This will be my second visit to the Loire, with a focus this trip on sites west of Tours. I've seen several recommendation here that if you don't have a car, Tours is the best option. But what if you do have a car and your focus is on sites west of Tours? I'm just not familiar with the options.
As a university town and city, Tours seems like a good home base for a 5 day stay with old friends. Quaint old town, good restaurants, good energy. What do others think?
Tours is a fine base for the Loire Valley. It is centrally located and has lots of its own charm, beauty and history, plus a good place to visit the chateaux from. Having a car in the area is the best way to see the chateuax, IMO. Enter "City of Tours" in the search bar above, filter for Travel Forum, and one year or less, to find comments about it on this forum. Well-recommended here. We always have a car in the area.
Thank you for your feedback.
If your focus is on sites west of Tours, Tours itself is perfectly fine, but you can also have a look at Chinon. Obviously much smaller, but not too small. But again, nothing wrong with Tours, which is a pleasant city!
I like staying in Tours as there are a number of interesting restaurants, notable museums, and some shopping. When looking for hotels, I would choose something roughly between Place Plumereau and the cathedral as other areas of Tours are really not as interesting for tourists.
Thank you! Very helpful, all.
Tours is fine, especially if you're getting about by train. If it were me, I would stay in Blois - closer to the west Loire sites you will be visiting and a smaller town to get into and out of.
We stayed in Tours on our second visit to the Loire to explore the west. We did have a car and we enjoyed Tours very much. We stayed in the Old Town area and we found it to be very walkable and there were plenty of dining choices.
