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.

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Address

Rue Lavoisier 53, Tours, France
See all sites in Tours

Details

Founded: 1910
Category: Museums in France

More Information

www.musees.regioncentre.fr
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Tours Cathedral (0 km)
Tours Old Town (0,9 km)
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Château de Chaumont (37,8 km)
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Clos Lucé (22,5 km)
Château de Langeais (23,1 km)

User Reviews

Salina Consultants Co. Pte., Ltd (10 months ago)
Nice collection of art with a beautiful garden
Douglas Wong (10 months ago)
Sorry it's closed today Thursday December 20. Missed it.
Ayesha Ahmad (17 months ago)
It is an interesting place for art lovers and history buffs. Some interesting old paintings of Tours are also on display. Get your students id for discounted tickets. Artist might also get discounts. Parking can be difficult to find as it's usually full due the museum being in the city centre. This place has a lot of stairs and the museum is quite big. Can be a problem for people with wheelchair. Get a bottle of water too on hot days as there is no air conditioning.
RON TANZI (2 years ago)
A large number of quality paintings dating from 14th c. to 19th c. Highlights are works by the Italian Renaissance master, Mantegna and French Rococo artist, Boucher. Get a layout map to avoid being confused by multiple stairways.
Alexandre Muller (2 years ago)
A nice museum to visit, cheap (or even free on the first Sunday of the month) and not too long. The parc is also a nice place to have a walk.
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The castle has been classified as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture. The Château de Chaumont is currently a museum and every year hosts a Garden Festival from April to October where contemporary garden designers display their work in an English-style garden.

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