ITINERARY

A STROLL THROUGH THE CITY 1 SUMMARY

Touraine has always known how to enchant: Balzac lauded its harmony 5 URBAN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT and its landscapes, which he thought of as the most beautiful of the country, while Anatole described it as a land of delights. 11 FROM ONE SITE TO ANOTHER Tours, the capital of this area, emerges like a rich concentration, a place 21 FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM TOURS where heritage takes many shapes: architectural, natural, intangible cultural, industrial and contemporary. In the urban fabric, we thus find 27 TRADITIONS AND KNOW-HOW vestiges from the origins of the city to modern day, each weaving the portrait of a dynamic and attractive city which is constantly reinventing 31 UNESCO: WORLD HERITAGE IN TOURS itself. By telling its story, by presenting its remarkable buildings, its illustrious inhabitants, its traditions and know-how, the identity of the 34 MAP OF TOURS city is revealed: manifold and unexpected, able to ravish all of the senses. As you read these pages, immerse yourself in the charm of our city, which opens its doors to you and reveals all of its characteristics acknowledged by UNESCO. It’s now up to you to stroll through the streets and discover its hidden corners and secrets.

Christophe Bouchet Jacques Chevtchenko Maire de Tours Adjoint au Maire, délégué Cover: au patrimoine One of the entrances of the Saint-Pierre-le-Puellier Garden Timbered house of the Place Plumereau

1. View of the city from the 2 north tower of the cathedral URBAN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Saint Martin Collegiate Church, undated coloured engraving

1 2. Aerial view of Tours

THE ANTIQUE CITY (1st to 4th centuries) THE MARTINOPOLE, THE CITY OF MARTIN (4th to 13th centuries) Caesarodunum, “dune of Caesar”, founded in the 1st century, was the Roman capital In the 4th century, the tomb of Saint Martin of the territory of the Turones. The city was built to the west of the city, outside developed on the left bank of the Loire, the enclosure. The establishment of a from Vieux Tours to the cathedral district pilgrimage from the 5th century led to a and from the Loire to the boulevards, proliferation of religious buildings. The where an ancient necropolis was set up. basilica, erected in the 6th century on the Archaeological digs have revealed traces saint’s tomb, was a key element. Around of public and private buildings, including this, the Martinopole, or the city of Martin, a remarkable amphitheatre, the shape developed, its reach matching today’s Vieux of which is repeated in the circular urban Tours. fabric to the east of the cathedral. Between With the Norman invasions in the 9th the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th century, the town dug ditches and erected century, during the Migration Period in a wooden fence, which was later rebuilt in Europe, the city, like many Gallo-Roman stone, and became known as Châteauneuf, cities, retreated behind an enclosure. In castrum novum or Château de Saint Martin, Tours, it encircled an area of 9 hectares. At castrum Sancti Martini. In the 11th century, its centre was a mound, corresponding to the grand basilica of Saint Martin was built. what is now the cathedral district. A new bridge was built over the Loire. Numerous vestiges of the ancient enclosure still exist around the château, the cathedral, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Viking gardens. Saint Lidoire (338-370) built a prima ecclesia in the castrum.

