Weekend in Tours

Two days in Tours, the historic capital of Touraine on the banks of the Loire, where Gothic spires, Renaissance facades, and half-timbered medieval lanes crowd into a walkable old town. The first day follows a route from the 18th-century Pont Wilson through the cathedral quarter — Saint-Gatien Cathedral with its 800 square metres of stained glass, the Gothic-Renaissance cloister of La Psalette, and the Museum of Fine Arts in the former Episcopal Palace — before reaching the Basilica of Saint-Martin and the medieval Charlemagne and Clock towers that survive from the original pilgrimage church. Day two shifts to a museum circuit: the Musée du Compagnonnage with its extraordinary guild masterpieces, the Olivier Debré Contemporary Art Centre in an eleven-metre-high nave designed by Aires Mateus, the Renaissance Hôtel Goüin, and the Natural History Museum rebuilt from scratch after the 1940 bombing. Both days end in the atmospheric lanes around Place Plumereau, lined with 15th-century timber houses and café terraces. Several venues close on Mondays and Tuesdays, so a Saturday–Sunday visit works best.