Grand Theatre

The Grand Theatre of Tours

Here you are before the Grand Theatre, a cultural stop on the Tours audio-guided tour and the only opera house in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Like La Scala in Milan, it stands on the site of a former church, that of the Cordeliers.

From a church to an opera house

A private individual converted the church into a theatre in 1796. A century later, the municipality bought back the theatre and renovated it in the manner of the Opera Garnier. In 1883, a fire destroyed most of the building. It is the building resulting from the nineteenth-century reconstruction, designed by Stanislas Loison, that we admire today.

What to see

Since 2002, the Grand Theatre has hosted a permanent choir as well as the Centre-Val de Loire / Tours Region Symphony Orchestra. Listed as a historic monument since 2000, it is worth lingering over its fine facade. Guided tours sometimes reveal its interior treasures.

Practical information

The Grand Theatre, or Opera of Tours, is on rue de la Scellerie, in the centre. Programming and performance times should be checked depending on the season with the institution.

What was there before the Grand Theatre ?

A former church, that of the Cordeliers, converted into a theatre in 1796.

Is the Grand Theatre listed ?

Yes, it has been listed as a historic monument since 2000.