In the west of Tours, the town of La Riche has all the assets for a pleasant stay whether for a professional reason or for a holiday destination with family or friends. La Riche enjoys the charm of its small town natural setting combining its proximity to Tours and the sumptuous monuments and exceptional places of the Touraine heritage. We offer below a selection of places to discover without moderation.
The former monastery is an exceptional place charged with a special emotion since it houses the tomb of the poet Pierre Ronsard who lived in the places during the Renaissance.
Formerly occupied by canons, the place is now the property of the Departmental Council of Indre-et-Loire and it exhibits works of art from all eras. A website is dedicated to this timeless place where the history of the place is located, a biographical overview of the poet and the programs of current and future exhibitions.
This Louis XII style building is integrated into an area of fantastic wood and gardens. Less than 10 km from La Riche, the place is really worth a visit as it is full of wonders to discover. Despite having belonged to a succession of owners, the Candé estate has retained its prestige and offers tours of its rich heritage and protected flora and fauna.
In 1937, it received worldwide media coverage as its billionaire French-American owners Charles and Fern Bedaux organized the marriage of the Duke of Windsor to Wallis Simpson.
It is the last great Renaissance castle built on the banks of the Loire. Built in the Middle Ages as a castle, it still keeps its keep. This sublime architectural masterpiece is extremely well preserved with a rich interior of style and period furniture.
The six gardens of Villandry are exceptional and make the fame of the Touraine: the decorative vegetable garden, the garden of love, the garden of music, the labyrinth, the garden of the sun are all unique under the leadership of Henri Carvallo, owner of the sumptuous estate.
The famous museum is located in the troglodytic cellars of the castle. It concentrates the cultural and social history of the region’s vineyards in a single place and brings together some 3,000 tools for working with vines and wines.
The vineyard of the Château de Moncontour is very old, it already existed at the time of the bishop Saint-Martin who officiated at the basilica of Tours in the fourth century. The feudal castle now cultivates a vineyard renowned in the world for its exceptional wines.
It is also the oldest vineyard in Touraine and it ranks among the most prestigious wine properties in France with its 130 hectares of hillsides.
