Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours, Tours, France

The Musée des beaux-arts de Tours (Museum of Fine Arts of Tours) is located in the bishop's former palace, near the cathedral St. Gatien, where it has been since 1910. It displays rich and varied collections, including that of painting which is one of the first in France both in quality and the diversity of the works presented.

In the courtyard, there is a magnificent cedar of Lebanon and and a stuffed elephant in a building in front of the museum. This elephant was killed because of a bout of madness during a circus parade by the "Barnum & Bailey" circus in the streets of Tours on 10 June 1902.

The museum has over 12,000 works but only 1,000 are on show to the public. On the ground floor, the museum has a room especially dedicated to Tours art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The museum was classified as a monument historique on 27 June 1983.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in France

User Reviews

Brian Thome (2 years ago)
Ok. A few good pieces. Information in French only (not a huge problem). Nothing to go out of your way for but if in town it is worth about 90 minutes. 6 euros seems about right.

Kathryn Tayler (2 years ago)
Beautiful gardens - no time to go inside. Only in Tours for a brief visit.

Beatrice Pawlik (2 years ago)
Great ! Staff very patient and passionate about their job...

Mary Lenehan (2 years ago)
This is stunning park,with thé tree in thé grounds and thé catherdale in thé background,thé musée to,

Dory Abelman (2 years ago)
Beautiful museum with an extraordinary garden walkway, park, and exhibition with friendly and helpful staff. Sculptures, paintings, and occasionally also concerts are shown here. And only 3€ for students, or free if you have the PCE!

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