offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Tours
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Tours, in a few days
A Loire city on a human scale: timber-framed houses around Place Plumereau, 13th-century stained glass at Saint-Gatien, Mantegna at the fine arts museum, the tomb of Saint Martin, rillettes and Vouvray on café terraces, and the gardens of Villandry 15 km away.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Place Plumereau and old Tours free · about 1 h 30A cobbled square of timber-framed houses with carved gables above café terraces, surrounded by streets leading to courtyards, spiral stairs and Renaissance mansions.
- Afternoon · Saint-Martin Basilica and the Charlemagne Tower free · about 1 hSaint Martin's tomb made Tours a great pilgrimage centre; of the medieval church, demolished after the Revolution, two lone towers remain.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Grand Hôtel€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Musée du Compagnonnage · about 1 h 30France's oldest museum of the craft guilds, in the former Saint-Julien abbey, showing masterpieces made by journeymen: miniature staircases, roof frames, ironwork and sugar work.
- Afternoon · Saint-Gatien Cathedral free · about 45 minBuilt from 1170 to 1547, with a Flamboyant front and Renaissance towers; the choir windows are among Europe's most complete 13th-century sets.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Best Western Plus L'Artist Hôtel€120 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tours Museum of Fine Arts · about 1 h 30The former archbishops' palace, whose highlights are two Mantegna panels from the San Zeno altarpiece in Verona, alongside Rembrandt, Rubens, Degas and Monet.
- Afternoon · Tours Botanical Garden free · about 1 hA 19th-century garden of nearly six hectares created for the medical school, with glasshouses of tropical and threatened South African plants.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Château Belmont€150 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Saint-Cosme Priory, home of Ronsard · about 1 hAn 11th-century priory west of the city where the poet Pierre de Ronsard was prior until 1585; he is buried in its ruined church.
- Afternoon · Château de Villandry · 2 to 3 hThe last great Renaissance château on the Loire, finished around 1536, famous for terraced gardens recreated from 1906 by Joachim Carvallo.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Grand Hôtel€110 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €90 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/tours-france
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.