The arrondissement of Tours was created in 1800.[4] At the January 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Indre-et-Loire, it gained 12 communes from the arrondissement of Chinon, and it lost 34 communes to the arrondissement of Chinon and 46 communes to the arrondissement of Loches.[5]
As a result of the reorganisation of the cantons of France which came into effect in 2015, the borders of the cantons are no longer related to the borders of the arrondissements. The cantons of the arrondissement of Tours were, as of January 2015:[6]