Getting There -- Most of the trains bound for Tours, including all TGVs (as many as 14 per day), depart from Paris's Gare Montparnasse, although a very limited number of trains, including some of the slow and conventional commuter trains, depart from Gare d'Austerlitz. One-way fares range from 29€ to 49€ ($42-$71). Many, but not all, of the conventional (non-TGV) trains pull into the center of Tours, at the Gare Tours Centre Ville, place du Maréchal-Leclerc, 3 rue Edouard-Vaillant. Some conventional trains and virtually all the TGV trains, however, arrive at the isolated railway station of Tours/St-Pierre-des-Corps, about 6km (3 3/4 miles) east of the center of Tours. If your train drops you off here, know in advance that at least one (and during peak hours, several) navettes (buses) await every TGV train for free ongoing transport to the center of Tours.
If you're driving, take highway A10 to Tours.
Visitor Information -- The Office de Tourisme is at 78-82 rue Bernard-Palissy (tel. 02-47-70-37-37; www.ligeris.com).
Getting Around -- It's easy to walk from one end of central Tours to the other, and most of the good hotels are near the train station. For taxi service, call Taxi Radio (tel. 02-47-20-30-40). Car-rental offices in or near the train station include Avis, inside the station (tel. 02-47-20-53-27), open Monday through Friday 8am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 6:30pm, and Saturday 9am to noon and 2 to 6pm; and Europcar, 7 rue Bernard-Palissy (tel. 02-47-20-30-40), open Monday through Friday 1 to 7pm, and Saturday 1:30 to 5:30pm. You can rent a bike at Amstercycles, 5 rue du Rempart (tel. 02-47-61-22-23; www.amstercycles.com), at a cost of 14€ ($20) per day. A passport deposit is required. It's open May through September Monday to Saturday 9am to 12:30pm and 1 to 7pm, and Sunday 9am to 12:30pm and 6 to 7pm.
