I will be visiting the city of Tours shortly. Has anyone been there and any recommendation for things to do in the area besides visiting the various chateaux?
I would definitely recommend a mid week break in Tours. The Ryanair flight takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. At the airport there is a bus to take you in to the central bus station for €5. The bus journey takes about 15 minutes. Tours is an easily walkable city with lots of bars and restaurants in the Old Town. We stayed at the Hotel du Manoir, located about 10 minutes walk from the bus and train stations. From the train and bus stations you can take a train to a number of the chateaux in the area. We visited www.chateauvillandry.comwww.chenonceau.com and the chateaux in the village of Amboise. Entrance to the chateaux was in the region of €9 a head with the train journey to Amboise and Chenonceau coming in at about €12.50 per head return. We were able to get the bus to Villandry for €3 return.
I mentioned a mid week break because everywhere shuts down on a Sunday so avoid Sunday if you can.