In the heart of the city of Tours, capital of the Touraine region, you will find the royal Tours Castle, one of the Loire Valley Castles. Tours situated in the Indre-et-Loire department, 240 kilometres south-west of Paris.
The first building on the site was likely a manor house, built in the Carolingian period before 886. The manor was replaced in the eleventh century by a larger stone construction, built against the Gallo-Roman ramparts and consisted of a vast hall and a square tower. The building was attributed to the Capetian dynasty of the House of Anjou which conquered the Touraine in 1044, replacing Thibault de Blois, the Count of Blois and Tours. The Guise Tower and the Round Tower (known as the Secret Dungeon) once stood at the western corners of the castle, which was rebuilt to the East of the earlier building at the end of the thirteenth century in a quadrilateral form framed by four towers. The Guise tower was used as the castle keep. Its conical roof sits on top of the battlements and was recently restored. Its name comes from the young Duke of Guise who was imprisoned there and who escaped in 1591.
Until 2000 the Tours Castle housed the Musée Grévin and an aquarium where 1,500 fish of 200 different species could be seen. Today it is used for exhibitions of the work of modern artists such as Joan Miró, Daniel Buren and Nadar. The castle is also home to the Touraine History Workshop where historical and archaeological documents, models and videos depicting the history of the city of Tours can be seen.
2 days of guided visits of the Loire Valley Castles : Castle of Amboise, the Clos Lucé, Villandry gardens, Tours city, Castle of Chenonceau, Castle of Cheverny and Castle of Chambord.
First day to enjoy a guided visit of the Mont Saint Michel and its abbey. 2 day visit of the Loire Valley : guided visit of the castles of Langeais, Villandry gardens, Tours city ; guided visits of the castles of Chenonceau, Cheverny and Chambord.
4 day excursion. First to Normandy, stops at Rouen and Honfleur, visit the landing Beaches of Omaha beach, and Arromanches. Second day, guided visits of Saint Malo and the abbey of Mont Saint Michel. Two days to visit the Loire valley castles : Langeais, Clos Lucé, Villandry, Tours, Chenonceau, Cheverny and Chambord.
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