Tours or Blois
 

I'm travelling to France/Spain/Italy this summer for 9 weeks. I've pretty much mapped out my route of where I want to go but just need to narrow it down a bit, any advice I can get on choosing one place over another would be appreciated. I prefer architecture, outdoor sights and the people, over arts, museums and shopping (well love shopping but won't be able to carry any more!) also accessibility is important as I'm travelling by train. So I'm just going to post the same note on a few options I need help with. Thanks.

Tours is a major town and the tgv stop from Paris. It is a lovely town with a neat town square and narrow streets to meander. It is a good base from which to take a half day tour of the castles. Blois actually has a castle and is a much smaller village. I would personally visit Tours and nearby spectacular Chateau Chenonceau.

I spent 2 nights in each city during a train & car trip through the Loire Valley in May 2001.

I'm like Sibelius and I'd pick Tours. It's a bigger city with a nice fine arts museum, a grand cathedral and the gemmail museum which I find beautiful. It also has a plaza surrounded with half-timbered buildings and cafes.

However given your constraints I'd say Blois. It has an actual castle in the center of town that is a stunning piece of architecture and history with the Medici family. The sound and light show (son et lumière) was so pretty I saw it twice. Tours doesn't have much of a chateau. What little of it is left has been turned into an aquarium. I didn't bother to go.

I liked the plaza in front of the Blois chateau. There are little cafes for sitting and watching people as they go in and out of the castle. The magic museum is there too. I liked watching the crowd who had never seen their hourly outdoor show before. I enjoyed the live magic show inside the museum.

The pedestrian shopping street in Blois is a fun stroll for window shopping. It runs from a park with a church at the base of the towering chateau down a small valley towards the Loire.

Another plus for Blois is the terrain. It's on a bluff over the river. You can look over the old town for a treat, then walk down to it and stroll the narrow streets. There are a couple of churches and the view back up the hill to enjoy. The east side of town has a few more interesting buildings and a church to see. There's another park with more views over the river valley. Tours is very, very flat.

Both tourist bureaus can arrange tours of castles on half & full day excursions. I think Blois might offer bike tours or rental bikes to see some of the nearby castles depending upon the time of year.

Tours train connections are better. Blois is limited to the north side of the Loire from Orleans to Tours. To take a train to the south side you'd have to go into Tours and come back out.

I like the Loire valley. Either city you choose you'll have a great time.

Thanks to both of you, you've given me just the information I needed, and tying that in with the accommodation options, it's helped heaps! Cheers

You might not need my input, but several years ago I stayed in Blois and really loved that old town. And the poster just above reminded me of the half-day bus trips that the Blois tourist office offers to chateaux. Two in a half-day trip, I think. Crowded, of course, but if you don't have a car, well . . . . J.