About Tours, France

The city of Tours lies at the confluence of the Cher and Loire Rivers. It is home to over 200,000 people who speak with what is called by many France's most pure accent. The region, known as Touraine, is famous for its wines, fields of sunflowers, and foremost for its grand chateaux. The natural beauty of the Loire plus the smaller tributaries stretching south (the Cher, the Vienne, and the Indre) lured kings and queens here several centuries ago. Here, along the banks of these rivers, they built such amazing structures as Chenonceaux, Chambord (pictured above), Cheverny, Villandry, and Azay-le-Rideau, among many, many others. Today, many stage the famous son et lumière shows, depicting the history of chateau life.

The limestone rock called tuffa - the white stone used to build the chateaux - which is so prevalent in Touraine, was used to build our White House! People, somewhat derogatorily called troglodytes, actually live in cave/houses built into the limestone cliffs. The weather is similar to the US Northeast - most often, days are sunny and temperatures hover in the low 80s. But we have had cool weather blow in from the North Sea, and hot, humid days too. Don't expect anything below the 60s or above 100...

Today Tours is a center of commerce and activity. The TGV to Paris, some 220 miles away, takes just 1 and a half hours. From its two train stations you can easily jump on a 180 mile per hour TGV to France's Brittany and Atlantic coasts, to the Alps for a weekend of skiing, or off to the Riviera, Spain, or Italy. Thursdays in Tours will find most people at the gigantic open market along its main boulevard. The flower market section is absolutely beautiful. For the more active, the region is perhaps Europe's most favorite biking destination.

Brigitte Madeline who works with us in Tours and who picks out our families have spent her life in the region. She is currently is a high school teacher of English, a corrector on the Bac and overall a multi-lingual aficionados who became a friend of ours 30 years ago when she was an au pair in our home town; and the other takes care of her two terrific children, watches over all the Rassias details and always keeps us up-to-date!