Staying in Tours (Loire) ?

What are some of the locations you'd be trying to reach on day-trips from your home base at Tours?

Hi Kent - we'll be with the kids (13 and 7), so things within striking distance probably including a couple of nearby chateaux, perhaps the Zoo at Beauval (?), and maybe a few quick tasting trips (eg. Vouvray). There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on Tours available, so we're curious for some intel from folks who've been there.

We're city-slickers, so unless getting in and out of Tours is an incredible hassle, that's not a huge deterrent. Given the length of our whole trip, we figure on at least 1 or 2 'down days' each week - we're really fortunate to not have to try to cram too much in to any given day or week.

Are the attractions and overall city life in Tours interesting enough for the 1 or 2 days we won't be heading out of town on day-trips in the car? As well, any big 'gotchas' about Tours?

Thanks!

Tours looks like a good location for what you want.
Tours is right in the middle of the chateau scene. Good for using as a home base, when you have a car.

The city is a little busy, re having a car, being at the intersection of several Auto-Routes.
I've only stayed once and it was out of town aways, to make parking the car at night easier and cheaper.
See if you can rent a place a little away from the city center, a place where you can park the car easier and cheaper.

Nice cathedral.
When Rick leaves something out of his book or doesn't focus on it, it doesn't mean it isn't worth spending time there.

I agree, just because it's not in the RS book doesn't mean it's not a good place to base. You have time to drive east and west from Tours to the chateaux of your choice and the zoo (which is excellent). I liked Tours when I stayed there 52 years ago but obviously that means nothing now. But why not? Especially since you'll have been in small towns elsewhere.

Seven weeks -- how many RS fans who post here can you fit into your luggage? We're envious! ;-)

Thanks gents - much obliged. We're going to give it a shot!

I spent a year as a student in Tours about 30 years ago, and returned on vacation for a few days about 5 years ago. We stayed in the city for two nights, and then rented a car and left to explore the chateaux and villages in the area. Tours was a great city to be a student in, but I don't know about using it as a base for a week. You may run out of things to do in the evenings if you are there that long. On the other hand, you may settle in and really enjoy it. There is a great medieval section full of half-timbered buildings, shops, restaurants and bars, along with a big place (square) that was renovated while I was a student. There is also a bustling main shopping street that runs the length of the city. As someone else mentioned there is a beautiful cathedral, and if you are into flea markets there is a big one on Wednesday mornings.

Sounds great - thanks much for the tips … advice and intel always appreciated!

Much of what people want to see around the Loire Valley is around Tours, I would heatily recommend Chinon which is a largely medieval town and shows what the area was before the romantic chateaux. Also Chinon wines are among the best. So Tours would make a good base.

The header through me a bit though, Tours is in the Indre-et-Loire department (37), the Loire (42) is down by Lyons, which shows how long the River Loire is ;-)! For a home base to see the Loire Valley, the other department worth a look is Loir-et-Cher (41) which is anchored around Blois.