Built from 1896 to 1904, Tours' monumental city hall was designed to project both republican values and municipal prestige.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Château de Chenonceau
18.44 MILES
Spanning the languid Cher River atop a graceful arched bridge, Chenonceau is one of France's most elegant châteaux. It's hard not to be moved and…
Château de Villandry
8.89 MILES
Villandry's six glorious landscaped gardens à la française are some of France's finest, with more than 6 hectares of kitchen gardens, cascading flowers,…
Musée du Compagnonnage
0.39 MILES
This extraordinary museum – an absolute gem! – spotlights France's renowned compagnonnages, guild organisations of skilled craftspeople who have created…
Château d’Azay-le-Rideau
13.87 MILES
Romantic, moat-ringed Azay-le-Rideau is celebrated for its elegant turrets, perfectly proportioned windows, delicate stonework and steep slate roofs…
Château de Langeais
14.05 MILES
The most medieval of the Loire châteaux, Langeais – built in the 1460s – looks much as it did at the tail end of the Middle Ages, with crenellated…
Forteresse Royale de Chinon
26.19 MILES
Surrounded by massive walls, this hilltop castle – offering fabulous views across town, river and countryside – is split into three sections separated by…
Château Gaillard
14.6 MILES
The most exciting Loire château to open to visitors in years, Gaillard is the earliest expression of the Italian Renaissance in France. Begun in 1496, the…
Le Clos Lucé
14.27 MILES
It was at the invitation of François I that Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), aged 64, took up residence in this grand manor house, built in 1471. An admirer…
Nearby Tours attractions
1. Palais de Justice
0.06 MILES
Built in the 1840s, Tours' neoclassical courthouse has an imposing colonnade facing place Jean Jaurès.
2. Basilique St-Martin
0.33 MILES
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…
3. Église St-Julien
0.36 MILES
Most of this Gothic church, once part of a Benedictine abbey, dates from the mid-1200s.
5. Musée des Beaux-Arts
0.38 MILES
This superb fine-arts museum, in a gorgeous 18th-century archbishop’s palace, features paintings, sculpture, furniture and objets d'art from the 14th to…
6. Tour de l’Horloge
0.38 MILES
One of the last vestiges of Tours' 13th-century, Romanesque Basilique St-Martin.
7. Hôtel Gouïn
0.38 MILES
Hidden behind an Italianate façade, this gorgeous early-Renaissance residence – visible through a stone gate – was built for a wealthy merchant around…
8. Musée du Compagnonnage
0.39 MILES
This extraordinary museum – an absolute gem! – spotlights France's renowned compagnonnages, guild organisations of skilled craftspeople who have created…