The city of Tours, by the River Loire, is little more than an hour from Paris by train. Tours boasts a very fine Old Town and one of France’s most striking Gothic cathedrals. Tours is elegant and stylish, an ideal city for a city break or longer stay. It’s the perfect base for exploring the Loire Valley with its famous châteaux and magnificent vineyards.

Tours has two important railway stations. The city centre station, called the Gare de Tours, is a lovely terminus in classic beaux-arts style. It lies due south of the cathedral near the Vinci International Congress Centre. The other station is called Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. Its bold modern design evokes mixed reactions. Two or three local trains per hour shuttle between the two stations, taking five minutes for the three-kilometre hop.

High-speed trains to Paris run from both stations, typically taking 75 minutes from Tours to the French capital. There is a slightly wider choice of departure times from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps than from the city-centre station. TGVs to other French cities generally serve only Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, with trains running direct to Bordeaux, Lille, Avignon, Marseille, Strasbourg and Charles de Gaulle Airport (near Paris).

The Gare de Tours in the city centre offers a good range of regional and Intercités services, with regular departures to Bourges, Lyon, Angers, Nantes, Orléans, Poitiers and Caen.