La Min-sú de Terrasson

Detourism - Toulouse

‘Toulouse after Bordeaux is another world: these two cities which, from afar, could be paired in the all too vague entity of the Southwest (of France), are in fact each others anti-poles.

To speak of Toulouse in Bordeaux is like a lack of taste and of Bordeaux in Toulouse almost an affront. There is no hatred, but the two cities ignore each other or prefer to ignore each other, it's simpler. There are no commonalities between the brick and stone or between the earthiness that permeates Toulouse and the touch of sea air that passes through Bordeaux. And yet it is the same river that crosses’...

Bailly J-C., 2011. Le dépaysement, Voyages en France.

On the watershed between the Atlantic Ocean oriented south-west and Mediterranean of Marseilles, Toulouse is at the start of the Canal du Midi. Toulouse refound some of its historic glory when it became the capital of the new Région Occitanie whiles Bordeaux became the capital of the ‘great south west’, or Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Toulouse is know as ‘La Ville Rose’ due to the fired clay bricks used throughout the city, feels Spanish due to proximity of Spain and deep and more recent historic links. Home to many fleeing the spanish civil war, the Franco dictatorship and/or looking for jobs and better economic prospects offered by high tech aeronautics (Airbus) and space related industries. Toulouse connects by train to Barcelona (Spain) and Italy through Marseilles. Its airport serves a large number of European destinations.

Visit Toulouse

The canal du Midi, designed to connect the Atlantic and Mediterranean bypassing the straight of Gibraltar, was initially named the ‘canal royal de Languedoc’ and got its present name after the 1789 revolution. Its completion in 1750 sparked a frenzy of speculation which saw the remodeling of the Capitol building and the clearing of the central Place du Capitol. From 1856, the ‘Canal Lateral à la Garonne’, which followed the Garonne river from Bordeaux to Toulouse, completed the ‘canal des Deux-Mers’. But the ensemble became obsolete after the construction of the railways (bringing its own speculative frenzy). Today the canal the Midi encloses the historic city center, and most of the sights of interest.

The main attraction of the historic city center are its medieval streets, alleyways and architecture including the St.Sernin basilica (2), Jacobins convent (4) and Augustins museum (6). Toulouse has a number of gravitational points; the Quai de la Daurade on the banks of the Garonne river, and the Pace du Capitol (1), the Grand Rond with the Toulouse museum (7), the jardin Royal and Grand Rond parks. On the opposite side of the Garonne river the more edgy St-Cyprien with the Les Abattoiors modern and contemporary art museum (5), Matou museum, galerie du Château d’Eau and Prairies des Filtres. Other sights worth mentioning are the Japanese Garden (3) inside the Jardin Compans-Caffarelli and the Cité de l’Espace (8).