4 2 5 1. Timbered houses

2. Tomb of the children of and Charles VIII, workshop of Michel Colombe

3. Panoramic view of Tours, Pierre-Antoine Demachy

4. Neo-gothic house, 1 2 3 4 Prébendes District

THE CITY AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE TOURS IN THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD THE CITY IN THE MODERN PERIOD THE CITY IN THE 19th CENTURY AGES In Tours, the pivotal period between the In the 17th century, the walled city was As the rampart had no further military The Hundred Years’ War enforced the Middle Ages and the start of the Modern extended with the construction of the purpose, it was gradually taken down. It was construction, between 1356 and 1358, of era was a time of prosperous economic, new fortified enclosure. This protection knocked through in many places, notably to a fortification called La Clouaison, which intellectual and artistic development. Gothic doubled the town’s area, which now develop the semi-circular Place du Palais. united the towns of La Cité and Châteauneuf tradition and Italian modernity intermingled included the suburbs of La Riche and Today called Place Jean Jaurès, it was home from 1356 to 1368. Between these two towns, in exceptional building projects. Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. to the court house and later the city hall. due to a low occupation density, monasteries The Early Renaissance is visible in religious In the 18th century, Tours benefited from a The city developed southwards with the of the Mendicant Orders were built. architecture, such as the Cathedral, the policy which promoted the creation of main annexation of the commune of Saint-Étienne- From 1440 onward, thanks to Louis XI settling Psalette Cloister and Saint Martin Cloister, roads to connect towns. The new Route Extra. The arrival of the railway in Tours in in the castle of Plessis-lès-Tours, Tours and in the mansion houses of the upper class d’Espagne which passed through Tours gave 1846 led to the construction of a train station, became the capital of the kingdom for eighty of Tours, such as the Beaune-Semblançay or the city a north-south route perpendicular to called “L’Embarcadère” (meaning jetty), a years. This change in status led to most of Goüin mansions. The Psalette Cloister has the Loire. An urban shake-up took place as name which recalls the Loire’s navigational the accommodation being reconstructed. three galleries with Gothic-style architecture. Avenue de Grammont and Rue Royale, which tradition. The construction was later The model of mansion houses spread. Crafts The northern wing, which dates from the early became Rue Nationale after the Revolution, destroyed in favour of the current station, and trades grew as never before, while the 16th century, features Renaissance décor with were built over a distance of three kilometres. which is a short distance further south. The local bourgeoisie took advantage of the richly decorated doors with little cherubs, The urban development plan of Rue Royale resulting activity led to development of the court’s presence to get richer. Tours, rivalling or putti, and engravings. On the first floor, a presented alternately street-side buildings Fuye-Velpeau railway workers’ district. The with the artistic centre of Paris, became group of pilasters give the façade a unique and courtyard dwellings. This layout is still Prébendes district unfolds to the south with a the capital of the arts, where jewellery, structure. visible in the lower part of the street. The network of perpendicular roads studded with embroidery, illuminated manuscripts and Along with talented artists such as Michel urbanisation plan included the development narrow islands. The houses have distinctive silk delighted the royal court and the lords. Colombe, Martin and Bastien François or the of squares and a new stone bridge, now street-side façades, each with three or four Italian Giusti brothers, important patrons known as Wilson Bridge. The political and levels and two to three spans. They feature like Jacques de Beaune, lord of Semblançay, administrative centre was moved to the city’s stone quoins, cast iron balconies supported adorned the town with buildings in new northern entrance, on Place Anatole France. by sculpted consoles and pediment roof shapes and with new decorations. dormers. Between 1872 and 1874, in line with residents’ requests, a vast park was developed: the Prébendes d’Oé garden. 6 5 7 1

THE 20th CENTURY AND THE THIRTY districts of Rives du Cher and Sanitas met the GLORIOUS YEARS needs of this post-war housing crisis. The 1930s saw a renewal in urbanism and In 1964, the city grew again thanks to the

accommodation with the construction of annexation of the communes of Saint- 2 garden cities. The Bords de Loire develop- Symphorien and Sainte-Radegonde, north ment, which was built between 1926 and of Tours, thus doubling the city’s area, which 1930, had 93 houses organised around a was now 3,000 hectares. square courtyard. The Beaujardin and Jolivet 1. Construction of the Rives du Cher District, Verdun developments built by Marcel Boille were RENOVATION OF VIEUX TOURS crossroad part of a major social advance with the With the emergence of new post-war hygiene favoured model of individual houses with a standards, the district of Vieux Tours was 2. Former rail station of the subject of a survey. It recommended full Tours: ‘L’embarcadère’, garden. lithography, 1854 A plan to rebuild Tours was already put restoration, initiated by Pierre Boille in 1960. forward by the Tours architect Camille Lefèvre His work inspired André Malraux, the minister 3. Pierre Boille, lead for culture, to create a new law, known as the architect in the restoration in 1940, but the incessant fighting prevented of the Vieux Tours, c.1970 this from happening. Pierre Patout, Malraux Law, in 1962, which established listed appointed chief architect of reconstruction, sectors. The Listed Protected Sector of Tours, modified the initial project and began to created in 1973 and revised in 2013, extends implement it in 1946. Place Anatole-France from Vieux Tours to the cathedral district. and Rue Nationale were rebuilt according Today it unfolds over 150 hectares, making to the principles of modernised classicism. it one of the largest in France. It recognises The public library, built by Pierre Patout, and promotes the quality of the site in terms Jean and Charles Dorian between 1954 and of history, architecture, archaeology, art 3 1957, marked the new northern entrance to and landscape and justifies its preservation, the city. rehabilitation and promotion in the interests In the second half of the 20th century, the of public good. Since the 2016 law on the lack of housing and demographic growth freedom of creation, architecture and brought about the construction of new heritage, the Listed Sectors have been called Outstanding Heritage Sites. 8 accommodation. The large units of the 9 FROM ONE SITE TO ANOTHER

1 PALAIS DES CONGRÈS 2 RAILWAY STATION 26 Boulevard Heurteloup Place du Général-Leclerc 1989-1993 1896-1898 Right across Tours train station, the congress The Embarcadère, the former train station, centre was designed by Jean Nouvel, was on the current site of Place du Général an internationally known architect. The Leclerc until the new train station was built building was part of a project to redevelop between 1896 and 1898. It consists of two the railway station sector. The suspended steel halls covered in glass, designed by halls hanging over the boulevard were built engineers from the Compagnie du chemin using the cantilever principle, invented by de fer de Paris in Orléans. Only the façade English engineers in the 19th century. The and its decorations were made by Victor architecture plays with shadow effects, Laloux. Typical to Laloux’s architecture, reflections and transparency in the urban there are four allegorical sculptures on the environment. The ministry for Culture façade: Limoges, Bordeaux, Toulouse and awarded the “Remarkable contemporary Nantes are represented by figures of women architecture label” to the Palais des Congrès perched on monumental columns. Inside, in 2016. large ceramic pictures illustrate some of the most alluring destinations.

