Travel shapes youth
In 2020, this old adage is still true. What could be more empowering than traveling with a friend and live an adventure? An exciting plan you have to organize taking in account your budget and the environmental considerations. Let’s go to Touraine!
A new generation youth hostel
Right in the city center, the train station of Tours is well-known by the travelers who wish to discover the area without a car. Less than 1 km away, you can easily reach the newly opened People Hostel. This is a new generation Youth hostel where you can either rent shared or private rooms. There is also at your disposal, a kitchen, a pub, a restaurant, a bicycle garage…
The people hostel – Tours
From the hostel, you will enjoy walking and exploring Tours, the capital city of Touraine: the historical areas, the shopping streets, the Saint-Gatien cathedral, The CCCOD (contemporary art center), the Fine Arts museum, the “compagnonnage” museum and of course on warm and sunny days, the merry river restaurant (guinguette de Tours) located on the banks of the Loire river.
The streets of Tours
The guinguette café, on the edges of the Loire River
A few kilometers around Tours, if you take the “Loire by bike” or the “Camino de santiago by bike” cycling trails, you can discover:
- “La demeure de Ronsard” (a former priory, home to the poet Ronsard) at le Prieuré Saint Cosme (La Riche) ;
- The château and gardens of Villandry;
- A canoe and kayak rental “Tours & Canoë” or a traditional boat river trip “la Rabouilleuse”;
- A troglodyte winery in Rochecorbon (Grandes Caves Saint-Roch – Blanc Foussy…) ;
- Valmer gardens;
- The medieval fortress in Montbazon.
And if ever you would like more to see and visit: the chateau of Langeais, the royal fortress of Chinon, the royal city of Loches, the chateau of Chenonceau. All those places can be reached by regional trains with a departure from the station of Tours.
Gardens of Villandry – France
And what about the Amboise side?
Besides the Loire by bike, the main walking trail (GR3) links Tours to Amboise. By bike, on foot, or by train, it is therefore easy to make the journey between these 2 cities which are 24 km apart. To be accommodated at low prices in Amboise, Ethic Etapes is an ideal address: from there, you can easily cicle or even walk and visit the royal Château, the Clos Lucé, the royal domain of Château Gaillard, but also have a canoe trip on the Loire. Via a pretty bike loop, you also reach the Château of Chenonceau.
The Loire by bike - Amboise
Canoeing & kayaking on the Loire
Travel shapes youth… camping session!
In addition to The People Hostel and Ethic Etape, campsites are also great budget accommodations during the summer. In Touraine, as biking is more and more popular, several of them offer the rental of light accommodation at low prices, saving the transportation of a tent. Some good tips along the Loire by bike:
- the “bivouac” tent at the Ile d’Or campsite (Amboise);
- tents with the Civray-de-Touraine River Camp (near Chenonceau);
- the “trek” tents at Only Camp campsites in Tours Saint-Avertin and Savonnières;
- the “hiker” tent at La Mignardière campsite (Ballan-Miré, near Tours);
- a bird’s nest tent at Le Sabot campsite (Azay-le-Rideau);
- Campétoiles from the Loire & Châteaux campsite (Bréhémont);
- a bungalow at the L’Île Auger campsite in Chinon;
- the cycling shelters at the Capitaine campsite in Bourgueil.
Other addresses for the Camino de Santiago by bike: the caravan of the campsite at the new beach campsite in Veigné, the Cyclos shelters at the Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine campsite and a bivouac tent offered by the Gite du Poitevin.
Onlycamp Tours Saint-Avertin
Also read: a car-free holiday