Rillettes and Tarte Tatin Food Walk — Vieux-Tours

Loire Valley Gourmet runs the Rillettes and Tarte Tatin Food Walk through the covered market and medieval lanes of Vieux-Tours, using six tasting stops to build a detailed portrait of traditional Touraine food culture over three unhurried hours. The walk begins at the Halles de Tours on Place Gaston Pailhou, the city's nineteenth-century iron-and-glass covered market, where the guide introduces the vocabulary of a Loire Valley charcuterie counter — the slow-cooked shredded pork of Tours rillettes alongside the pan-crisped, fattier rillons that appear on most bistro menus in Indre-et-Loire. This opening stop distinguishes between the two preparations, which are frequently confused by visitors unfamiliar with Touraine, and gives participants the reference point they need to order confidently at Tours restaurants afterwards. From the market, the group moves into the pedestrian lanes of Vieux-Tours, calling at a fromagerie specialising in Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine AOC chèvre — the elongated ash-coated goat's cheese whose production zone centres on farms south of Tours — a boulangerie producing traditional Tarte Tatin using Reinette apples caramelised in salted butter, and a specialist food shop where the guide explains how Loire Sauvignon Blanc and Vouvray integrate with the regional table. The walk closes with a glass of Vouvray poured at a wine bar selected for its list of small-production Touraine growers. The price of €65 per person covers the guide fee and all six tastings; no additional spend is required, though most stops welcome individual purchases. Group size is capped at ten to preserve access to market stalls and keep commentary audible within the covered hall. Standard departures are conducted bilingually in French and English; private group bookings can request Spanish or Italian. Vegetarian participants have charcuterie stops replaced with additional cheese and seasonal vegetable tastings. The tour runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to align with the Halles de Tours at its best-stocked days of the week.