1. Aerial view of Vieux Tours and its timbered houses 11 1 1. The Grand Théâtre

2. Former Archbishopric, now Fine Arts Museum

3. St Gatien cathedral

1 2 3 4 4. Psalette Cloister

3 GRAND THÉÂTRE 4 FORMER ARCHBISHOPRIC, MUSÉE 5 TOURS CATHEDRAL 6 PSALETTE CLOISTER 34 rue de la Scellerie DES BEAUX-ARTS Place de la Cathédrale Place de la Cathédrale 1869-1889 Place François-Sicard 12th - 16th centuries 12th - 16th centuries 12th - 18th centuries This Italian-style theatre was built by Léon Dedicated to Saint Gatien, the first bishop Built between 1442 and 1524, Psalette Rohard in 1869. The monumental entrance The former Archbishop’s Palace was built of Tours, the current building is the result Cloister combines Gothic architecture, is crowned with a pediment decorated with against the Gallo-Roman enclosure, of which of over three centuries of construction. The with its buttresses and ribbed vaults, an allegorical sculpture group representing the tower to the west and visible foundations choir is one of the most proficient examples and Renaissance architecture with doors Comedy, Poetic Inspiration and Tragedy. in the palace “basements” still exist. The of 13th-century architecture and its stained featuring Italian-style motifs, coffered Rich decors by Jean Hardion, a student current building, which succeeded earlier glass windows are absolutely exceptional. ceilings and a spiral staircase reminiscent of of Charles Garnier, bedeck the walls and structures, is mainly the work of two men: The two towers, which have become symbols the one in the Francis I wing at Blois. All of the ceilings, thus contributing to the splendor Monseigneur Bertrand d’Eschaux ordered of the city, combine Gothic architecture décor was accomplished with great care and of the Neoclassical architecture. construction of the first building in the 17th and the heights of the Early Renaissance: attests to the quality of work in Tours from century and Monseigneur Rosset de Fleury at the time of construction, their domes the start of the French Renaissance. expanded the structure in the 18th century were the first of their kind. The tomb of the with the addition of a wing. The site has a vast children of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany, garden decorated with mosaiculture and a completed in 1507 and placed here in 1810, is remarkable Lebanese cedar tree. In 1910, the a masterpiece of this transition between the former archbishop’s palace became the Fine Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Arts Museum. It is home to antique statues (1st to 3rd centuries), works of Primitive Italian art and Neoclassical masterpieces. Work by well-known artists is on display: Mantegna, Rubens, Rembrandt, Champaigne, Delacroix, Monet and Degas.

12 13 1. The castle of Tours, right along the river Loire

2. Timbered House, place Foire-le-Roi

3. Vestiges of a wing of the Beaune-Semblançay mansion house

1 2 3 4 4. Saint Julien Church

7 CHÂTEAU 8 PLACE FOIRE-LE-ROI 10 RUE COLBERT 12 SAINT JULIEN CHURCH Avenue André-Malraux 20 rue Nationale Place Foire le Roi is situated between the Parallel to the Loire, Rue Colbert, formerly Late 13th - late 18th centuries 11th - 13th centuries former land of Saint-Julien Abbey and the Grand-Rue, was the most important route Prompted by Philip III of France, the château Jacobins monastery, along what is now Rue in the city until the 18th century. Urbanised Combining architecture from the 11th, 13th of Tours was built to anchor royal presence Colbert. In 1545, Francis I allowed a new free at the end of the Middle Ages, it still has and 16th centuries, Saint Julien church in Touraine. The 13th-century building, fair, to be created in the city, which gave many impressive timbered houses with the was included on the first list of protected built against the Gallo-Roman ramparts, the square its name. In the Middle Ages, ochre-red colour typical of the 17th and monuments in 1840 by Prosper Mérimée. thus took on a military purpose, as shown it already welcomed a market, which was 18th centuries in Touraine (No. 25, No. 27). Sturdy and reaching up 25 metres, the by the two preserved medieval defence the liveliest in the city, and it became the Some houses built in the 19th century bell-tower-porch is a fine example of towers. Along the Loire, the Governors’ scene for public executions. The Babou de copied the models of 18th-century façades, Romanesque architecture in Touraine. The lodge features Gothic architecture typical la Bourdaisière mansion was erected in the which further strengthens the architectural capitals display a medieval bestiary, much of the 15th century. In the 19th century, square and is noteworthy due to its early variety of this street. of which was restored in the 19th century. the establishment of the Meusnier barrack 16th century Renaissance décor. The building is mainly in the Gothic style, led to the site being redeveloped, which 11 HÔTEL DE BEAUNE-SEMBLANÇAY however, and features arcades, triforium resulted in the construction of the Mars Jardin de Beaune-Semblançay and tall windows. The recent stained glass building between the medieval towers. The 9 PASSAGE DU CŒUR NAVRÉ Early 16th century windows were made by Max Ingrand. château is now an exhibition venue thanks to Access from Rue Colbert and Place Jacques de Beaune, superintendent of a prestigious partnership with Musée du Jeu Foire le Roi finances of Francis I, inherited the mansion de Paume in Paris. 15th - 16th centuries house from his father and considerably The narrowest covered passageway in the embellished it. The mansion features city links Rue Colbert to Place Foire le roi. decorations from the early Renaissance, Resulting from the joining of two houses such as pilasters with sculpted capitals and from the 15th and 16th centuries, the diamond-shaped motifs encrusted with slate. Passage du cœur navré was used by convicts The fire that resulted from the bombings to get to the square where their sentence in June 1940 destroyed most of this huge awaited them. According to tradition, it was building. However, the façade of the gallery named after a street sign which showed a and the chapel still survive, attesting to the 14 pierced heart. mastery of the Italian models. 15 1. Wilson Bridge

