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Travel guide
Toulouse
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September
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Welcome
Toulouse, in a few days
The Pink City owes its nickname to brick that shifts colour with the light and turns orange late in the afternoon. It is Europe's aerospace capital, a student city of around 130,000, and a place for hearty south-western cooking. The historic centre can be crossed on foot in twenty minutes.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Place du Capitole free · about 1 hA 12,000-square-metre pedestrian square closed by the brick-and-stone town hall; inside, the painted Salle des Illustres is free to visit when no ceremony is on.
- Afternoon · The Jacobins Convent · about 1 hA 13th-century Dominican brick convent whose church has a single column fanning into 22 ribs, the famous palm tree, above the tomb of Thomas Aquinas.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Ours Blanc - Wilson€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Garonne riverbanks and the Pont-Neuf free · about 1 hA bridge finished in 1632 with seven uneven arches and round flood openings; across the river, the dome of La Grave completes the view.
- Afternoon · The Augustins Museum · about 1 h 30The fine arts museum in a Gothic convent, with a major collection of Romanesque sculpture rescued from the city's dismantled cloisters.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Clocher de Rodez€105 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Basilica of Saint-Sernin free · about 1 hBuilt from around 1080 for pilgrims to Compostela, 115 metres long with an octagonal bell tower, and reckoned the largest surviving Romanesque church in Europe.
- Afternoon · Cité de l'espace · a full dayA space science park opened in 1997, with a planetarium, simulators, a full-size Mir station replica and a 53-metre Ariane 5.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Albert 1er€100 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Halle de La Machine · about 1 h 30On the old Aéropostale runway, the giant show machines of the company behind Nantes' Machines de l'île, led by Astérion, a 14-metre rideable Minotaur.
- Afternoon · Aeroscopia and the Airbus tours · half a dayAn aviation museum in Blagnac with around thirty aircraft, including two Concordes and a walk-through A380; Airbus assembly line tours run nearby.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Père Léon€115 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €98 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/toulouse
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.