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Tours | |
|---|---|
Prefecture and commune | |
 Montage of Tours views and sights | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Tours  | |
  Tours  Tours | |
| Coordinates: 47°23′37″N 0°41′21″E / 47.393611°N 0.689167°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Centre-Val de Loire |
| Department | Indre-et-Loire |
| Arrondissement | Tours |
| Canton | Tours-1 Tours-2 Tours-3 Tours-4 |
| Intercommunality | Tours Métropole Val de Loire |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Emmanuel Denis[1] (The Greens) |
| Area 1 | 34.7 km2 (13.4 sq mi) |
| • Urban (2018) | 684.9 km2 (264.4 sq mi) |
| • Metro (2018) | 3,631.6 km2 (1,402.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 137,658 |
| • Rank | 26th in France |
| • Density | 4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban (2018) | 359,992 |
| • Urban density | 530/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| • Metro (2018) | 516,973 |
| • Metro density | 140/km2 (370/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Tourangeau (masculine) Tourangelle (feminine) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 37261 /37000, 37100, 37200 |
| Elevation | 44–119 m (144–390 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Tours (/tʊər/ TOOR, French: [tuʁ] ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metropolitan area was 516,973.[3]
Tours sits on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman Emperor Augustus, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the Tours Amphitheatre. Known for the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the Merovingians and the Carolingians, with the Capetians making the kingdom's currency the Livre tournois. Saint Martin and Gregory of Tours were from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former province of France. Tours was the first city of the silk industry. It was taken by Louis XI, as the royal capital under the Valois Kings with its Loire castles and city of art with the School of Tours. The prefecture was partially destroyed during the French Wars of Religion in the late 16th century and again during the Second World War in June 1940.
The White and Blue city keeps a historical center registered in the UNESCO, and is home to the Vieux-Tours, a patrimonial site. The garden city has a green heritage and an urban landscape strongly influenced by its natural space. The historic city that is nicknamed "Le Petit Paris" and its region by its history and culture has always been a land of birth or host to many personalities, international sporting events, and is a university city with more than 30,000 students in 2019. Tours is a popular culinary city with specialties such as: rillettes, rillons, Touraine vineyards, AOC Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine cheeses and nougats. The city is also the end-point of the annual Paris–Tours cycle race.
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Comparateur de territoire". INSEE. Retrieved 16 June 2022.