In France, Tours is often described as
un petit Paris. For centuries, Tours was considered the city in France where the purest French was spoken. It is still considered by many to have no regional accent. The region around Tours is called la Touraine and the people are called Tourangelles and Tourangeaux. Historically, some of France's greatest writers, beginning at the time of the French Renaissance in the 16th century, have been Tourangeaux. Writers like Ronsard, Rabelais, Descartes, and Balzac were and still are major figures in the history of the region.
Ironically, Tours is a city of towers (which are called tours in French). The name of the city of Tours and the surrounding region (la Touraine) derives from Turones, which was the name given to the Celtic (
Gaulois) people who lived in the area before the Roman invasion two thousand years ago. Tours is also the region where the saint named Martin did much to define French culture by converting much of the population to Christianity and also by teaching the people of the region to cultivate vineyards and make wine.
The author of the Cadogan Loire guidebook, Philippe Barbour, sums up Tours this way: It is "the kind of glamorous French town where it's easy to enjoy a very laid-back French time, wandering idly through historic streets, browing in tempting shops, sitting in cafés, watching the world go by."
Ironically, Tours is a city of towers (which are called tours in French). The name of the city of Tours and the surrounding region (la Touraine) derives from Turones, which was the name given to the Celtic (Gaulois) people who lived in the area before the Roman invasion two thousand years ago. Tours is also the region where the saint named Martin did much to define French culture by converting much of the population to Christianity and also by teaching the people of the region to cultivate vineyards and make wine.
The author of the Cadogan Loire guidebook, Philippe Barbour, sums up Tours this way: It is "the kind of glamorous French town where it's easy to enjoy a very laid-back French time, wandering idly through historic streets, browing in tempting shops, sitting in cafés, watching the world go by."
Very interesting background info on Tours, Ken, merci! I love those terms, Tourangelles, Tourangeaux, too.
ReplyDeleteSo.... I'm wondering if St. Martin is the "St. Martin in the Fields" for whom the famous church in London is named, since you mention that he was all about teaching agriculture to the people.
I don't know much about St. Martine in the Fields but I'm sure the name is derived from the same person, St-Martin de Tours. There is a St-Martin des Champs church in or near Paris too.
DeleteTours sounds like a very interesting city.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
Cadogan makes it sound very appealing as an alternative to Paris. If Tours has a very pure French accent, that makes me wonder what accent I was taught as my primary teacher was a native of Brussels.
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to comment using my Google account any more. It's me, Ken. My comments are anonymous. Wanted to say: my first French teacher was a North Carolinian, my second was from somewhere in Pennsylvania, and my third was from Mobile, Alabama.
Delete