Toulouse

France·Europe

Currency

EUR

Language

French

Timezone

Paris

Continent

Europe

Our guide

Discover Toulouse

Toulouse is pink because it is built of brique foraine, fired from Garonne clay, and evening light makes that obvious. The Place du Capitole, vast and edged by the eighteenth-century city hall, is where you start. A few streets away, the Basilique Saint-Sernin is the largest Romanesque church still standing in Europe, a stage on the road to Santiago and UNESCO-listed for it. The Cloître des Jacobins holds the palm tree — a column whose ribs fan out above the choir — and the relics of Thomas Aquinas. The Canal du Midi, also UNESCO, sets off from here towards the Mediterranean between century-old plane trees. The Musée Saint-Raymond keeps the Roman collections, and the Hôtel d'Assézat, a pastel merchant's Renaissance palace, is a reminder of where the city's fortune came from.

When to go

April to June and September to October: twenty-two to twenty-six degrees, with the Capitole terraces usable. July and August regularly pass thirty-five degrees and residents leave. Autumn is the best season on the canal. Winter is mild and damp around ten degrees, with the vent d'autan blowing for days at a time and blamed by locals for everything.

Getting around

Two metro lines, a tram, and a compact centre you walk: the Capitole to Saint-Sernin takes ten minutes. The bike share covers a flat, cycleable city. The Canal du Midi can be followed on foot or by bike for tens of kilometres from the Port Saint-Sauveur. Matabiau station puts Paris four hours away by TGV. A car is only useful for leaving town.

Where to eat

Toulouse cassoulet is made with duck confit and Toulouse sausage, and the quarrel with Castelnaudary and Carcassonne over the exact recipe will not end. The sausage is sold by the metre. The Marché Victor-Hugo, a covered hall in the centre, has restaurants upstairs serving what is sold below. Violet flavours sweets and liqueurs. Nineteen halal addresses are listed.

Good to know

The euro is the currency. Twenty-nine sites are free, and municipal museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. The Cité de l'espace, east of town, takes a full half-day and should be booked ahead in school holidays. The Stadium fills the city on rugby match days — it is the local religion and hotels feel it.

Smart Planning