{"id":5979,"date":"2021-02-08T02:16:45","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T01:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.we-love-camping.com\/camping-in-tours\/"},"modified":"2021-02-08T02:32:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T01:32:16","slug":"camping-in-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.we-love-camping.com\/en\/camping-in-tours\/","title":{"rendered":"Camping in Tours"},"content":{"rendered":"

With its rich historical heritage, wine bars and lively squares, Tours is a perfect summary of a certain French art de vivre<\/em>. So make the most of your camping holiday in Pays-de-la-Loire<\/a> or Centre-Val-de-Loire<\/a> and discover this pretty town nestled between the Loire and Cher in the heart of the Valley of the Kings. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Saint Gatien Cathedral district<\/h2>\n

It is at the foot of the Saint Gatien cathedral that our walk in the Old Tours begins. Built on the remains of the Roman city of Caesarodunum, this cathedral was named in memory of the first bishop of Tours. The bishops of Tours have often played an important role in the history of France. Especially Saint-Martin. More than 500 villages in France are named after him and his story is told on the walls of many churches. As a Roman soldier, Saint-Martin would have given half of his coat to a poor man suffering from the cold. The following night, Christ would have appeared to him and he became the most illustrious evangelist in the western world. After many peregrinations, he took the reins of the bishopric of Tours. At his death he was the object of a real cult and Tours saw pilgrims from all over Gaul flocking to him. One of his successors, Gregory of Tours, was the author of a History of the Franks which was a mine of information on the poorly documented period of the Merovingian kings. Although the first cathedral was built in the 4th century, it was between the 13th and 16th centuries that the Gothic style of the present cathedral was developed. Adjacent to the cathedral, the Psalette cloister is a very beautiful construction which oscillates between Gothic and Renaissance. You can admire a beautiful spiral staircase which is a miniature replica of the Fran\u00e7ois I staircase of the Blois castle. What once housed the archbishopric of Tours in the 17th and 18th centuries now serves as a showcase for the Fine Arts Museum of Tours<\/a>. There you can admire works inherited from lost castles (Richelieu, Chanteloup) as well as from the great abbeys of Tours. The museum’s masterpieces are two paintings by Andr\u00e9a Mantegna from the altarpiece in the church of San Zeno Maggiore in Verona, brought back by Napoleon on his return from his campaigns in Italy.<\/p>\n\n\t\t