Toulouse

About

Pale pink in the morning, purple red at night… Toulouse, capital of the region Occitanie, Pyrénées-Méditerranée, is built with Roman bricks of baked earth, that local material that imparts to the fronts of buildings shimmering colours and has given the city its name of “Ville Rose”.

To walk through it is to go back to the time of the Capitouls, charged with its administration and its system of justice. It is to walk in the footsteps of the wealthy merchants of pastel by discovering the 70 odd private dwellings they had built during the Renaissance. It is to hear the accents of Occitania by walking on its gigantic cross on the place du Capitole. And it is to hum the tune that its most famous child, the singer Claude Nougaro, dedicated to it with “Ô Toulouse!”

From the Romanesque art of Saint-Sernin to the Gothic Jacobins

In its protected area of 220 hectares Toulouse benefits from an important religious heritage. The basilica of Saint-Sernin, built between the 11th and the 13th century in honour of the first bishop of Toulouse, is the tallest Romanesque edifice in Europe. The basilica is remarkable for its octagonal bell tower in brick and stone constructed in stages with an openwork design of double bays with small columns, a typically architectural practice from Toulouse. It is also the church that possesses the most relics in France, which made of it a principal place of pilgrimage. The church of the Jacobins, erected from the 13th century onwards is in its way a masterpiece of Southern Gothic art. The 22-metre piles lend a tremendous lightness to the building while a column bigger than the others receives all the ribs of the vault onto a coloured stone lining, giving the effect of a palm tree to the whole. Recently the monastery has been offering an interpretative trail with multi-media halts presenting the history and the architecture of the place.

Garonne, A vein throbbing with life

Seen from the sky Toulouse looks like a heart: two lobes separated by the Garonne. In the 18th century its banks were developed. On the right bank the quays Saint-Pierre, Lucien Lombard, de la Daurade and de Tounis offer a superb pedestrianized area. You can explore the heritage that borders the river: the dyke of the Bazacle, the pont Neuf, the hospital de la Grave, the water park. New steps facilitate access to the banks from the place Saint-Pierre and from now on you can do boat trips. In summer the quays are the backdrop for animations and festivals.

Aérospatiale, space as a playground

Toulouse became an aviation pioneer with the creation of the Aérospatiale in 1927. The installation of the Airbus group in Blagnac in 1970 confirmed its place in this sector. The metropolis lives henceforth at the speed of this international company, a key actor and driving force in the local and regional economy. In order to dive into this fascinating world Let’s visit Airbus offers tours allowing you to discover what goes on behind the scenes in these factories, especially the assembly line for the famous A380. Next door the recently opened Aeroscopia museum contains an impressive collection of scale models and real planes including the legendary Concorde. In order to go further by climbing onto the launch pad of the Ariane rocket or on board the space station Mir, meet up at Space City.
Let’s visit Airbus ans Aeroscopia museum (Blagnac) – Tel. 33 (0)5 34 39 42 00 – manatour.fr
Cité de l’Espace (Toulouse) – Tel. 33 (0)5 67 22 23 24 – cite-espace.com

From the blue of pastel to the violet

The development of the cultivation of the violet in the 19th century has made it an emblem of Toulouse. The pretty flower has given birth to a whole gamut of products (perfumes, beauty products, confectionery, delicacies) and articles that bear its image (textiles and porcelain). On the Canal du Midi, boulevard Bonrepos, a House of the Violet has even taken its place in a barge where an exhibition showcases its history and its cultivation locally. Another plant, the isatis tinctoria, famous for having made the fortune of the golden triangle between Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne spreads its good deeds today in the world of wellness and cosmetics by offering health care, unique in France, with a pastel base.
Maison de la violette – Tel. 33 (0)5 61 80 75 02 – grainedepastel.com – terredepastel.com

Spoken languages : French

Location