Tours

Au cœur des châteaux de la Loire | At the heart of the Loire châteaux

Why visit

Tours is the perfect base for the Loire châteaux, Chenonceau, Chambord, Amboise, Villandry, and Azay-le-Rideau are all within an hour. The old town's Place Plumereau is alive day and night with timbered cafes and bistros. The cathedral and the Musée des Beaux-Arts (in the former archbishop's palace) anchor a serious cultural offering. Eat rillettes de Tours, chèvre cheese (Sainte-Maure), and drink Loire whites (Vouvray, Chinon, Bourgueil). The covered market Les Halles is one of France's best, packed with regional charcuterie and produce.

When to avoid

Summer (July to August) is when the châteaux are mobbed and prices spike. Book trains and accommodations months ahead. Winter (December to February) sees many châteaux on reduced hours or closed. Public transport between châteaux is limited. Rent a car or take guided tours. The TGV from Paris (1 hour) is excellent. ATMs are reliable but small bistros may be cash-only. Most shops close Sundays and Monday mornings.

Plan Tours

Current conditions and the practical reference material that helps turn the saved places into a trip.

The next week in Tours

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Today

Rain

30° / 21°

UV High

Wed

Overcast

28° / 20°

UV High

Thu

Overcast

25° / 16°

UV High

Fri

Overcast

27° / 13°

UV High

Sat

Overcast

33° / 14°

UV High

Sun

Showers

26° / 19°

4.5 mm

UV Moderate

Mon

Overcast

25° / 15°

UV High

Climate

Summer (Jun-Sep)

Typical highs around 25°C, lows around 13°C.

Winter (Nov-Mar)

Typical highs around 9°C, lows around 2°C.

In August 4

Drag to scrub across the year.

JFMAMJJASOND

Weather

26° / 14°

Typical high / low

2 mm rainfall this month

Daylight

14.3h

06:52 – 21:11local

Holidays coming up

Public holidays from Nager.Date.

Airports

closest TUF · 5 km

Getting around Tours

Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.

Local transit operators

VectareLEXFlixBus-euwaldbahn - Die Länderbahn GmbH DLBTER BreizhGoFil Bleu BlaBlaCar BusFlixBus-deNomad Train (SNCF, Région Normandie)

About Tours

Tours 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.

Area: 35 km²
Mayor: Emmanuel Denis
Airport codes: TUF

France basics →Country context, advisories, and entry links for the practicalities shown above.

References5

The links below support the changing or licensed reference material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually.

City background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Structured fields are cross-checked against the related references. Related: Wikidata, Open-Elevation, .