A camper rental holiday in Tours puts you at the heart of the Loire Valley, with access to Europe’s last ‘wild river’. Tours is a university town, with the energy of 40,000 resident students. A major day on the calendar is the Paris to Tours single day classic cycling race, held in October.
Angers,
Nantes and
Rouen are cities that you can easily reach within a few hours drive of Tours.
Rent with Motorhome Republic for the best deal
At Motorhome Republic we take the hard work out of getting the best camper for your holiday. By entering a few details into the search engine on our easy-to-use website, you can see every available camper in the region - check out all specifications, right down to the floor plan. Do you need to accommodate a family? Or perhaps a romantic pop-top for two is all you require? Compare RVs side-by-side, and when you have found the perfect model, book securely online. Still not sure? Call one of our multi-lingual customer service team.
Touraine Region, the garden of France
Tours sits in the heart of the Loire Valley, surrounded by unspoilt villages, swathes of Chateau, and beautiful gardens. The most famous is at the Chateau de Villandry, restored from 16th-century designs into a typical renaissance garden. It is on three levels, a water garden at the top, lined with ancient lime trees, a flower garden alongside the chateau, and below is the world’s largest ornamental kitchen garden.
There are several options of how to get to Tours and pick up your rental motorhome. The high-speed TGV train takes under an hour from Paris, with connections to London or Brussels. You can fly into Tours-Val de Loire Airport, direct from London Stanstead.
Where to stay in Tours
Campgrounds are of an excellent standard in France. A great example is Airotel La Mignardiere, a resort-like campground just 8km from Tours. It has a pool and playground, but also a ‘well-being space’ complete with sauna, multi-sensory shower and treatment cabin. Talk about glamping.
Another possibility is Camping Flower Les Coteaux du lac, right on the lake.
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Gastronomy: What to eat and drink in Tours, a feast of wine
Tours has more than 30 street markets, so good food is easy to find. There is an annual garlic and basil fair at the end of each July in the nearby commune of St. Anne. In the covered food market, you can choose local goat’s cheeses, or a ready boned and stuffed wild rabbit to cook up in your Tours camper rental.
For something extra special head to La Roche le Roy restaurant, two minutes from the centre of town in an 18th century Touraine manor. While that sounds like a very expensive treat, the restaurant offers several fixed-price menus.
The Loire Valley has over a dozen AOC wines (a classification on where the grapes are grown and how the wine is produced) so there is something in every style. You can follow the ‘Route Touristique des Vignobles’, 800km of marked route through the wine valleys. The winemakers are proud of their product, and are keen to share with visitors - over 100 vineyards belong to the ‘Cave Touristiques’ network. These are vineyards that are particularly welcoming to tourists, offering free tastings and allowing single bottle sales. Many are long-standing family enterprises.
What to see and do in Tours
The historic heart of the city is Place Plumereau, a square surrounded by half-timbered houses, and filled with lively cafes. As you would expect, Tours has a cathedral, Cathedrale St-Gatien, originating from the long-gone Roman settlement of the 3rd century. Nearby is the Musee des Beaux-Arts, a fine art museum that offers something a little different in the form of a stuffed circus elephant in the entrance courtyard. He died in Tours in the early 20th century. Before you head to the vineyards in the Loire Valley, get a feel for the history at the Musee des Vins de Touraine. (Touraine Wine Museum).
Motorhome Driving Tips in Tours
Roundabouts and junctions usually adhere to a give-way to the right rule. When travelling on a motorway or highway, someone flashing their lights behind you, translates to, ‘Get out of my way!’ Particularly when driving a slower vehicle like a camper, it is the best idea to move on over.
