Dog-Friendly Attractions in Tours

The iconic medieval square of Tours, ringed with half-timbered 15th-century houses converted to café-restaurants, is the social heart of the Vieux-Tours pedestrian quarter. Connected to the narrow Rue Colbert and Rue du Grand Marché. The cobblestone pedestrian zone runs for roughly 600 m east-west; leashed dogs are welcome throughout, and most café terraces accept dogs without question.

Tours' Gothic cathedral, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, with stained glass dating to the 13th-15th centuries that survived World War II bombing. The cathedral interior does not admit dogs of any size except registered assistance dogs. The Place de la Cathédrale outside, the adjacent Psalette cloister courtyard and the Jardin de Beaune-Semblançay garden behind welcome leashed dogs.

Villandry's Renaissance gardens are considered the finest in Europe — six terraced sections including the ornamental potager (Renaissance kitchen garden), the herb garden, the water garden and the sun garden. Leashed dogs are welcome throughout the 9 hectares of gardens. Small dogs in a bag or basket may also enter the chateau interior. The closest of the major Loire chateaux to central Tours.