Tours: the gateway to the Loire castles

The Basilica of San Martino, rebuilt in the late nineteenth century above the ruins of the medieval building, preserves the tomb of the saint who made Tours one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of medieval Europe.

Just steps away, the Vieux Tours district, with its half-timbered houses on Place Plumereau, animates cafes and restaurants in a well-preserved medieval environment.

Continuing one visits the Cathedral of San Graziano, with a finely carved flamboyant Gothic facade, developed over almost four centuries of construction work.

In the afternoon it is worthwhile to reach one of the Loire castles, such as Chenonceau or Amboise, both less than an hour's drive from the center of Tours.

The cult of Saint Martin of Tours, a fourth-century bishop known for sharing his cloak with a beggar, made the city one of the most important Christian pilgrimage destinations in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.

The Cathedral of Saint Gatien took nearly four hundred years of construction, evolving through the entire span of French Gothic style from early to late bays.