5. Toulouse and River Garonne

Although when I first arrived from Toulouse airport I had no desire to stay overnight in Toulouse, I was actually looking forward to going back to a bigger town again as I was starting to feel a bit claustrophic in Carcassonne, having gone in all the shops more than once and not having a car to see other nearby places such as Rennes-le-Chateau, which is unreachable without a car. With blue skies and sunny for February, the temperature in Toulouse took a nosedive during my last couple of days and I just couldn't get warm even when wearing my thermal vest. The rain was very heavy too on one day, so I stayed in my hotel room for half a day watching CNN News, which was nearly all about the upcoming presidential elections in the US. Was glad to get outside once the rain eased off - it rains heavy here when it does fall - and didn't stay out in the evenings because of sub-zero temperatures, or so it seemed. Would just make a dash for the nearest Chinese take-away to have dinner in my hotel room and watch films dubbed in French.

Not as many sights to see in Toulouse apart from the Capitole building and an old church, but by that stage I felt more than ready to return home for a while, so there was probably much more I could have seen if I'd been in the mood for museums and galleries. For future trips to France I think I shall just go out there a week max at a time - that way I stay fresh and enthusiastic. I did enjoy looking around some of the secondhand book shops though, and some of them had a Spanish theme as Toulouse in not far from the Spanish border.

Interior of the Capitole building

Because of the cold, I would often go into a cafe or restaurant just to warm up again, although you have to sit outside if you want to smoke. This is a photo of one of the cafes I went in.




This is what Time Out says about Toulouse:

Toulouse, dubbed ‘Ville Rose’ because of its pink buildings, sits astride the Garonne river and the historic Canal du Midi, midway between the Med and the Atlantic. The heart of the town is the vast, arcaded place du Capitole, where the impressive, grandiose Capitole building forms the seat of local government. It is worth popping in, if only to see the floor-to-ceiling 19th-century paintings, including Henri Martin’s elaborate depiction of Toulousain life at the time. Inside, the Théâtre du Capitole has recently reopened following extensive refurbishment, which has brought the opulent gilt mouldings and painted cartouches back to their former glory.

Turn up rue du Taur to see the city’s finest building, the Basilique St-Sernin, built over the course of three centuries. Romanesque, with a wedding-cake spire, it was once a stop for pilgrims and so over time it accumulated an array of holy relics, most of which are on display.

South-west of the basilica is medieval Toulouse, which is dotted with a rich assortment of historic churches, including the Gothic Les Jacobins on rue Lakanal, where the Dominican order was founded, and the Notre-Dame-de-la-Daurade, a hotchpotch of styles presided over by a black Madonna.

That last sentence surprised me - you mean I could have seen a black Madonna after all? Oh well, next time. My room-mates at the hostel in Carcassonne didn't know what I was talking about when I was referring to wanting to see a black Madonna. At first they thought I meant the Mona Lisa, and then afterwards kept thinking about the singer Madonna.

On my last day (Wed) I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was market day in the square outside the Capitole building, with stalls selling all kind of goods including books and clothes.

I like it when I find a quirky corner of town like this Grecian monument or fountain or whatever it was - it looked purely decorative - and on the opposite side a Father Christmas decoration was still hanging outside a shop in late February.

I would have stayed in the Youth Hostel in Toulouse if it wasn't for the fact that it had been closed due to a fire. There are plenty of hotels to choose from in the area around the train station, and also down the side street immediately opposite the station. I can't imagine needing to book in advance unless you come in high season as there isn't exactly a shortage of hotel accommodation. There is also a metro here but I never used it, as I prefer to walk. As it was either cold or raining, I didn't take too many outdoor photos and concentrated more on some last minute clothes shopping before flying back to London. An airport shuttle bus takes you back to Toulouse airport from the bus station, which is to the right of the train station as you come out.


For gift ideas, one of the products that Toulouse is famous for is violets, and there are various gift shops selling violet sweets, soaps, lotions, perfumes, candles, chocolates, teas and anything else to do with violets.
Crystallised violets are real violet flowers coated with sugar.
You can order violet products online directly from Toulouse in France (site is in English) at Regals.

Toulouse also holds a Festival of Violet in February, so I must have just missed it.