Garonne-River-Toulouse — An image of the Garonne River in Toulouse, France. August 19, 2021.

Toulouse, though an ancient city with roots back to the Roman era, feels young, energetic, and vibrant.

One possible reason: It houses one of the largest universities in France, scattered in different buildings across the city.

Another possible reason: The city has made strong push into innovative business sectors, including aerospace, oncology, agriculture, and water, bringing highly skilled professionals and their families to the metropolitan area.

Third possibility? Toulouse’s situation in southern France gives the town an overall more relaxed feel than many other areas of the country.

Vibe aside—even though I consider it one of the city’s major assets—Toulouse has a lot to offer to its tourists and its residents.

What to Expect in Toulouse

Candidly, I didn’t expect to like Toulouse as much as I did.

I couldn’t get a handle on the city from what I’d read in our tour guides and from what I could find on-line. The best I could dig up told me that tourists loved Toulouse for its aviation and space museums and experiences—and neither topic really draws me.

Fortunately, while Toulouse will absolutely interest people curious about aviation and aerospace, the city’s attractions don’t stop there. (Thank goodness, in my case.)

I recommend swinging by the Toulouse tourist office at the start of your visit to get a backgrounder on what’s happening and to sign up for as many walking tours as they have available. (Not kidding—we took two of the office’s guided walking tours, loved both, and would have signed up for more if they had space available.) Even if you can only get the tour providing a general overview of the city, take it: You’ll find no better way to gain a quick orientation and a bit of background history for context on what you’ll see while in Toulouse.

While in the tourist office, you can book a boat tours on the Garonne River, a wonderful activity to rest your legs between seeing the sites and finding dinner—and one that gives you a look at the city from another perspective.

Speaking of boats, the famous Canal de Midi runs through Toulouse on its way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea (or vice versa, depending on your vantage point). You can rent boats to travel down it and through the entire region to see more than just Toulouse. Several boat-rental companies offer fully equipped vessels that can house up to eight people for multiple-day voyages.

The Architecture in “La Ville Rose”

I felt somewhat justified in not understanding why people called Toulouse “the pink city” due to its architecture—given that it didn’t seem particularly pink to me—when a tour guide said that the moniker has passed its validity: The facades in Toulouse once had more of a rose tint, but they really don’t any longer.

In the past, the city constructed its buildings out of an orangey-pinkish brick and terracotta. However, when Baron Haussmann started remaking Paris with clear-colored stone in the 1800s, other cities in France wanted to follow the trend—Toulouse included. The city started whitewashing its buildings, partly to follow this new fashion and partly with the hope that clear-colored buildings would make the streets lighter and safer at night. (The city couldn’t afford many streetlights at the time.)

A few buildings with rose-colored stone and terracotta details still exist. You’ll see the terracotta only in the decorative flourishes; far less pricey than stone carvings, Toulousians during “la ville rose” era ordered the terracotta embellishments ready-made from catalogues for delivery and installation on site.

Note a bit of an architectural theme around finding more budget-friendly finer things? It extends further: Many of the fountains you’ll see in Toulouse come from designs created by companies operating during the “ville rose” era that created several copies from the same mold. They sold these models for delivery and affixing on site at much lower cost than custom orders from artists and artisans. The fountains you’ll find in Toulouse, you can often find elsewhere as well.

Do these eccentric ways to fund beauty make Toulouse sound inelegant? The results don’t look shabby at all—and you can’t help but admire the ingenuity involved. The Toulousians of the time wanted their city on trend, they couldn’t afford the “usual” way of making it so, and they found another way.

J’adore.

Must-See Sites and Attractions in Toulouse

We stuffed ourselves with the sites in Toulouse—and I recommend you do the same.

Of course, prioritizing what to see with the time you have always proves a challenge, and you’ll find more to do in Toulouse than you can accomplish on most vacations.

