Stage Amboise - Tours

This day takes the pilgrim to Tours, the city of Saint Martin, which gives the whole route its name. From Amboise the Way continues down the Loire valley on a flat course in which vineyards and tufa villages give way, towards the end, to the outskirts of a large city.

Leaving Amboise, the route passes through Lussault-sur-Loire and reaches Montlouis-sur-Loire, a wine town set on the slope between the Loire and the Cher. Its white wines from the Chenin grape have their own appellation, and its cellars cut into the rock are a characteristic sight. From the top there are views over the river and, on the opposite bank, the vineyards of Vouvray.

The next stretch crosses the alluvial plain through La Ville-aux-Dames and Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, now fully urban. These are kilometres of tarmac, with no interest other than drawing closer to the stage end, but well supplied with services.

From the death of Saint Martin in the year 397, Tours was one of the great shrines of Western Christendom, and his tomb was an obligatory visit for pilgrims bound for Compostela. Of the enormous medieval basilica there remain the Tour Charlemagne and the Tour de l'Horloge; beside them stands the present basilica, from the late nineteenth century, in whose crypt the saint's tomb is venerated.

The city also preserves the cathedral of Saint-Gatien, with its Flamboyant Gothic façade and notable stained glass, and the old quarter around the Place Plumereau, with its half-timbered houses. With a full range of accommodation, it is an ideal place for a rest day.