Toulouse
From World travel guide
Toulouse is a city in southwestern France, near the Pyrenees, in the Midi-Pyrénées region, half way between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Contents |
Understand
Toulouse has become a center of aviation and spaceflight in the past 20 years. More than 35,000 of the city's 400,000 citizens work in the civil aviation or space industries; Airbus / EADS is the largest employer in the region. The city has remained relatively unchanged despite the economic boom.
The city at the Garonne river is located on the site of an ancient Roman settlement; even today many of the smaller streets follow their Roman counterparts and many of the red brick buildings are of a pseudo-Roman style. These buildings are also what gives Toulouse its nickname La ville rose (The pink city).
In the middle ages, Toulouse was one of the richest cities of France due to the sale of blue coloring extracted from woad plants. This monopoly was only broken when the Portuguese began to import Indigo to Europe. Over 50 hotels, mansions, remain witness to the past wealth.
Get in
By plane
Regular scheduled domestic and international flights arrive at Blagnac airport, about 20 minutes from the city. It serves connections from Paris about every hour. There are many other flights as well, for example to Munich and Frankfurt.
To get to the city from the airport, you can use a Bus Shuttle for about 3.90 €. Going by Taxi will cost about 15 €.
By train
French railways : Paris : 6h Bordeaux : 2h30 Marseille : 4h00 The train station is almost in the heart of the city.
By car
Major highways towards Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille, Barcelona
By bus
Bus terminal at the railway station.
Get around
Toulouse has a network of bus and metro lines. The bus services tend to be not very reliable and miss the timetable. The metro is relatively small, with only about 15 stations; but then Toulouse is a small city. Consequently you can also walk to most destinations in the inner city quite comfortably.
- http://www.semvat.com/ (French only)
By car
You should avoid going downtown with the car, as parking space is seriously limited.
See
Toulouse is a small city, and you can reach most interesting places in the downtown area comfortably on foot.
- Basilique Saint Sernin - a church from the 14th Century
- Hôtel d'Assézat - one of the many old mansions of the city
- Capitole - townhall and theatre, with the Place du Capitole in front of it
- Pont-Neuf - despite its name the only old bridge across the Garonne river; built between 1544 and 1626
- Les Jacobines monastery church
- City park at the Grand Rond, a bit south-east to the center of the city
- Les Augustins Used to be a monastery church, and is today an art museum
- Les Abattoirs Modern Arts museum, and there is also a nice garden with a nice view on the Garonne
Tours
The tourism information office located in the back side of the Capitolium organizes guided tours of the city. Some of these are in English. Check ahead for their schedule.
Airbus
Airbus offers tours of their facilities; the tour takes about 30 minutes and includes a guide who will tell you some background about the company; the screening of a promotional / historical video, and a look at the construction hangars. However you will not get to see the new Airbus A380 (as of November 2004). Photography is strictly forbidden, and you need to bring a piece of photo identification. Book ahead.
Cite de l'Espace
The "space city" is another of Toulouse's "aviation" attractions. However you must be aware that it is not exactly a museum but a sort of scientific theme park without rides. There are some replicas of spacecraft and other exhibits, many of the later interactive in some minor way. There's also a small planetarium. The park is suited well to 5-14 year old children, everybody else should probably spare themselves the trip. 14€ for an adult. It's situated fairly outside the city but there's a bus service starting outside the main train station.
Do
- Take a walk through the city and along the Canal du Midi
- Have a walk along the Garonne river from St Pierre bridge and Pont-neuf during the evening.
- Party at St Pierre Place: very popular among Toulouse's students
- For cultural events, have a look at this website http://www.toulouseweb.com (in French)
- Rent a bike from Tisseo for €1 per day
Learn
Thre are a lot of universities in Toulouse, that makes that it´s the second city in France for the number of students : 100000.
In Toulouse are major universities and lots of engineer or management school :
Universites
- Universite de Paul Sabatier (sciences)
- Universite du Mirail (lettres)
- Universite de l´Arsenal (Ecomonie)
Engineer Schools
- INSA
- Supaero
- ENAC
- ENSICA
- Ensiacet
- Enseeiht
Other Schools
- ESAP
- Pharma
- ESC
Work
Anglophone travellers might find employment in the Aviation industry; however even here French is commonly used. Also, with the current heightened security concerns, new employee will require extensive screening so these jobs are not suited for short-term work.
Eat
Like all of France, you will not be disappointed with the food Toulouse offers. Duck is a regional specialty, and thus many restaurants will offer duck for dinner.
Also, go during lunch time at the first floor of the Victor Hugo market, you'll find many good restaurants at a very good price. Market atmosphere, and better be patient to wait for seats as no reservations are possible, but it worths it if you want to feel a typical local atmosphere.
Cassoulet is the most famous regional dish. Try it.
Buy
Opening hours in Toulouse are generally Mon-Sat 9AM-1PM and 3PM-7PM, but there are numerous exceptions.
- As Toulouse is a city of aviation and spaceflight, check Airbus and the Cite de l'Espace for souvenirs
- There's a flea market every Sunday morning near the Basilique Saint Sernin. While it does not offer anything too special as flea markets go it's a great way to mingle with a local crowd. Another flea market is held every first weekend of the month at the Grand Rond
- Also a very nice market around the St Aubin Basilic every sunday morning, selling producer's vegetables and fruits. Very relaxed atmosphere.
- Every weekday there is a vegetable market before noon along the Boulevard de Strasbourg
- There are excellent 2nd hand shops or "fripperie", especially on Rue Gambetta
Sleep
- The Holiday Inn Le Capoul (15 Place Wilson, +33 56110 7070, fax: 33 56121 9670) is located at Place Wilson. Rooms are up to 155 €/night (without any discounts you may get), plus 13€ for breakfast. The location is quite good; there are many decent restaurants of various styles in the immediate neighbourhood and many stores and interesting sights are within comfortable walking distance.
- Novotel Airport is about 15 minutes from the airport, a shuttle bus exists. Has decent, standard Novotel rooms. Staff speaks little to no english however, except those at the reception.
- Hotel le Clocher de Rodez (**)Le Clocher de Rodez Hotel is an 18th Century building. As one of Toulouses historic hotels, the building has sheltered numerous artists and musicians - email : toulouse@couleursud.com (rooms from 50 to 100 €)
- Hotel le Moulin de Moissac (***)THE OLDEST (5 centuries) AND BEST HOTEL OF THIS AREA (at 37 miles from toulouse airport)- email : moissac@couleursud.com (rooms from 46 to 100 €)
Hotel le Moulin de Moissac, since 1474...
Get out
| This article is still a stub and needs your attention. Plunge forward and help it grow! |
