The Hôtel Gouin (archaeology museum) is set in Tours's most extravagant example of early Renaissance domestic architecture (too bad its immediate vicinity was among the hardest hit by German bombs), its facade covered with carvings that seemed to have grown like Topsy. Inside are assorted oddities ranging from ancient Roman finds to the scientific collection of Dupin de Chenonceau (owner of the great château in the 18th century). The museum was closed for a year-long restoration in 2008.
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