Town hall, Victor Laloux, architect (1896-1904)
The center of Tours has a population of 137,000. Tours is called "Le Jardin de la France" (The garden of France). There are several parks located within the city, as well as a cedar tree near the Cathedral planted by Napoleon.
Tours is located between two rivers, the Loire on the north and the Cher on the south. The buildings of Tours are white with blue slate (called Ardoise) roofs which is common in the north of France (in the south of France, most buildings have terra cotta roofs).
Ardoise roofs of Tours
Tours is famous for its old part of the city called Le Vieux Tours with medieval style houses in half-timbering and Place Plumereau, a square with pubs and restaurants full of people who dine and drink outside at tables filling the center of the square.
Boulevard Beranger crosses Rue Nationale at Place Jean-Jaures, and is the location of weekly markets and fairs. In front of the cathedral in the city of Tours, is a huge cedar tree planted by Napoleon himself.
