Sunday Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 61

I I I a THE SUNDAY REVIEW THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH JANUARY 11, 1998 27 Travel All quiet in the Passage of broken hearts' RICHARD ROBINSON Quaint street names, a soaring cathedral, 2,000 years of vast market that street, it its occupied shops all and of out risible paying misnomer, much that), attention. with- history and it's five hours from London by train so why do British tourists rarely visit Tours? asks Richard Robinson LA RENAISSANCE Left A restaurant IKE a smartly struck cue ball fizzing across the baize of northern France, the highTGV flies true. three hours from Lille restfully. The countryfrom dead flat to bevelled as. almost I enter the fabled land of postscript to the jourfive-minute ride a swaying town train, too, runs efficiently meeting me at the station and carrying me mile to the old termicentral Tours.

in this monument of steam, and haul past murals depictscenes of provincial an Edwardian written large in tiles. After dropluggage at the hotel. time for an afternoon into the centre. or centres because this capital has several river port of Tours wealth and prosperRoman times Ages, when it an important pilgrimIts success carried Renaissance, before decline set in. neglected and Tours side-stepped industrial revolution but back in the past Its legacy of and crumbling and Isles Cornwall and Scilly Isles freedom Cornwall Cottages, lodges, farmhouses ideal for families couples BLAKES COTTAGES quote code SHB603 01455 852545 Cornish Traditional Cottages Self-catering cottages on both coasts of Cornwall and on Scilly For your FREE brochure PHONE 0990 134967 speed and the pass side changes imperceptibly, Loire, yards and The ney is a clanking, but this, to time, TGV one last nus in I arrive to the age my bags ing France guidebook enamelled ping the I have sortie rather regional personalities.

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In the de Compagnonnage, a fascinating place dedicated to the arcane skills of Tours' ancient craft guilds, I 17th-century engraving of The Ancient and Noble Town of Tours viewed from the north bank of the Loire. The river, full of boats, was then central tout the everyday life of Tours, the feature which most caught my eye ered basilica of Saint Martin, the massive, four dominating the scene. Several fires, a thorough sacking by the Huguenots and relegation to stables during The Revolution contributed to its decline, and its vaults finally collapsed of their own volition in 1797. a potent symbol of Tours' long spell doldrums. The modern covered market, the Salle des Halles, does not look much from the outside, but I was captivated by the meticulous displays within of string beans arranged in sheafs, hills of earthy forest mushrooms and sacks of Ardennes chestnuts, each the size of a golf ball.

Butcher's shops sported more grisly exhibits of hare, pheasant and hairy wild boar hung in profusion. Pig's ear is on the menu at Le Mesclun it is a house speciality, as are trotters and tripe. My advice to conservative diners with limited command of French is to avoid both oreille and pied of pork; pig's tail (queue) I would guess to be a similarly acquired taste. I opt for something safer and enjoy a surely meal with copious amounts of local wine in this family-run restaurant whose rough stone walls are enlivened with well-chosen pieces of modern art. Small-paned Dickensian windows look out on a trafficfree corner where pedestrians pass by, walking more briskly and increasingly swathed in scarves and shawls as the -time temperature drops.

Inside, though, it is warm, convivial and very French; a day-and-a-half into my stay and I have yet to encounter any other British visitor. The Gallic spell which binds Tours is not unbreakable, and it is rudely but quite amusingly punctured on this, the night of Hallowe'en, when the ghostly spirits of North American Commercialism come out to play. I had seen pumpkin posters advertising "Une Hallowe'en" at the Sherlock Holmes Pub (a As the evening draws on, the scale of the event becomes apparent, the streets fill up witches, expensively ghouls and made sundry unidentified grotesques. Place Plumereau is a covey of activity, a veritable monster mash. It is 10.30pm and they are queuing at the Tabac for last-minute purchases of plastic masks and Dracula dentures.

short stay in Tours has been blessed with unseasonably bright, sunny weather. Legend has it that, when the body of Saint Martin was carried to final place of rest. the wintry trees along the banks of the Loire burst into leaf and flower as his funeral barge passed by. Perhaps in gentle rebuke of last night's un-Christian celebrations I have been treated to a manifestation of that halcyon phenomenon unique to Tours legendary de Saint Martin. in rue Colbert, the main street; right, the cathedral stone buildings has been rescued.

restored and in places rebuilt, and in the trafficcalmed streets of the old centres, evening crowds gather to stroll by the floodlit Gothic towers, pause for an at a pavement or dine at one of of restaurants. the good hundreds, times are back. I am drawn at first to the exquisitely worked twin towers of Gatien cathedral. This is the most arresting feaSt. ture on the skyline of Tours and attracts the sightseer like a beacon.

