Thouars grew up on a rocky promontory in a bend of the Thouet. The town combines this striking riverside setting with a Château, museums, and guided tours of the town and its monuments. The Thouarsais adds a wine-focused perspective. During your stay, you can choose between the town’s history, its collections, and regional offerings.

Château and the town’s history

The Château des ducs de la Trémoïlle was rebuilt from 1628 to 1660 and restored in the 1990s. These are two distinctly separate stages in its architectural history. The Château is open to visitors from May to September. If visiting it is important to your trip, check the current opening times in advance and plan your visit during this season.

Two distinct museums

The Musée Henri Barré is housed in a town mansion commissioned by Dr. Henri Barré in 1862. Its collections include French and foreign faience, fine art, furniture, archaeology, and ethnology. The range spans everything from faience and furniture to archaeological and ethnological subjects. When planning your visit, it is worth keeping both the history of the building and the different collection themes in mind.

The Centre Régional Résistance & Liberté focuses on a different period of history. It is housed in the former stables of the Château de Thouars and presents the history of the Second World War and the regional resistance. Together with the collections of the Musée Henri Barré, this creates a clear distinction in focus: here, art, archaeology, and ethnology take centre stage; there, the history of the war and regional resistance.

Guided town tours or location-based information

Guided tours of the town and its monuments in Thouars are led by guides from the municipal Service Architecture et Patrimoine. Dates vary by season. If you would like to include a tour in your plans, check the dates before your trip. A guided tour brings together the town and its monuments, while the “Visite Patrimoine” app offers a different way to explore.

The app uses geolocation to display information at each attraction about historical, architectural, and natural features, as well as museum collections. The two options mainly differ in how the information is presented: by a guide during a tour or via the app based on your location.

Wine in the Thouarsais

More than twenty winegrowers are now based in the Thouarsais. Many welcome visitors and offer wine tastings and tours of their estates. For specific visits, check in advance which estates welcome guests and what dates are available. The Route des Vins Thouarsais is about 50 km long; check route information before your trip.

The wine estates and wine route offer a different focus from the museums and monuments in Thouars: they are connected to the Thouarsais as a wine region. If you would like to include these activities in your stay, treat them as a separate part of your plans and don’t assume that visits are possible without arranging them in advance.

A stay with a view of the water

At the Base nautique des Ursulines, you can get out on the water and enjoy views of the Château des Ducs de la Trémoïlle. If this activity is important to your trip, check the facility’s location and availability in advance.

The differences between the offerings can help you decide what to focus on during your stay: the Château and museums explore the history and collections of Thouars; guided tours and the app offer different ways to learn about the attractions. The wine estates and wine route introduce the regional theme of the Thouarsais, while the Base nautique offers a direct connection to the water. When planning, take into account the season when the Château is open to visitors, the changing tour dates, and the visiting arrangements at the wine estates.

Discover more destinations: Bouillé-Loretz, La Chapelle-Pouilloux, La Ferrière-En-Parthenay, La Chapelle-Saint-Laurent, Sainte-Soline, Niort, Chef-Boutonne, Granzay-Gript

For the overview of the wider region: Deux-Sèvres.