Tours

Tours is a city in France, the préfecture (capital city) of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines and for the perfection of its local spoken French.

City

The center of Tours has a population of 137,000. Tours is called "Au Jardin de la France" (The garden of France). There is a large park in the city center, and a cedar tree near the Cathedral. Tours is on the Loire river, which splits just to the west of the city, and so Tours has a river on both its northern and southern sides. The buildings of Tours are white with black slate roofs which is common in the north, whilest in the south the buildings have terra cotta roofs.

Related Topics:
Cedar - Slate - Terra cotta

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Tours is famous for its old part of the city called Le Vieux Tours with its Tudor style houses in half-timbering and La Place Plumereau, a square with only pubs and restaurants full of people who dine and drink ouside at tables filling the center of the square. Boulevard Beranger crosses rue Nationale, and is the location of weekly markets and fairs.

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