Toulouse City Break from the UK — Weekend Guide & Itinerary

Overview

Why Toulouse for a city break?

Toulouse is the Pink City — so called for the distinctive terracotta brick from which virtually every building in the historic centre is constructed, giving the city a warm, distinctive colour that changes dramatically with the light. The fourth-largest city in France, a major university city of 150,000 students and the European capital of aerospace (Airbus headquarters and the Cité de l'Espace space museum are here), Toulouse has a young energy and a food culture rooted in Gascon tradition that is among the most rewarding in southern France: cassoulet, duck confit, foie gras, violet sweet confectionery and the finest saucisse de Toulouse (the local pork sausage that bears the city's name) available. The Canal du Midi — the 17th-century engineering masterpiece that connects the Atlantic to the Mediterranean — starts here.

From London and several UK airports it's 90 minutes to two hours — easyJet from Gatwick and Bristol; Ryanair from Stansted; Jet2 from Manchester and Leeds Bradford. Toulouse-Blagnac Airport is 8km from the centre (Tram T2, 20 minutes, €2). Go from April to October: the student culture, the terrace café life on the Place du Capitole and the Canal du Midi cycling are all at their finest. The Garonne riverbanks in summer are excellent for outdoor life.

Where to stay & explore

Toulouse's best neighbourhoods

Centre Historique & Place du Capitole

The pink-brick heart — the Place du Capitole (the finest civic square in southern France), the Capitole building, the Basilica of Saint-Sernin and the medieval Carmelite and Jacobin convents.

Saint-Cyprien & the Garonne

The left bank neighbourhood across the Garonne — the most local and creative area, the Marché des Carmes and the best independent restaurants.

Les Minimes & the Canal

The Canal du Midi neighbourhood — the towpath cycling, the plane tree canopy and the most peaceful section of the canal within the city.

Things to do

What to see in Toulouse

1

Basilica of Saint-Sernin

The largest Romanesque church in the world — Saint-Sernin was the major staging post on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, and its scale reflects the traffic of medieval pilgrims it needed to accommodate: the enormous nave, five aisles, double transepts and a five-storey bell tower that is the finest example of Romanesque tower architecture in France. The crypt holds relics of 128 saints, including Saint Thomas Aquinas. The ambulatory with its chapels and the carved capitals are extraordinary.

2

The Capitole and Place du Capitole

The Capitole — the city hall of Toulouse, built in pink brick and white stone in the 18th century — anchors the finest civic square in southern France. The Hall of the Illustrious inside (free, open when the building is not in official use) has 19th-century muralist paintings depicting the history of Toulouse with considerable ambition. The Place du Capitole itself is the social heart of the city: café terraces, a daily market in the adjacent streets, and the warm pink brick of the Capitole facade catching the late afternoon sun.

3

Cité de l'Espace

Europe's finest space science museum — a full-scale replica of the Mir space station, a mock-up of the Ariane rocket, simulators for space travel and extraordinary coverage of the European space programme (Toulouse is where Airbus and the European Space Agency's operations centre are based). The Planétarium shows are excellent. 6km east of the centre by bus or taxi. Allow four hours; particularly strong for families.

4

Les Jacobins Convent and the Canal du Midi

The Jacobins Convent (14th century) is the finest example of southern French Gothic architecture — the extraordinary double nave, separated by a single row of tall columns that open at the top into "palm tree" vaulting, creates one of the most beautiful interior spaces in France. The apse holds the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The Canal du Midi — UNESCO World Heritage, built 1666–1681 — begins at the Port de l'Embouchure and runs for 241km to the Mediterranean under a canopy of plane trees. Hire a bicycle from any of the city's Vélo Toulouse stations and cycle the towpath west for the finest version of the canal.

Food & drink

Where to eat in Toulouse

Le Bibent

Brasserie / Place du Capitole

The most beautiful restaurant in Toulouse — a Belle Époque brasserie on the Place du Capitole with an extraordinary Art Nouveau interior (mirrors, gilded mouldings, fresco ceiling) and an excellent Gascon menu: cassoulet, foie gras, confit de canard, Toulouse sausage with lentils. The terrace on the Capitole square is the finest outdoor dining position in the city. Book ahead for dinner.

L'Air de Famille

Gascon / Saint-Cyprien

The most beloved neighbourhood restaurant in Toulouse — across the Garonne in Saint-Cyprien, serving traditional Gascon cooking of extraordinary quality: cassoulet made with the correct white Tarbais beans, confit de canard, magret de canard and the best local wines (Fronton, Gaillac, Madiran). No frills, no tourists, maximum authenticity. Book ahead.

Marché Victor Hugo

Food market / city centre

The finest covered food market in Toulouse — the Victor Hugo market has four floors of Gascon produce (foie gras, duck confit, Toulouse sausage, violet mustard) and a floor of excellent market restaurants serving cassoulet, oysters and regional specialities at lunchtime. The market restaurants (Mon Rêve de Gamin is particularly good) are the best-value lunch in the city. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 8am–1pm.

Itinerary

3 days in Toulouse — a suggested itinerary

Day 1

Capitole, Saint-Sernin, Jacobins, Gascon dinner

Tram from the airport to the centre (20 minutes). Walk to the Place du Capitole — the Hall of the Illustrious inside (free). Walk north to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin — the Romanesque exterior, the ambulatory, the crypt relics. The Jacobins Convent for the palm-tree vaulting and the Thomas Aquinas relics. The Marché Victor Hugo at lunchtime (book a market restaurant in advance or buy produce for a picnic). The pink-brick streets of the historic centre in the afternoon. Le Bibent for dinner on the Capitole terrace (booked ahead).

Day 2

Canal du Midi cycling, Saint-Cyprien, neighbourhood dinner

Hire a Vélo Toulouse bicycle and cycle the Canal du Midi towpath west from the Port de l'Embouchure — the plane tree canopy, the locks, the barges. Cycle as far as Blagnac (10km) for the village atmosphere and return. Saint-Cyprien across the Garonne for the afternoon — the Marché des Carmes (the finest outdoor market in Toulouse, Saturday mornings), the independent restaurants. L'Air de Famille for dinner (booked ahead).

Day 3

Cité de l'Espace or Albi day trip, one last cassoulet

Cité de l'Espace (bus east, 20 minutes) for the Mir space station and the Ariane rocket replica — four hours, extraordinary for anyone with even passing interest in space exploration. Alternatively: Albi (75km east, one hour by train from Toulouse Matabiau) — the capital of the Tarn department, with a UNESCO-listed medieval centre: the extraordinary Cathedral of Saint-Cécile (the most gigantic Gothic church in southern France, built in brick during the Albigensian Crusade as a deliberate demonstration of Catholic power), and the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum in the Archbishop's Palace. Return to Toulouse for a final cassoulet from the Victor Hugo market stalls before the tram to the airport.

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