The castle | ©Yannick Bonnet / CC-BY-SAThis small brick castle is famous, because its most famous lord was a king of France... Louis XI! He ended his days here, in 1483...
The Plessis was first called Montils-les-Tours, and the fief belonged to Hardouin de Maillé, Louis XI's chamberlain. The king owned the fief in 1463: he immediately demolished the old fortress and rebuilt a new one, which was called Plessis-les-Tours.
Louis XI already came here when he was a child with his mother Marie of Anjou... When he passed away, another king, Charles VIII, often came here with his wife Anne of Brittany: the royal couple fit more comfortable apartments. Then François duke of Alençon, king Henri III's brother, lived here for a moment.
Do you know Henri IV planted mulberry trees in the park? Tours area became one of the most important producer of silk!
But in 1778, they transformed the castle into a hospice. In 1794, the castle was sold, owned by speculators who demolished it.... City of Tours bought the estate in 1932 and restored it.