2. Goüin mansion house

3. Pierre-du-Puy mansion house

1 2 3 4 4. Le Monstre

13 WILSON BRIDGE incorporates Gothic motifs (canopied 16 HÔTEL PIERRE-DU-PUY that is as fearsome as it is protective. It is a Loire niches, gables with brackets featuring plant 16 rue Briçonnet steel structure covered in polystyrene and 1765-1779 motifs) and Renaissance motifs (grooved Ca 1480 glass fibre painted in silver. pilasters, engravings). The architectural The artist completely reinterpreted medieval As part of the creation of Route d’Espagne, Built for Pierre du Puy, a trader and purpose is clearly imprinted with a desire imagery and used new forms and materials, the Wilson Bridge was built in alignment bourgeois established in Tours, this hotel has for monumentality, demonstrated by the making this piece of work incredibly modern. with Rue Royale. Its construction was the characteristics of Flemish architecture: addition of a ten-step stairway in front of initiated by Mathieu de Bayeux between brick for the general execution and a stepped the central projection, but also the bold 1765 and 1779 and features innovative gable. The façade features sculpted décor aesthetic choice to position the stairway in 18 PORTAIL DES TRÉSORIERS DE architectural characteristics, in particular which is typical of the end of the Middle the back of the house. SAINT-MARTIN a perfectly straight apron. The bridge was Ages. Ogee arches, cornice brackets, statues 54-56 place du Grand-Marché partly destroyed in the Second World War featuring bestiary and engravings decorated Late 15th century and its reconstruction began in 1947. Six with foliage thus adorn the front of the 15 PLACE PLUMEREAU of the arches and the southern abutment house. The rope running along the front on The Treasury, a symbol of the authority of 15th - 20th centuries collapsed in 1978. The rebuilt and the ground floor level evokes the cordelière, the Canons, was built at the end of the 15th strengthened structure was inaugurated in Named to pay homage to Charles Plumereau, emblem of Anne of Brittany, chosen as a sign century in the old Châteauneuf district. 1982. who donated several houses to the city, of devotion to Saint Francis of Assisi. The gateway on Place du Grand-Marché is Place Plumereau is famous for its timbered adorned with motifs that are characteristic houses characteristic of accommodation of the flamboyant Gothic style, such as 14 HÔTEL GOÜIN in Tours in medieval times. They typically 17 LE MONSTRE sculpted canopies which frame the windows 25 rue du Commerce have four levels with jettied upper-storeys. Place du Grand-Marché topped with finials. The gateway is the 15th - 16th centuries The Square and its surrounding area were 2004 vestige of an important residence which restored in the early 1960s, at the initiative has now gone. This Renaissance-style mansion house Installed since 2004 on Place du Grand- of Pierre Boille, with the desire to promote is characterised by a façade with three Marché, Le Monstre by Xavier Veilhan renews and preserve heritage. Today, the square projections. The one in the centre has the identity of the Vieux Tours district. The is very lively and friendly, a perfect place two loggias crowned with a dormer, while very simple statue represents a monster to bask in the beauty of this remarkable the others are topped with a terrace. The historical setting. exceptional sculpted décor harmoniously 16 17 1. The Châteauneuf square: Tour Charlemagne and Saint Martin Basilica