Choosing what to do will depend on your personal interests, as always, yet I recommend the following sites as don’t-miss attractions:

Aviation and aerospace museums and experiences: As mentioned above, you’ll find a richness of history past and present to explore on these subjects in Toulouse, much of it well organized for visitors. For the full rundown of museums and sites to see, including how to prioritize them, read my article on experiencing aviation and aerospace in Toulouse.
Basilique St-Sernin: Built in a style unique to this region of France, known as “southern French gothic” in English or, in French, “French méridional,” the Saint Sernin Basilica will surprise you on several levels. Size- and structure-wise, the basilica is gigantic and replete with towers and turrets and spires and arches and columns. In terms of construction material, red brick replaces the expected stonework. On another front, while you may have seen churches featuring saints’ relics before, you’ve never seen a church with this many. Its collection—the richest in France—gives the basilica pride of place for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, known as the “Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle” in French. (Note: A “relic,” in this case, refers to a part of the body, clothing, or personal effects of a person later canonized as a saint by the Catholic church.)
Les Jacobins: The red-brick ecclesiastical buildings don’t stop at the Basilique St-Sernin in Toulouse. Not far away, you’ll find an amazing set of buildings called “Les Jacobins,” referring to a former site for a monastery, church, and university created by the Dominicans in the 13th century. (History note: The people of Toulouse called this branch of Dominicans “Jacobins” because they first stayed in a chapel dedicated to Saint James, who is called “Saint Jacques” in French). Due to the religious dissent bubbling up in this part of Europe at the time of this structure’s construction, the friars decided to pursue a different format from the norm. The church sanctuary has a single row and no firm structural dividers to bring the ecclesiastics and the people closer together in worship. Further, the buildings—while still imposing in grandeur—have less ostentation than otherwise seen in churches of this era. Oh, while you admire the elegance of the architecture at Les Jacobins, you’ll inevitably also get to see another major Les Jacobins asset: The tomb of Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose philosophy and theology had extensive influence on western thinking.
Halles Victor Hugo: I’ve grown picky when it comes to markets, finding many of them overhyped. While most or all markets have food, I rarely find the delicacies and the freshness I’d expect and lackluster brick-a-brac and cheap clothing venders seem to surround the food stalls in many cases. However, les Halles Victor Hugo surprised me with its richness, and I highly recommend a visit while in Toulouse. You’ll find deliciousness in every stall, rare and highly prized ingredients and offerings, outstanding fresh breads and cheeses, and beyond.

For a quick preview, a few photos first of the Saint Sernin Basilica:

And a few photos of Les Jacobins:

By no means think you can stop here when it comes to seeing the sites in Toulouse. I may consider these the attractions that you absolutely should not skip, but I don’t consider it a definitive list of sites worth a visit, either.

As a major metropolitan area, Toulouse has a ton to see—and a lot of temporary exhibits and festivals throughout the year, too. Absolutely stop into the Toulouse office of tourism, as mentioned above, to get recommendations on what to see that matches your specific interests and to get details on any activities taking place during your visit.

Sites to Skip in Toulouse

Though you should always see something if the subject holds particular interest for you—no matter what anyone recommends—I’d say you can skip these major (and highly recommended elsewhere) sites in Toulouse if you have limited time to visit the area:

Les Abattoirs: This gorgeously restored abattoir, hence the museum’s name, houses a vast collection of modern and contemporary art, most of it—at least on our visit—highly abstract and conceptual. I found the building more interesting than the collection, as I didn’t understand most of the art on display and didn’t connect with it enough to feel compelled to figure it out.
Musée St-Raymond: I love ancient history, so putting this museum on the “deprioritized” list hurts. However, while the Saint Raymond Museum has a very interesting collection, including a stunning set of incredibly well-preserved marbles depicting the adventures of Hercules, it desperately lacks explanations and context to place the visitor in the overall story and teach the relevance, value, and importance of what it displays.

I enjoyed these museums, yet I didn’t feel they managed to educate me or to wow me at a level the other sites in Toulouse did.

One Last Recommendation…

For an easter-egg surprise of a tip to conclude my review of Toulouse:

When in the center of the Place du Capitole, look down. You’ll see several metal sculptures embedded in the stone paving. An artist, Raymond Moretti, created this artwork representing astrological signs and can have fun identifying your own.

The same artist created twenty-nine murals with scenes from Toulouse’s history on the ceilings of the roofs of the same square’s arcades. (The arcades are the covered porches running along some of the square’s sides.)

So after you look down in the center of the square, go under the arcades and look up!

Have I Tempted You?

I hope I’ve tempted you to Toulouse!

Despite the lackluster articles you’ll find about the city elsewhere on the web and in tourist books and magazines, I promise you’ll love “la ville in rose.” (Or “the city in brick and terracotta,” as you prefer.)

For more guidance on what to see and to do while in the region, read my article about aerospace and aviation in Toulouse and ideas for quick day trips around the Toulouse area.

Visiting Toulouse: What to Expect, See, and Do