Tours, << toor >> (pop. 136,565; met. area pop. 494,453) is a historic city and important economic center in western France. It lies in the scenic Loire Valley, along the Loire and Cher rivers.
The area around Tours has many old castles. The city’s landmarks include the ruins of the Old Basilica of Saint Martin, completed about 470; and the Cathedral of Saint Gatien, which dates from the 1200’s. Tours is the capital of the department (administrative district) of Indre-et-Loire. The city’s industries include banking, insurance, and the production of automobile tires, electric equipment, farm machinery, machine tools, medicines, textiles, and wine.
Roman soldiers founded the town of Caesarodunum on the site of what is now Tours in the 50’s B.C. In A.D. 732, the Christian Franks, a European people, defeated invading Muslim armies in a great battle that began near Tours and ended near Poitiers. In World War II (1939-1945), German bombers heavily damaged parts of Tours. These areas were soon rebuilt.