1 2. City Hall

VESTIGES OF SAINT MARTIN’S by Victor Laloux, an architect from Tours. COLLEGIATE CHURCH (FORMER He made the most of this limited space by BASILICA): positioning it on a north-south axis and 19 TOUR DE L’HORLOGE building upwards, culminating at 51m with the dome and its statue. It features 20 TOUR CHARLEMAGNE Roman and Byzantine influences and uses Rue des Halles noble materials: marble, bronze and Vosges 11th - 12th centuries sandstone. The basement still houses the True symbols of the city, these two towers saint’s tomb. are the only real vestiges of the medieval collegiate church, which was destroyed between 1798 and 1802. The Tour de 22 CITY HALL l’Horloge (50m) was part of the main façade, Place Jean-Jaurès while Tour Charlemagne (56m) was the bell- 1895-1904 tower-porch on the northern arm of the Built by Victor Laloux, an architect from transept. The size of the former collegiate Tours, the town hall is at the entrance of Rue church is shown by the two towers, between Nationale. The magnitude of the building which the nave stood. The marking of pillars and its decorations make it one of the most on the ground shows the dimensions of emblematic buildings in the city. The façade, the building, which was one of the largest which is surmounted with allegorical statues pilgrimage churches of Christianity. of the values of the 3rd Republic, the Loire and the Cher, presents a balcony supported by four Atlantes sculpted by François 21 BASILIQUE SAINT-MARTIN Sicard, an artist from Tours. The interior is 7 rue Baleschoux sumptuously decorated with paintings and 1887-1902 sculptures evoking Touraine through its Built on the site of the medieval basilica and famous historical figures, castles, traditions the tomb of Saint Martin, rediscovered in and know-how. 1860, Saint Martin’s basilica was produced 18 2 FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM TOURS

SAINT MARTIN JEAN BRIÇONNET (316-397) (~1420-1493) Born in Hungary, Martin was an officer in An eminent member of the Briçonnet family, the Roman army before devoting his life Jean Briçonnet climbed the ranks of senior to religion. He was particularly known management and was particularly known for sharing his cloak in Amiens, an act for his mastery of finances. In 1462, he also known as the charity of Saint Martin. was unanimously elected the first mayor Appointed bishop of Tours, he founded a of Tours. Close to Louis XI, he was given hermitage which would become the very numerous important assignments, such as prestigious Marmoutier Abbey. He created reconstruction of Château de Langeais or six parishes in Touraine (Amboise, Candes, that of the enclosure of Plessis-lès-Tours. Ciran, Langeais, Saunay and Tournon). The Briçonnet mansion house, on the corner He performed numerous miracles and is of Rue du Châteauneuf and Rue du Change venerated by pilgrims from all over the in Tours, belonged to him. world. The crypt of the basilica of Saint Martin houses his tomb. JEAN DE OCKEGHEM (~1420-1497) JEAN FOUQUET Johannes Ockeghem was originally from the (~1420-~1480) county of Hainaut, in modern-day Belgium. Jean Fouquet was undoubtedly the most A well-known composer, he enjoyed the famous painter of illuminated manuscripts favour of the kings of France and became of his time. He was known for the quality of treasurer of the former abbey of Saint Martin. his work: the Melun Diptych and the Hours He was appointed “master of the King’s of Étienne Chevalier are among his most singing chapel”. acclaimed works. He was the appointed painter of kings Charles VII and Louis XI. Around 1455, he depicted the city and its enclosure in the miniature La prise de Tours 1. Charity of Saint- de 1189. Martin, Stained glass window from the choir of the Saint Gatien 20 cathedral 21 1 1. Portrait of Louis XI surrounded by the virtues, from the manuscript ‘Défense des droits de Louis XI, roi de France’

2. Alleged self-portrait of Michel Colombe, tomb of the Dukes of Brittany, Nantes

3. Pierre-Fidèle Bretonneau, by famous 1 2 photographer Nadar 3

LOUIS XI JEAN BOURDICHON PIERRE DE RONSARD PIERRE-FIDÈLE BRETONNEAU (1423-1483) (~1457-1521) (1524-1585) (1778-1862) Son of Charles VII and Marie of Anjou, Louis XI Jean Bourdichon was a genuine represen- A well-known royal poet, Ronsard wrote A descendant of a line of eight generations elected Tours as his main residence. As King tative of the excellence of Tours in the poems belonging to the literary movement of doctors, Bretonneau was head of Tours of France, his goal was to expand the royal field of manuscript illumination. After known as La Pléiade in the town of La Riche. hospital and one of the most respected domain. He settled in Château des Montils, the death of Jean Fouquet, he served Originally from the Vendômois, he lived his men in his discipline. Using his brilliant now known as Plessis-lès-Tours, of which kings Louis XI, Charles VIII, Louis XII and final days in Saint Cosme Priory. He was the and passionate mind as well as his taste for only the east wing stands, right in the middle Francis I. His magnum opus is the Grandes prior there and this is where he wrote his experimentation, he delved into infectious of a park. Raised to the rank of capital of the Heures d’Anne de Bretagne, where scenes Derniers Vers. His final resting place is here. diseases and therapeutics research. A kingdom, Tours became a hub of the arts of the bible, presented as paintings, and district is named after him today in Tours, under his reign. illuminated borders with some 337 different the city in which his students, Velpeau and plant species intermingle. MARIE OF THE INCARNATION Trousseau, also practised. (1599-1672) MICHEL COLOMBE Born in Tours in 1599, Marie Guyart had (~1430- ~1520) KATHERINE BRIÇONNET always been drawn to Catholic religion. ( ? -1526) Michel Colombe was a remarkable character Married to a silk manufacturer, she took over of the French Pre-Renaissance. He was a Daughter born from the union of two of the company after his death and became a well-known sculptor and performed his art the most influential families in Tours, the true businesswoman. Her unwavering faith from Tours, where he made two of his most Briçonnets and the Beaunes, Katherine was reinforced by her mystical experiences, celebrated works: the tomb of the Dukes married Thomas Bohier in 1494. He was a which led her to join the Ursulines nuns of Brittany in Nantes and the tomb of the rich man who had strong ties with French of Tours. She became superior of the children of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany royalty. An educated woman, influenced Ursuline Convent in Quebec and taught in Tours (visible in Tours cathedral). by the beautiful examples of buildings the indigenous people. She was beatified from the early Renaissance period in Tours, in 1980. she supervised the construction of two remarkable monuments: her tomb (now gone) in the church of Saint Saturnin de Tours, and the famous Château de Chenonceau. 22 23 1 2

