At the heart of the Touraine, come visit a luxury hotel between Tours and Blois, which gives you access to the best of the Loire Valley. The Manoir Saint Thomas, 25 km from Tours and 35 km form Blois, is ideally located to explore the Loire Valley chateaux and relax in idyllic settings.
Tours the capital of the the Touraine, will delight you with its bustling, pedestrianised streets, and the Place Plumereau neighbourhood. Blois, formerly a royal residence, is steeped in history.
The first city of the Loire Valley and formerly a royal city, Tours has retained three old, perfectly preserved neighbourhoods. Le Vieux Tours and its Place Plumereau lined with delightful medieval or renaissance houses, the Saint-Julien neighbourhood in the centre and the area surrounding the cathedral and archbishop's palace. It is a bustling city with its pedestrian roads and many independent shops. The best way to visit the city is to take a long stroll around it, by bike, or on the little guided tour train.
Do not miss: St-Gatien cathedral and the Place Grégoire-de-Tours, the Basilique Saint-Martin, designed by architect Victor Laloux and home to the tomb of Saint Martin de Tours, and the 48 m high Tour Charlemagne built in the 13th century…
From the Counts of Blois de the Dukes of Orléans, Blois is, of course, famous for its chateau built under Louis XII, Francis I, Gaston d’Orléans, its cathedral (Saint-Louis), its Maison de la Magie (Robert Houdin), and its panoramic view over the Loire Valley, which can be admired from the terraced gardens of the diocese.
The chateau at the heart of the city was the residence of seven kings and ten queens of France who stayed in the magnificent apartments, which your can visit, alongside the Salle des Guises, the Salle des Gardes, and the equestrian statue of Louis XII in full armour, and the Francis I's famous spiral staircase...