Indre-et-Loire

The Indre-et-Loire department is in central France, in the Centre-Val de Loire region, and its capital is the historic city of Tours. Located at the heart of the Loire Valley (a UNESCO World Heritage site), it holds the highest concentration of royal and aristocratic Renaissance châteaux in France (Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Langeais). Its economy combines agriculture (Loire wine vineyards), historical tourism and small industries. Tours is known as a student city with the reputation of having the 'purest' French accent and a reasonable cost of living, and is less than an hour and a half from Paris by fast train.

Tours, Joué-lès-Tours, Chinon

• Université de Tours
• Polytech Tours (école d'ingénieurs de l'université de Tours)
• Faculté des Sciences et Techniques – Campus Grandmont
• UFR de Médecine – Université de Tours

Tours is a student and tourist city; the city center and the areas around the river are usually busy and lively. In terms of safety, it's on a par with an average French city: you should watch out for pickpocketing during busy hours and around the train/tram station, but it offers a fairly suitable environment for student life.

The Fil Bleu transport network includes trams, buses and night services, and connects Tours to its suburbs. For intercity travel, the Tours and Saint-Pierre-des-Corps stations have high-speed (TGV) and TER trains to Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux and other cities.