ALFRED VELPEAU VICTOR LALOUX (1795-1867) (1850-1937) A student of Pierre Bretonneau at Tours Born in Tours, where he studied at Lycée hospital, Alfred Velpeau was a health officer, Descartes, Victor Laloux received the Grand then a surgeon and surgical clinic professor. Prix de Rome in architecture in 1878. He He invented the pressure bandage for became head of the workshop of École wounds, which became known as the des Beaux-Arts de Paris and created Gare Velpeau bandage. He focused his studies d’Orsay. In his hometown, he established on embryology, obstetrics and anatomy. the plans of three emblematic buildings: the In Tours, a district, a square and a school are basilica of Saint Martin, the train station and named after him. the town hall.

HONORÉ DE BALZAC ALFRED MAME (1799-1850) (1811–1893) This writer, journalist and literary critic was From the famous dynasty of Mame printers, born in Rue Nationale in Tours. Although Alfred followed in his father’s footsteps, who he spent most of his life in Paris, Balzac had been the first in the family to settle in remained largely attached to his hometown Tours. He joined the company’s management and was always happy to return to Touraine. team in 1833 and thus began a career that 1. Velpeau teaching at It was an inexhaustible source of inspiration would last 60 years. Under his influence, the Charité Hospital, by for his novels and short stories, as seen in Le Maison Mame developed, became “the finest Augustin-Feyen Perrin Curé de Tours, Maître Cornelius and Le Prêtre printer in Europe”, received awards at several 2. Balzac in his monk’s catholique in which he describes Tours universal exhibitions, and became an expert robe, by Louis-Candide cathedral. In Les Contes Drolatiques, Le Lys in the entire book manufacturing chain, Boulanger dans la Vallée and La Recherche de l’absolu, always keeping abreast of technical progress. 3. Victor Laloux, he mentions different places that were the portrait by Gabriel 24 backdrop of his childhood. Ferrier TRADITIONS AND KNOW-HOW

SILK EMBROIDERY In 1470, Louis XI founded the first “factory Embroidery was the last popular art, and the of golden and silk sheets” in Tours. Tours know-how required to make embroidered eventually lost its status of silk capital due bonnets ensured that Tours held on to its to the wars of religion and competition reputation until the 1920s. Outmoded with from Lyon and abroad. The tradition keeps the boom of the Roaring Twenties, bonnets on however, as shown by Jean Roze silk gave way to hats. The technical mastery products. of the embroiderers was then put to use to create embroidered lingerie which was shipped as far away as the United States. The CERAMIC Conservatoire du patrimoine de la broderie de Touraine and its associates take part in Charles-Jean Avisseau took it upon himself keeping and promoting this know-how today. to uncover the secrets of the art of famous ceramist Bernard Palissy (1510-1589). As a result, ceramic from the school of Tours is purely decorative and embellished with representations of animals, rocks or caves with a rich bestiary. Rustic bowls or cups sometimes feature a fish in reference to fishing on the Loire.

1. Depiction of Touraine’s know how: earthenware, paint on canvas by Eugène Thirion, city hall wedding room 27 1 1. Traditional fishing boat on the Loire

2. Alfred Mame

3. “Canal of the Loire and Cher, near Tours”, line engraving on steel, after a drawing by J.M.W Turner

4. Overall view of the Mame printing factory before its destruction 1 2 in 1940

INLAND WATERWAYS PRINTING The Loire is a navigable river which allowed The Mame printing house, specialised the transport of passengers and freight: in printing religious books, made Tours construction materials (freestone, clay), famous. The company was founded in food, wine, etc. In the 19th century, the 1796 by Armand Mame, but it was his son, 3 development of the railway led to the Alfred, who started diversifying production gradual decline of the Loire maritime trade, in 1845. The first factory, in Rue Néricault- most passengers preferring the speed of Destouches, mastered the entire book the train. The traditional techniques used manufacturing chain. Following the to build scows, toues and chalands are paternalistic models of the time, in 1875, experiencing a revival, motivated by a desire Alfred Mame had a workers’ neighbourhood to preserve this heritage thanks to tourism. built for his employees, with 62 individual The Boutavant association today proposes houses featuring all the necessary comforts, trips down the Loire on these boats in Tours. including running water.

