Let yourself be guided by our “City of Art and History” speaker guides! Essential visits not to be missed to discover the best of the city.
The Tours Loire Valley Tourist Office and the city of Tours offer a thematic tour of "Ancient Tours", led by a guide. The city of Tours, founded in the 1st century, was created as a Roman capital on the territory of the Turones. In the Middle Ages, the city evolved in a bipolar manner: to the west, the Châteauneuf district, born of the pilgrimage of Saint Martin, was under the authority of the bishop. A royal city at the end of the Middle Ages, Tours experienced tremendous prosperity. In the 18th century, the city benefited from the policy of opening up the cities of the kingdom with the creation of the new road to Spain. The arrival of the railway in the middle of the 19th century and the annexation of the commune of Saint-Etienne confirmed the development of the town towards the south. The reconstruction of the upper part of the Rue Nationale and the major urban construction projects marked the second half of the 20th century. Please note: access to the underground of the Fine Arts Museum is subject to presentation of a health pass - thank you for your understanding.
The Tours Loire Valley Tourist Office and the city of Tours are offering a guided tour of Louis XI. At the end of the Hundred Years' War, Louis XI became king and made Tours his capital. This tireless and cunning traveller king left nothing to chance: he extended the royal domain and administered it with an iron fist. On the occasion of the sixth centenary of his birth (1423-2023), rediscover Louis XI in his "good city" of Tours.
Under the guidance of an expert guide, the Tours Loire Valley Tourist Office and the city of Tours offer you an Art-Deco tour. This general tour illustrates the variety of Touraine's Art Deco architectural production: individual homes, collective housing, shops, public buildings... The Art Deco style developed in the first half of the 20th century. It reflects a trend towards simplified forms, with geometrically stylized decorations. Led by a tour guide, the Tours Tourist Office and the city of Tours invite you to take a tour of the city's Art Deco buildings. This tour has been awarded the Ville d'Art et d'Histoire label.ette tour has been awarded the Ville d'Art et d'Histoire label.
Under the guidance of a guide, the Tourist Office and the city of Tours offer you a visit in the footsteps of Balzac Born in Tours on 20 May 1799, Honoré de Balzac retained a real affection for his native city throughout his life. In the preface to his "Contes drolatiques", he states that he had "no desire to be anything other than a good Touraineur" and his precise descriptions have given rise to his reputation as a fine connoisseur of the monuments, streets and history of Tours. This tour puts the architecture of the city into perspective in Balzac's work.