Toulouse City Guide
Toulouse is France's fourth biggest city, but retains a historical charm in the narrow streets surrounding the Place du Capitole in the centre of the city. Toulouse is also known as "the pink city" as many of the buildings are built from the local brick which gives off a pink glow under the Mediterranean sun.
Toulouse is 6 hours from Paris by train.
What to do and see in and around Toulouse
Place du Capitole
The Place du Capitole is the heart of Toulouse. The square is over a hectare in size, and is dominated by the Capitole building (the Town Hall). Surrounding the Place du Capitole are narrow historical streets lined with restaurants, bars, boutiques and shops.
Basilica Saint Sernin
The Basilica Saint Sernin is the largest Romanesque Church in Southern France. Work started on the church in 1075, and it was built as a staging post for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Every Sunday morning there is a flea market in the area around the church.
Cité de l'Espace
Cité de l'Espace is a Space Museum including a large park with a 55 metre high model rocket, a model of the MIR space station, and a variety of interactive exhibitions exploring the space exploration theme. The museum is to the east of the city centre, take bus 19 from the city centre.
Musée des Augustins
The Musée des Augustins is the Fine Arts Museum of Toulouse, the museum is set in a 14th century Augustine Monastery. The museum is famous for its Romanesque sculpture, but it also houses works by Delacroix, Toulouse-Lautrec, and artists from Toulouse and the surrounding area.
Fountains
Toulouse has several fountains throughout the city. The fountain in Place Saint Etienne is the oldest in the city, built in the 16th century, and the Dupuy fountain (on Place Dupuy) is the tallest at over 63 feet. The Olivier Fountain on Place Olivier commemorates the 1875 floods in which more than 200 people died.
Jacobins Dominican Church
The Dominican order was founded in Toulouse in 1215, and work began on the church and monastry shortly after. Thomas Aquinas (the philosopher) is buried beneath the alter. Don't miss the charming cloister gardens.
The Hôtels
Around the Place Capitole in the centre of Toulouse are a variety of private homes built by the rich merchants of the city. Not all are open to the public, but you can visit Hôtel d'Assézat. Hôtel d'Assézat was built in the 16th century, and now contains paintings by Gaugin, Monet and Canaletto.
The River Garonne
The River Garonne runs from the Pyrenees to the Atlantic Ocean through Toulouse, and the river was the reason the Romans settled in Toulouse. Wander along the river bank at night to see the city lights reflected in the water, or cross over the city's oldest Bridge Pont Neuf.
Natural History Museum Toulouse
Consisting of over two and a half million pieces, the Natural History Museum of Toulouse takes its visitors on a walk through history, back to a time when giant flying reptiles ruled the skies. The museum also has wonderful botanical gardens with weird and wonderful plant species such as carnivorous plants and stone plants.
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