in Amboise near the Royal chateau d'Amboise. It's here where Leonardo da Vinci lived for the last three years of his life.In 1516 the king François 1er invited Leonardo da Vinci , Leonardo stayed and worked at le clos luce until his dead on 2 may 1519.The clos luce is now a museum which contains many models of the different machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci

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Garden Festival at Chateau Chaumont

by Beausoleil

Don't miss the Chateau Chaumont Festival of Gardens. It is great fun, even if you don't care much for gardens. Every year they choose a theme and gardeners create small gardens on that theme. Many are interactive so do take the children. Everyone prepare to have fun!One year they had a rectangular garden with bamboo wind chimes (huge ones) suspended over the garden and as you walked through the garden, you knocked the chimes and made your own music. There was a garden with huge rubber balls (4 or 5 feet in diameter) that rolled on suspended wires. You could push them all over the garden. It was fun but it was even more fun watching the children who loved it. Once they had a water hazard where you had to walk a stone path through a pond . . . only the stones weren't stable so you could get dunked if you weren't careful. It's different every year and always great fun. The flowers are...

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The Third Most Important Chateau in the Blesois

by hquittner

Cheverny is well worth visiting while in the Blesois area. It is definitely the third place here after Chambord and the castle in Blois. It is on comfortable grounds and as one approaches the dhateau you immediately feel that it is just the right size and that you would like to own it yourself. Unusual, is the fact that it is still owned by the family that built the first castle on the site. Appreciate its interior slowly.

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Chateau de Villandry

by didier06

Villandry finished in 1536 was the last of the larges castles built in the Loire valley during the "Renaissance".The castle was to be demolished when in 1906 Dr Joachim CARVALLO bought and save it.Still owned by the CARVALLO family, Villandry is famous for the gardens and it's one of the most visited castle in FRANCE.Admission: Adult: 9 euros ( castle and gardens) 6 euros (gardens) 8 to 18 years old and students under 25 years old : 5 euros (castle and gardens) 3.5 euros (gardens) free under 8 years old

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Chateau d'Azay le rideau

by didier06

Built on a small island on the INDRE river between 1518 AND 1527 by Gilles BERTHELOT a rich financial of Tours .The plan in L is unusual, the castle wasn't finished by Gilles BERTHELOT, in disgrace with the king FRANCOIS 1er, BERTHELOT fled in Metz and died in Cambrai (1529).The castle confiscated by the king was given to Antoine RAFFIN, friend and ambassador of the king. Admission: Adult 8 euros free under 18 years old (family visit)

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(Rigny)-Usse: The Sleeping Beauty Resides Here

by hquittner

The chateau of Usse is situated at the edge of the conjoined towns Rigny-Usse and is thus sited in VT. It is not conveniently located (although between Tours and Chinon), but it is one of the top 10 chateaux in the Loire valley. It can be reached only by car or special tours. It is a finely constructed affair containing fine antique furnishings. In one tower wax figures illustrate the story of Sleeping Beauty, for it is this castle that Perrault described in his version and it is Usse that Disney used as his model for castles.

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Top 3 Hotels in Centre

Mercure Tours Nord  Tours

 1 Review and 57 Opinions  Well so far so good I guess. We just arrived last night and we have not had a chance to head into... 

 Hotels in Tours

La Roseraie  Chenonceau

 1 Review and 336 Opinions  Words cannot describe the pleasure that I felt at this hotel! The owners are AMAZING, the area... 

 Hotels in Chenonceau

The Place

Reviews and photos of Centre attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Centre sightseeing.

Experience Centre
 

Questions and Answers

levlex profile photo

Q:  Sorry, I have asked many questions re this problem but HELP PLEASE, we decided to use Loche as a base for a 5 day stay. We have to... 

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A: I think you are spreading yourself too widely including Bayeux in the 5 days. 2 by 6 hours wipes out one day by the time you add getting to and from the train station if... 

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