www.tours-tourisme.co.uk. Ancient capital of Touraine, commercial and transport hub of the Loire, Tours is a useful base if you are using public transport. It is also the place to practise your French as the native Tourangeaux are reputed to have the purest accent in the land.

The city centre on the south bank of the Loire is bisected by rue Nationale. To the west, the attractive Vieille Ville has been carefully restored with a clutch of pretty 15thC brick and timber houses, cobbled streets and courtyards around central place Plumereau. A small archaeological museum has been laid out in the stunning Renaissance Hôtel Gouin. rue du Commerce.

Across rue Nationale, the intriguing Musée de Compagnonnage in the Cloître de Saint-Julien, has assembled an eclectic array of old-fashioned craftsmen’s tools with the master-pieces they were used to produce. The adjacent Musée des Vins de Touraine salutes the red wines of Chinon and Bourgueil, plus Vouvray whites, and lesser-known rosés – though tastings are not offered. Further east, the Cathédrale de Saint-Gatien traces the evolution of Gothic architecture from the 13thC to the 16thC. A former bishop’s palace has assumed the role of Musée des Beaux-Arts in place Fran√笵cois-Sicard, boasting some fine Renaissance works, Rembrandt’s Flight into Egypt, paintings by Rubens, Boucher and Delacroix, and 18thC furnishings.

The tourist office can provide information about chateaux tours and arrange tickets for coach excursions. The main bus and train stations are nearby with daily services to Amboise, Angers Azay-le-Rideau, Blois, Chenonceaux Chinon, Langeais, Loches and Saumur. Tour Evasion, at the Gare-SNCF (www.tourevasion.com), offers economical daily full- and half-day minibus tours to various destinations including Chambord. Villandry and Ussé. Around Tours is easy cycling country, and bikes can be hired from the train station or several local bicycle shops. (It is advisable to make a booking in season).