In the Middle Ages, Tours was an important pilgrimage city thanks to the relics of soldier-turned-evangelist St Martin (c 317–97). In the 5th century a basilica was constructed above his tomb; in the 13th century it was replaced by an enormous Romanesque church, of which only two towers, Tour Charlemagne and Tour de l’Horloge, remain. Modern-day Basilique St-Martin, a domed, neo-Byzantine structure, was built from 1886 to 1925.
Basilique St-Martin
Tours
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Nearby Tours attractions
2. Tour de l’Horloge
0.05 MILES
One of the last vestiges of Tours' 13th-century, Romanesque Basilique St-Martin.
3. Hôtel Gouïn
0.19 MILES
Hidden behind an Italianate façade, this gorgeous early-Renaissance residence – visible through a stone gate – was built for a wealthy merchant around…
4. Église St-Julien
0.28 MILES
Most of this Gothic church, once part of a Benedictine abbey, dates from the mid-1200s.
5. Palais de Justice
0.29 MILES
Built in the 1840s, Tours' neoclassical courthouse has an imposing colonnade facing place Jean Jaurès.
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0.3 MILES
This extraordinary museum – an absolute gem! – spotlights France's renowned compagnonnages, guild organisations of skilled craftspeople who have created…
7. Hôtel de Ville
0.33 MILES
Built from 1896 to 1904, Tours' monumental city hall was designed to project both republican values and municipal prestige.
8. Cathédrale St-Gatien
0.55 MILES
With its flying buttresses, gargoyles and twin Renaissance-style towers (70m) – and, inside, Gothic vaulting, dazzling stained glass and huge baroque…