Long a student town, Tours has a lively young population. Even during summer, when most students have left, a youthful crowd rules the hot spots. Place Plumereau (often shortened to "place Plume"), a square of medieval buildings, houses a riot of restaurants and bars. In the warmer months, the square explodes with tables, which fill with people who like to people-watch (and be watched themselves). In addition to the bars and clubs around the place Plumereau, an even trendier street, rue Colbert, has emerged as a hip and fashionable street. Rue Colbert lies in the heart of Tours, midway between the place Plumereau and the cathedral.
A popular site is Le Louis XIV, 37 rue Briçonnet (tel. 02-47-05-77-17), a stylish bar where meeting new friends and companions is not out of the question. The hottest place in town is L'Excalibur, 35 rue Briçonnet (tel. 02-47-64-76-78), with a disco beat and video system. A clientele of all ages, many from the surrounding countryside, heads to Le Pyms, 170 av. de Grammont (tel. 02-47-66-22-22), an alternative disco open Wednesday to Sunday from 11pm to at least 5am. A bar that tends to be loaded with a selection of the town's students is Le Club 71, 71 rue Georges-Courteline (tel. 02-47-37-01-54).
And if you're gay, relatively energetic, and like to dance, check out the town's most popular gay bar and disco, Le G.I., 13 rue Lavoisier (tel. 02-47-66-29-96). Positioned on a dark street in a safe but somewhat run-down neighborhood, it attracts a local, mostly male crowd that packs the place on weekends.
