Tours

Tours ) is one of the largest cities in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It is the prefecture of the Indre-et-Loire department. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metropolitan area was 516,973.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, Gregory of Tours and Alcuin were all from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former province of France. Tours was the first city of the silk industry. It was wanted by Louis XI, 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 18th century, and again in June 1940.

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