2 Best Sights in The Loire Valley, France

Place Plumereau

Fodor's choice

North from the Basilique St-Martin to the river is Le Vieux Tours. This lovely medieval quarter—a warren of quaint streets, wood-beam houses, and grand mansions once owned by 15th-century merchants—has been gentrified with chic apartments and pedestrianized streets. It's centered on Place Plumereau, Tours’s erstwhile carroi aux chapeaux (hat market). Local college students and tourists alike love to linger in its cafés, and the buildings rimming the square have become postcard staples. Numbers 1 through 7 form a magnificent series of half-timber houses; note the wood carvings of royal moneylenders on Nos. 11 and 12. At the top of the square a vaulted passageway leads to medieval Place St-Pierre-le-Puellier. Running off Place Plumereau are other streets adorned with historic houses, notably Rue Briçonnet—at No. 16 is the Maison de Tristan, with a medieval staircase.

Place St. Pierre

This atmospheric square is the focal point of the warren of streets that make up Saumur’s centre historique. Fringed by half-timbered houses, many of which have been converted into shops and cafés, it’s anchored by the grand Église St-Pierre (whose origins date back to the late 12th century) and serves as a popular destination for a refreshing summer apéro.