Tournée

Tournée is a French noun meaning a round, circuit, or sequence of visits. It is used to describe a schedule of performances or appearances in several venues, as well as itineraries of visits by a person or group. The word derives from tourner, to turn, and shares kinship with the English term tour.

In the performing arts, a tournée designates a planned series of performances by a troupe, artist, or ensemble across multiple cities or venues. A tour may feature the same program at each stop or vary program elements; it is organized by managers, agents, and promoters, and can be national or international (for example, une tournée européenne).

Beyond the arts, tournées are used in politics, business, and sports to describe itineraries of visits or campaigns as a person travels to several locations within a given period. The term also appears in everyday speech in France to denote a round of drinks or the act of buying drinks for a group; faire une tournée describes such a round.

In English-language contexts, tour is often used in place of tournée, but the French term remains common in discussions of French culture and in bilingual writing. Tournée emphasizes the travel and scheduling aspect of a sequence of events rather than a single appearance.