All things Toulouse, France
Toulouse is in the southwest of France, France’s
fourth largest city, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon. It’s also called“La Ville Rose”,
which means the pink city for its unique architectural style, lots of red-pink
clay bricks and tiles.
You can expect great food, art, historic architecture,
and it is in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, so pretty
good weather, too. The beautiful Garonne River runs through the heart of
Toulouse city, and there are lots of cultural activities revolve around the
bank. Let’s get to know the city:
The
most exciting, the best known for Toulouse
Food! Yes, J.R.R Tolkien once said, “If more
of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier
world.”
Toulouse is for sure the home of a lot of
French cuisines. Cassoulet and its sausages particular. They go hand in hand,
cassoulet usually has a Toulouse sausage in it.
Cassoulet
Saucisse de Toulouse
It is made from pork (75% lean, 15% belly),
salt and pepper, and usually various additives has a natural casing of about
3cm in diameter and is usually sold in a coil (like Cumberland Sausage).
People
keep moving to Toulouse & its super economic growth
It’s not hard to imagine that Paris got
lots of push factors, half of the new population in Toulouse is from Paris. The
population growth in Toulouse is insane. 200,000 people had moved to Toulouse
in the past ten years; the GDP of Toulouse increased by 30% in ten years. You can
find 3 key fields of excellence in Toulouse: space, digital, and life science. Lots
of students come to Toulouse to study, the start-up scene is heated, and there
are lots of new job opportunities available as well. Toulouse is a true
superstar for investors!
Lifestyle
in Toulouse, what
is it like living there?
Toulouse people are not only blessed with the
visually-appealing city sights, it’s easy and cheap to get around in the city
with metro, tram, and bus network, also there are lots of activities they can
do: weekend ski trips in the Pyrenees (mountain at the border between Spain and
France), top museums like Musée des Augustins (fine art collection from middle
ages to early 20th century), flower festival in spring, international-scale
summer music festival, art shows and theatre.
Day trips
from Toulouse
Toulouse is in a perfect location, not too
far from many places. Local people often travel to places a couple hours away
on the weekend, if your trip to Toulouse has enough days, make a point to
arrange for a day trip to a nearby country, city or town.
Andorra la Vella
The capital of Andorra! Yes, there’s a hidden
small country between Spain and France in the Pyrenees. The touristy scene is
very vibrant because of the duty-free shopping and ski resorts. It’s a three-hour drive
from Toulouse.
Albi
A gem on the banks of the Tarn river! There
are a lot of Mediaeval buildings made the list of the UNESCO World Heritage list. Albi
is an hour drive from Toulouse. Pretty cool to stay in some historic accommodations
for the night.
Perpignan
Near the Mediterranean coast and the border
with Spain. It is a lot warmer compare to Toulouse. Fancy a beach day? You can
get to Perpignan from Toulouse in 2 hours by car.
The
best time to visit Toulouse
March is the least crowded and August is
the sunniest, yet the most crowded. The best time to visit is almost identical
to other Northern Hemisphere destinations, summer is nice but can be packed and
the rate hence goes up; May is rainy; June is recommended, as the weather starts
to get warm and people are not storming in yet. Christmas in Toulouse is very dreamy,
and there is a popular music festival called Les Siestes Electroniques in late
June. Mark your calendar!
Architecture
and pinkness
Toulouse, the pink city, you’ll understand
why when you see the pink marble and brick walls lit up by the southern
sunshine. Talking about having a soulful trip, you can take an architecture walking
tour by yourself and listen to an audio guide along with it. Beautiful buildings
make even more sense when you understand a bit more about them.
Don’t miss out the real old Basilica of
Saint Sernin (this church was built between 1080 and 1120!) and if you’re into
modern stuff, Toulouse has some cool ones as well!
Roses
are red, violets are blue
Sugar is sweet, and so are you. Toulouse celebrates
violets every spring and hosts violet festival in February. There are so many
violets food and products on the market, from candy, pastry to perfume. Violets
bloom for seven to eight months, from October to March. They are Toulouse’s emblematic
flower, popular since the 19th century a soldier first brought back from Parma,
Italy.
In the language of flowers, the violet
embodies modesty and simplicity, because of its small corolla that hardly peaks
above its leaves. The festival holds local people together, celebrates the pride
and joy living in Toulouse!
Most
instagrammable
Jardin Japonais
Churches and castles all look the same
after a while? This garden is all the sudden refreshing!
Capitole de Toulouse
This is a must-visit for sure. The historic
heart of the city. Snap a photo to prove you’re in Toulouse.
Again,
Bordeaux or Toulouse?
People often compare Bordeaux to Toulouse
because they both stand out so much and people just seem to love them! Toulouse
is the fourth largest city in France by population while Bordeaux being the
ninth. They both make you feel like you get that bustling city feel with great
night life and lots of great restaurants, but in the same time, they have that
cute village feel. Toulouse has higher immigrant rates than Bordeaux and the
city appears more cosmopolitan in terms of a mix of people. Give both of them a
go to join the debate, which one is better, Bordeaux or Toulouse?