FISHING Eel, salmon, pike perch or pike… there are around 60 species of fish in the Loire, making up a real living heritage. Some of the street names (Rue de l’Anguille – Eel Street; Rue de la Lamproie – Lamprey Street; Rue de la Pucelle – River Herring Street) hold on to the memory of this tradition. The fûtreau and the toue are traditional fishing boats. Today, professional fishermen supply catering establishments in Touraine. 28 4 UNESCO: WORLD HERITAGE IN TOURS

VAL DE LOIRE COMPAGNONNAGE Inscription in 2000 Inscription in 2010

The Val de Loire section between Sully- Inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire is on of humanity list, the compagnonnage the UNESCO World Heritage List. This system is a network for conveying award acknowledges the Val de Loire for knowledge and know-how through trades. its Outstanding Universal Value, based on It is thought to have begun in the Val the quality of its landscape, cultural and de Loire, at the time of the construction of historical heritage. It illustrates centuries the large Gothic cathedrals. These worksites of interaction between the river – a major required the knowledge of many trades: communication and trade route –, the lands stone cutters, carpenters, roofers, joiners, it crosses and the populations that live near ropemakers and blacksmiths, etc. The it. This confluence has given rise to a true aim of compagnonnage is to train skilled landscape identity: the Loire is at the centre, workers, mastering ancestral and recent surrounded with levées (embankments), techniques and skills to create exceptional constructions both on the river-front and work. up to the hillside, troglodyte dwellings The “Tour de France” of the compagnons, and privileged sites on the plateau, with with Tours being one of the main stops, vineyards and prestigious buildings. is a real quest for know-how. The Musée Situated in the middle of this perimeter, du Compagnonnage, in the outbuildings between the Loire and the Cher, Tours of the former Abbey of Saint Julien, houses presents all the characteristics of Loire some of the compagnons’ masterpieces. towns, with emblematic buildings, bridges and vineyards. Aware of the importance of this heritage, the City is concerned with protecting, conserving and promoting the manifold heritage of the Loire.

1. France’s longest 30 river: the Loire 31 1 1. A local delicacy: the Nougat de Tours

2. Grape harvesting in Marmoutier

3. Postcard promoting the rillettes de Tours

1 2

GASTRONOMIC MEAL OF THE FRENCH de géline (made with chicken) is one of the Inscription in 2010 most well-known varieties. Following the addition of the French Nougat from Tours gastronomic meal on the intangible cultural If you believe the tale, this sweet (or cake) heritage of humanity list, Tours was named already existed at the time when Leonardo International City of Gastronomy in 2013, da Vinci settled in Touraine. Appreciated for alongside Dijon, Lyon and Paris-Rungis. The its long conservation period, Tours nougat is purpose of this network is to promote French made of a sweet paste with apricot jam and gastronomy and its inherent art of preparing candied fruits, covered in almonds. Since and enjoying the meal. 1998, the Confrérie Gourmande du véritable In Tours, the site of Villa Rabelais at 116 nougat de Tours et autres Pourlécheries Boulevard Béranger has research and Tourangelles looks after its promotion. training rooms as well as a library that is Marmoutier Vineyard unique in Europe. It consists of an academic Legend says that Saint Martin was the first collection of nearly 7,000 publications, to grow vines on the Rougemont plateau, on entirely dedicated to the culture and history the site of Marmoutier Abbey. The site is now of food. Gastronomy is promoted through home to the most recent AOC Vouvray vines. the prism of human and social sciences, Near Tours, AOC Noble-Joué extends over the revealing French culinary refinement. In communes of Saint-Avertin, Joué-lès-Tours, addition, this cultural and tourist centre Chambray-lès-Tours and Esvres. AOC Vouvray presents an extensive programme on this is used in the preparation for andouillette au subject all year round. Vouvray, a recipe from Tours. Here is a selection of specialities from Sweets Tours to taste: Stuffed prunes from Tours appeared at the Rillons, rillettes end of the 19th century. They are dried prunes Made since the early 16th century in Touraine, filled with apricot jam, crushed almonds or rillons and rillettes acquired national fame as apricot and apple jelly. Tours barley sugar, soon as they were proposed to citizens and which was very popular in the 19th century, tourists in the 19th century. The artisanal was made with caramelised barley syrup and rillettes from Tours are made from pieces of flavoured with vanilla or elderflower. These pork cooked in fat and shredded. The rillettes 32 two specialities are hard to find nowadays. 33 3 Pont Wilson La Loire MAP N 7 Avenue André - Malraux 13 OF TOURS Bibliothèque Place municipale Anatole-France Place Rue LavoisierChâteau Foire- Université le-Roi 1 12 François-Rabelais Palais des Congrès Saint Julien church 8 26 bd Heurteloup (p. 11) 20 rue Nationale (p. 15) Rue Cathédrale