On my way I find oases of greenery between streets of elegant 18th-century town houses, caches of decaying Gallo-Roman stone and brickwork. an irresistible bar. Academy of Beer, and my first impression of My advice to diners is to avoid oreille and pied of pork; pig's tail would also be an acquired taste Tours is of a city of specialities. In one street, a pictureframing shop sits between two antique boutiques, facing musical repairer's, whenstrument bered clarinets and oboes are stacked on walls of hewn oak and stone. The old High Street, rue Colbert, leads me straight towards the tomb of Saint Martin.

less than half a mile from venerated was this champion of the common people, who died 16 centuries ago, that pilgrims flocked to the site of his burial which soon became the centre of a second, medieval city. Halfway along the and sadly isolated from the Loire by a wide, fast road, the refurbished apartments of Place Foire le Roi would once have overlooked boisterous, two-week-long fairs. In those days, the long, narrow square reached down to the banks of the great river, but some of its magic is preserved in the gloomily low-roofed alleyway off to one side. Entering by nail-studded wooden door, I half expect to see hunchbacked denizens of the twilight world shuffling along the darkened cobbles of this, the "passage of the broken where many a criminal is said to have taken last steps the scaffold. Instead, I am greeted by a cheerful postman.

Quaint street names are coming thick and fast as Vieux Tours, the medieval centre, approaches. I first Rue the day Street names cross the main shopping street, an area rebuilt to complement the surrounding architectural styles after its destruction by bombing in the Second World War. The distinctly ancient Money street soon follows. then streets of Cherry and Pear Sellers, of Tanners and of Spoons and other trades and specialities. Approaching the centre at Place Plumereau is even a street, just one block removed from the sizzling shop fronts of the present -day kebab quarter.

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Worldchoice, ABTA 49712 and AG811, acting as an agent for NCL ATOL 2752. Enjoy an outstanding value short break to Paris and the Gardens from only of France £159 Visit France's capital city and take a stroll through some of the country's most impressive gardens on this superb 5 day break. All this included We travel to Versailles, an attractive town dominated by the wonderful Gardens and Palace, and visit Monet's splendid gardens in the small town of Giverny, where you can wander around the oriental style water gardens. In Paris we visit the spectacular and gardens Fontainebleau, and enjoy the special ambience of "Paris by Great Value You can join us at any one of our FREE local departure points in England and Wales and enjoy many wonderful excursions, all included in the holiday price. At such good value why not treat yourself this year? CALL NOW 01709 839 839 PLEASE RUSH ME DETAILS OF YOUR PARIS GARDENS HOLIDAY WEEKDAYS: 8.30am 7.30pm* SATURDAYS: 9.00am 5.00pm SUNDAYS: 10.00am 4.00pm or clip and return the coupon leger V3582 lABTAI LEGER CANKLOW ROTHERHAM TRAVEL S60 MEADOWS, 2XR.

4 Please tick if you do not wish to receive mail from carefully selected third parties. Getting there Eurostar from London Waterloo or Ashford, Kent, and change to TGV at LilleEurope. Total journey time about five hours. Reservations can 'be made through Rail Europe (0990 300 003). Return fares are from £89.

Staying there Grand Hotel, 9 Place du Leclerc; 50. yards with Bastille like iron room keys, is a shade oldfashioned, but comfortable (0033 47 05 35 31); from £40 for a double room. Other information Loire Valley (Insight Guides, £13:99) has a useful, illustrated chapter on Tours. French Government Tourist Office, 178 Piccadilly, London W1V 0AL (0891 244123). Office de Tourisme de Tours, 78-82 rue Bernard Palissy (0033 47 70 37 34) for leaflets describing different itineraries (Royal City, Classic City, etc), as well as a good map.

in old Tours include the Flying Winds could each, in all probability. make the subject of a short story. This formerly blighted neighbourhood now thrives on the business generated by well-heeled, Tourangeaux' the thousands of students from neighbouring faculties and a steady trickle of tourists, mainly from other parts of France. The streets here are with a cast of thousands, including some New Age jugglers and designerurchins doing noisy flips, turns and take-offs on a little square where the "no skateboards" sign stands ignored. Serpent and the Four Winds This is the centre of night life and is pretty animated by day as well I find it the ideal spot to loaf around and observe.

Just off the square. I wander along Rue des Halles in the direction of the market, passing two massive towers of well-scuffed antiquity, sep-: arated by assorted charcuteries, florist's and other particularly French shops. They seem to form part of a cohesive urban fabric. yet those widely spaced towers were once part of a single basilica dedicated to Saint Martin, a basilica SO South A Africa FLYING VIRGIN PREMIUM FROM ONLY £2,499 Now you can fly non-stop to South Africa in style. Check-in at the separate Premium desk at Heathrow, where you will be allocated your own spacious 38 Champagne and complimentary drinks are served in Stretch out in ample comfort and enjoy your personal cordon bleu menu.

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