Tours

Tours (pronounced: /tuʀ/) is a city and commune French located in the department of Indre-et-Loire, of which it is the prefecture, of the Centre-Loire Valley region. Its population is 136,463 inhabitants, and the population of the entire metropolitan area is 294,220< /span> inhabitants.

The region of Tours, Touraine (Touraine), is often called "The Garden of France" and known for its wines and for the perfection of the French spoken there. Its inhabitants call themselves the Tourangeaux and the Tourangelles (formerly the Turons and the Turonnes). Tours is classified as a City of Art and History and is crossed by the Loire River, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Geography

• Altitude: 49 meters.
• Latitude: 47o 22' 59" N
• Length: 0o 40' 59" E

The ancient habitat is grouped around two distinct nuclei, which constitute Old Tours: the neighborhood of the Saint-Gatien cathedral, built on the ruins of the Gallo-Roman city, and the neighborhood of Châteauneuf, born in the Middle Ages around the primitive Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours and the current Place Plumereau. Between these two nuclei, everything was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt later.

Climate

Average Tours climate parameters (normals 1981–2010)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	16.9	22.1	25.3	29.2	31.8	39.1	40.8	39.8	35.1	29.0	22.3	18.5	40.8
Average temperature (°C)	7.3	8.5	12.3	15.2	19.1	22.8	25.5	25.4	21.8	16.8	10.9	7.5	16.1
Temp. medium (°C)	2.0	1.9	3.9	5.6	9.2	12.1	14.0	13.7	11.1	8.6	4.6	2.5	7.5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-17.4	-14.2	-10.3	-3.4	-0.6	2.6	4.3	4.8	0.9	-2.3	-7.1	-18.5	-18.5
Total precipitation (mm)	66.2	55.8	50.3	55.8	62.3	46.1	53.2	42.5	53.2	70.9	68.0	71.3	695.6
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	11.9	9.5	9.9	9.6	9.8	7.0	6.9	6.2	7.8	10.5	11.2	11.4	111.6
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	2.4	2.9	1.8	0.7	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.7	10.6
Hours of sun	69.9	90.3	144.2	178.5	205.6	228.0	239.4	236.4	184.7	120.6	76.7	59.2	1833.3
Relative humidity (%)	87	84	79	74	77	75	72	73	77	84	87	89	79.8
Source No. 1: Météo France
Source No. 2: Infoclimat.fr (smoke and snow days 1961–1990)

Demography

History

Tours was an important city since the time of the Gauls, as a place of passage along the Loire. The Gauls who lived in this place were called túronos and it was they who left their name to the city (Civitas Turonorum). Since the III century, the Roman city was an important focus of Christianity, where an episcopal see was established, with Saint Gatien as first bishop. One of the most notable personalities of the city was Martín de Tours (Saint Martin). While serving in the Roman army, he shared his cloak with a beggar. This history, and the importance of Saint Martin in the region, made Tours a city of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, as well as one of the stages on the way to Santiago de Compostela.

In the VI century, Gregory of Tours, author of the History of the Franks, leaves its mark on Tours. In this way Tours becomes the capital of the County of Tours or the 'Touraine'. Gregory mentions the existence of a count Leodastis around the year 575.

Tours was the capital of France under Louis Tours and the Touraine region remain the continuous residence of the kings of France and their court. In the Renaissance, several castles were built in Tours and its region, most of them gathered under the generic name of Castles of the Loire (Châteaux de la Loire).

In the time of Francis I, the silk industry was introduced in Tours. Today this industry has survived with great difficulty.

Monuments and places of interest

• Castle of Tours
• Cathedral of San Gaciano
• Basilica of San Martín de Tours
• Palace of Justice

Museums

• De Bellas Artes
• of the Compagnonnage
• of Natural History
• of the Hôtel Gouïn
• of San Martín
• of the wines of Tours
• of Gemmail

Communication routes

The city has an airport and two train stations, the central Tours station and the Saint-Pierre-des-Corps station.

Education

• University François Rabelais
• Escuela Superior de las Bellas Artes de Tours

Sports

In Tours is the finish line of the Paris-Tours, a prestigious one-day cycling race, held annually during the month of October. In the month of March, the town also hosts the finish line of the La Roue Tourangelle cycling race.

Twinning cities

• Segovia (Spain)
• Parma, Italy
• Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany)
• Luoyang (China)
• Springfield, United States
• Trois-Rivières (Canada)
• Takamatsu (Japan)
• Braşov (Romania)
• Minneapolis, United States

Cooperation agreements

• Saratov (Russia)
• Szombathely (Hungary)
• Settat (Morocco)
• Marrakech, (Morocco)

People from Tours