Rue des Tanneurs 9 Rue de la Barre Rue Colbert Saint-Gatien 2 13 Wilson Bridge (p. 16) 12 Railway Station 10 Place du Général-Leclerc (p. 11) 11 Voltaire 6 14 Hôtel Goüin Rue Jules-Favre 5 Rue Nationale 3 Grand Théâtre 25 rue du Commerce (p. 16) 14 16 34 rue de la Scellerie (p. 12) 15 (p. 16) Rue Marceau Grand Place Plumereau Rue du Commerce Théâtre 4 Musée des 15 Place Beaux-Arts 4 Former Archbishopric, de la 16 Hôtel Pierre-du-Puy Place 3 Rue de la Scellerie musée des Beaux-Arts Plumereau Résistance 16 rue Briçonnet (p. 17) CDRT Rue Bernard-Palissy Place François-Sicard (p. 12) Place Théâtre 17 Le Monstre Olympia 5 Saint Gatien Cathedral (p. 13) du Grand- Place du Grand-Marché (p. 17) Marché Rue des Halles 17 Basilique 6 20 Psalette cloister 18 RueDescartes St-Martin Portail des Trésoriers de Rue Émile - Zola Place de la Cathédrale (p. 13) 18 Saint-Martin 19 Rue Richelieu Rue des Halles 21 Rue de Buon 7 Château 54-56 Place du Grand-Marché (p. 17) Avenue André-Malraux (p. 14) 19 Rue de la Préfecture Tour de l’horloge (p. 18) 8 Place Foire-le-Roi (p. 14) Rue des Halles (p. 18) Rue Néricault-Destouches RueNationale

Rue Palais 9 Cœur Navré passageway 20 Tour Charlemagne des Congrès Accès rue Colbert et place Foire-le-Roi Rue des Halles (p. 18) Marceau Hôtel Vinci Oice de Tourisme (p. 14) de Ville 21 Saint Martin Basilica 10 Rue Colbert (p. 15) 7 rue Baleschoux (p. 18) 1 Bd Heurteloup 11 Hôtel de Beaune-Semblançay 22 City Hall 22 Jardin de Beaune-Semblançay (p. 15) Place Jean-Jaurès (p. 18) Place Jean-Jaurès Bd Béranger 2 Gare SNCF

GENERAL TOUR This tour, in the form of a two-hour circuit, presents the major and emblematic sites of Tours, which illustrate the city’s developmentAvenue Grammont from its origins to today. 34 35 «(...) I HAD RETAINED FROM THE EARLIEST IMPRESSIONS OF MY LIFE A STRONG FEELING OF THE BEAUTY INHERENT IN THE SCENERY ROUND TOURS, WITH WHICH I WAS FAMILIAR.. » Honoré de Balzac, The Lily of the Valley

Tours is part of the national Blois, Orléans, Pays Loire Touraine, network of Towns and Lands of Art Pays Loire Val d’Aubois, Pays de la and History. Vallée du Cher et du Romorantinais. The French ministry for culture’s Additional information: department for heritage awards the Heritage Promotion Division Towns and Lands of Art and History Tel.: +332 47 21 61 88 label to local authorities which promote Email: their heritage. [email protected] It guarantees the aptitude of guides, architecture and heritage leaders and the quality of actions carried out.

From archaeological remains to 21st Photo credits Archives municipales de Tours : p.4, p.8, p.9, p.29, p.33 century architecture, the Towns and Archives départementales : p.9 Bibliothèque municipale de Tours : p.9, p.22, p.28, p.29 Lands of Art and History display the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours (P. Boyer) : p.7, p.24, p.25 Ville de Tours : p.12, p.13, p.17, p.23, p.26, p.32 BnF : p.23 full diversity of heritage. P. Avenet : p.12, p.16, p.17, p.30 Y. Brault : p.7 Today, a network of 190 Towns and D. Couineau : p.6, p.20 B. Dubuis : p.32 Lands of Art and History provides its D. Grandemange : p.4 C. Koehl : couverture, p.6, p.10, p.14, p.15 know-how all over France. V. Liorit : p.13, p.14, p.15, P.16, p.18, p.19, p.28 F. Paillet : p.13, p.17

Content written by Nearby: Frédéric Dufrêche - Ville de Tours Translated by Other places nearby with the Towns Abalis traduction and Lands of Art and History label: Graphic design and layout Studio Aouki , Chinon, Loches, Vendôme, Template by DES SIGNES studio Muchir Desclouds 2018 Print Gibert Clarey imprimeurs March 2019

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