Tours Transportation

1 more image

Today, with its extensive rail (including TGV) and autoroute links to the rest of the country, Tours is a jumping off point for tourist visits to the Loire Valley and the chateaux of the kings.

Tours is on one of the main lines of the TGV. You can travel down the Western coast to Bordeaux in two hours and a half, or to the Mediterranean coast via Avignon and from there to Spain and Barcelona. It takes one hour by train from Tours to Paris by TGV and one hour and a half to CDG airport. Tours has two main stations, a central station and St Pierre Des Corps, which is just outside the center, and is the station which trains that don't terminate in Tours go through.

1 more image

I gather that Tours is quite proud of its railway station and, given the stylish façade, I could agree with them – though it must be said that the ‘operational’ part covering the platforms owes more to function than to style! Part of the reason for the local pride is that the station was designed by a ‘local boy’, Victor Laloux, who is somewhat better known for being the designer of the Gare (now Musée) d’Orsay in Paris.

When about to conclude my visit to Tours, I arrived at the station with some time to spare - and found myself looking at the message in the second photo. Roughly translated, it says that the movement of trains may well be disrupted as a result of strike action. Now that was something I certainly didn’t need at that stage! Fortunately the TGV arrived and returned me to my Paris hotel without any delay.

I took the bullet-train direct from Terminal 2 of Paris Charles de Gallue Airport & it took about 1 1/2 hours to reach Tours. Comfortable ride. Somewhat like the Shinkansen.

The ride from Tours to Paris takes about 1 hour.

The best way to get to Tours from Paris is the TGV- it only takes 1 hour.
Tours has a great bus system which will take you around the whole city and to some interesting locations outside the city. Tours is also a relatively easy city to walk around.
To visit the chateaux, I recommend renting a car.

In front of TOurs train station, there's the main bus station.
Here you'll find all the info for your bus trips in and outside Tours.

You can take a TGV from Paris (airport CDG or Paris Montparnasse) to Tours.
You'll arrive at ST Pierre de corps TGV station.
It's very close to the center (about 5 minutes by taxi).

The train station is located in the city center of Tours. So it's very easy to arrive there by train.
It's just in front of the Vinci center the main congress hall.

Under Construction...