Wednesday, January 25, 2023

FRANCE 2022 Trip report Day 15: Drive from Pau to Tours, Tours old town

DAY 15, SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

STAY:

Tours 4 nights, studio atypique climatisation réversible 36 Rue Raymond Cras, Larçay, 37270, France;

SIGHTS:

Drive from Pau to Tours, Tours old town

Drive from Pau to Tours

We drove the 500 odd kms on the highway, reached our apartment in Larçay... it's 7 km from the historic center of Tours.

LOIRE VALLEY

known as the ‘Garden of France’, the Loire Valley is most well known for its charming chateaux. It’s
set amongst rolling hills, lush vineyards and exquisite market gardens. Depending on the season,
you may pass cherry orchards and fields of asparagus and artichokes.

We had chosen Tours for a 4 night stay to explore the area.

APARTMENT

Checked in. it was a studio apt in the attic of a private residence.

the owner told us about the code for opening/closing the gate, and for the key box up a flight of steps

NEWYORK theme apartment. Note the poster on the wall.

this table opens out. these 2 cupboards held crockery. stubbed my foot a few times as there was a very small gap when the bed got pulled out.

could have kept a regular bed here, but the designer had created a platform under this sloping roof to store the pullout bed

had to be careful not to bump our head

kitchen area

entrance into the flat from the stairs

We had brought food packed, had the icecream first

this is the rice, veggies in the utensils we had brought

had some food before we left for sight seeing

DRIVE TO TOURS HISTORIC CENTER

TOURS OLD TOWN

parked in the free lot and strolled around the historic center.

Having successfully preserved much of its historic heritage, Tours is particularly famous for its original

medieval district – Vieux Tours. The bulk of it is concentrated around three squares: Place du Grand

Marché, Place Plumereau and Place de Chateauneuf.

Place Plumereau

we started at Place Plumereau.

Lined with wood-framed, stone-gabled townhouses dating back to the 12th-15th centuries and carefully

restored in the spirit of the time, this square is known for its exuberant atmosphere from the multitude of cafes, bars and restaurants of every kind, owing to which the place enjoys the title of the “best in France for aperitif.”

All round Place Plumereau are a hodgepodge of cobbled streets with more eateries and shops to explore.

Alongside lovely half-timber buildings we find Saint Martin's Basilica – a late 19th-century

neo-Byzantine building erected to honour the relics of St Martin, rediscovered in 1860 and now housed inthe crypt; the Charlemagne Tower – one of the towers of the Saint-Martin basilica; and more.