National Street

Rue Nationale, the heart of Tours

Here you are in the heart of the city's main thoroughfare, an essential stop on the Tours audio-guided tour. Seven hundred metres long, rue Nationale links place Jean Jaures to the Wilson bridge and literally cuts old Tours in two.

In the footsteps of Caesarodunum

The street follows an ancient road of Caesarodunum, the Roman town that preceded Tours in the first and second centuries. Excavations in 2006 and 2007 revealed a vast residential area from Roman times here. Once royal, the road became Nationale in the early 1880s.

What to see

The buildings lining the avenue offer a fine harmony of symmetrical facades. Since the arrival of the tramway, the street has been entirely pedestrian and lined with department stores, ideal for strolling. It was at number 39 that the writer Honore de Balzac was born.

Practical information

Rue Nationale crosses the centre of Tours, from place Jean Jaures to the Wilson bridge. Entirely pedestrian, it is freely accessible at any time and served by the tramway.

Who was born on rue Nationale ?

The writer Honore de Balzac was born at number 39 of rue Nationale.

What lies beneath rue Nationale ?

It follows the line of a road of the Roman town Caesarodunum, whose excavations revealed a vast ancient settlement.