There’s a certain fondness and affection we have for Tours that no other spot will ever hold dear to our hearts. It’s also the only place we have traveled to multiple times. There’s an odd set of feelings from the thrill and excitement to being on vacation in a foreign place, but there is a sense of familiarity and home away from home. Part of the reason it’s special is that it was the first big trip we ever took together. And, well we took that trip to visit a high school friend that fell in love with a French man and now resides there.
Château’s we’ve visited:
- Château du Clos Lucé
- Château Royal d’Amboise
- Château de Chenonceau
- Château de Langeais
- Château de Villandry
Close Lucé, Amboise, Chenonceau we did in a day as a booked tour through Tours Tourism Office. This comes highly recommended as a booked tour or an itinerary to follow with a rented car.
Clos Lucé:
Is a charming brick château that I refer to as “da Vinci” house. Leonardo spent the last three years of his life at Clos Lucé. Our ticket included a tour of the château and access to the gardens. The basement contains his works of art, inventions, drawings, and models. You can explore the gardens that incorporate life-size scaled models that you can interact with. There was a small lake, and Leonardo designed paddle boats and bridges. This château was very family friendly and there was a cafe located here as well.
Amboise:
The Château d’Amboise had a breathtaking view of it’s surrounding city and body of water. The only downfall of having done a guided tour is that we didn’t get to explore the city or more importantly try any food in the area. However it was a unique visit paring Clos Lucé in the same day because Leonardo da Vinci is believed to be buried in the chapel of Saint Hubert.
Chenonceau:
Aka the lady’s castle, Le Château des Dames. I mean, I totally get it, this was hands down my favorite château. Right away you get swept away into a fairy tale as the avenue is lined with trees as a grand entrance. I felt like I should be making an appearance as royalty riding down on a horse carriage to my château.
This magical atmosphere had been crafted and shaped by several women (queens, dames, and even mistresses) over time. One notable design aspect is the tiny drawbridge at the back that was meant as an escape for the women to go hunting.
Langeais:
So, let’s be real, Langeais was not on our need to see château list. However it was an easy train ride away with a cute little town, and more importantly the giant tree house in the back. And yes, that was the main reason we chose to make the visit.
Villandry:
If you love gardening or mazes, Villandry is the place that’s going to impress you. Starting from the box hedges that are flawlessly trimmed, impressive color pallet of the vegetables, water features of small ponds and fountains, and vibrant flowers laid out through three terraced tiers. Every time I look up Villandry each picture I see of the garden is always different, they change the gardens every year.
Oh and did I mention there is a moat with fish in it? Yeah, there’s a moat. Then, there is a château, but you can easily do the gardens and ignore the château. You can purchase a separate ticket for the gardens alone or combine it with entrance to the château.
Places for a drink: La P’tite Maiz’
On our first trip we met someone who mentioned wanting to start a brewery. This has been one of the fun developments over the years we’ve been watching. On our third trip we found out he had made his dreams come true with a taproom and became a large beer distributor. The taproom had a great selection of craft beers to choose from with Goat me a Stout being my favorite. Roe of course had to try their limited edition Send the Wood which is a small scaled run that changes every production. Fun fact, we found out that a beer “flight” is an American concept and that they don’t do them in France. Our next trip we will look forward to their new bar location in Tours that opened up after we left.
Must visit Creperie: Mamie Bigoude
Every time we take a trip, a must have is Mamie Bigoude Crepes. They have a mile long list of crepes that range from savory main entree to sweet dessert crepes. We were blown away by their Tours location, specially because of the interior designs. The restaurant is located in a house and each room of the house is decorated as the room it is. For example in the bathroom is a table which is on top of a tub is for four people and the light fixture is tangled shower heads and faucets. I don’t want to spoil it too much, so just make sure to go out and discover it for yourself.
Other remarkable finds around Tours: Bookmark
- Place Plumereau
- Guinguette de Tours sur Loire
- Basilique Saint-Martin
- Cathédrale Saint-Gatien
- Le Cèdre du Liban
- Fritz, L’éléphant
- Le Monstre
Writing this has been fun going back and looking at my journal and old photos, even though my handwriting is chicken scratch and hard to read and what I thought were high quality photos are no longer the case.
I remember the construction of the tram system and roads blocked off to then seeing it be completed, accessible, and watch a whole wedding party parade down it to the guinguette.
It’s quite remarkable how things have changed, but at the same time don’t. Comparing photos we took originally versus the photos we took on the last trip. Did we legitimately take the same photo or was it a whole new angle? Did we even notice this the first time we took this trip? Or was this a new variance with an observation afterward?
We aren’t sure when our next trip back will be, but I’m already looking forward to it and crepes. Always crepes.
Capsule Customs Travel 