Toulouse: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 55 - 88 Hotel Victor Hugo
 Located in the centre of Toulouse, Hotel Victor Hugo welcomes you in a warm and friendly environment.
Hotel Victor Hugo features 32 sound-proofed an… MoreEUR 39 - 130 Hotel Terminus
 Hotel Terminus is located in the heart of Toulouse, opposite the SNCF train station and the airport shuttle stop. It offers spacious accommodation wi… MoreEUR 91 - 420 Hotel Palladia
 This luxury hotel has a heated outdoor swimming pool and a spa centre. It is located 5 kilometres from central Toulouse, near Blagnac International Ai… MoreEUR 63 - 95 Hotel Ours Blanc - Wilson
 Located in the very heart of Toulouse, the three hotels Ours Blanc are in a prime position close to the Wilson, Victor Hugo and Capitole squares.
The… MoreEUR 59 - 89 Hotel Wilson Square
 Hotel Wilson Square is located in the heart of Toulouse´s historic city centre, just 200 metres from Capitole Square. It offers soundproofed ac… MoreEUR 58 - 85 Junior Hôtel
 The Junior Hotel is located in the centre of Toulouse near Place du Capitole and the Saint-Sernin basilica. It offers guestrooms with free Wi-Fi inter… MoreEUR 100 - 220 Le Clos Des Potiers
 Le Clos des Potiers is a former 19th-century private mansion located in the centre of Toulouse. Its spacious rooms have elegant bathrooms, TV and free… MoreEUR 63 - 97 Le Capitole
 Situated in the centre of Toulouse, this hotel is just 180 metres from the Place du Capitole and its Metro stop. It offers bright and airy rooms with … MoreEUR 55 - 88 L´argus
 L’argus is situated 8 km from Toulouse city centre and a 10-minute drive from the Cité de l´Espace. It offers free Wi-Fi and features an outd… MoreEUR 49 - 85 Kyriad Hotel Toulouse Centre
 This Kyriad hotel is located in the centre of Toulouse on the edge of Canal du Midi, and 1 km from Capitole Square. Free Wi-Fi access is available.
… MoreEUR 63 - 107 Hotel Ours Blanc - Place Victor Hugo
 Located in the heart of Toulouse, the Ours Blanc is set next to Place Victor Hugo. It has free Wi-Fi and offers soundproofed guest rooms with air-cond… MoreEUR 63 - 95 Hotel Ours Blanc - Centre
 The Hotel Ours Blanc is located on the Place Victor Hugo, in central Toulouse. Each guest room is soundproofed, air-conditioned and has a TV and free … MoreEUR 49 - 105 Hotel Boreal
 The Hotel Boreal is situated in the centre of Toulouse, 5 minutes from the SNCF station, la place Wilson and la place du Capitole.
Its location also … MoreEUR 55 - 238 Hotel Albert 1er
 Located in the heart of Toulouse, France’s ville rose, the Hotel Albert Premier is in walking distance to the famous Place du Capitole and other mai… MoreEUR 78 - 165 Holiday Inn Toulouse Centre
 Located in the heart of Toulouse, Hotel Holiday Inn Toulouse Centre welcomes you in a comfortable setting boasting a privileged situation close to all… MoreEUR 77 - 170 Hôtel St Sernin
 The Hotel St Sernin is located in the heart of Toulouse, just a 2-minute walk from Capitol. It faces the Saint Sernin Basilica and offers free Wi-Fi a… MoreEUR 50 - 62 Hotel De Bordeaux
 Hotel De Bordeaux provides quietness and comfort on the banks of the Canal du Midi.
Stay in one of the hotel´s 31 soundproofed and air-conditio… MoreEUR 150 - 220 Hotel Des Beaux Arts
 Located in the historic centre of Toulouse, Hotel des Beaux Arts is just a 5-minute walk from the Capitole. It offers individually-decorated rooms wit… MoreEUR 75 - 181 Hotel Mercure Toulouse Atria Compans Caffarelli
 This Mercure hotel is located in central Toulouse, a 10 minute walk from Capitole Square and just 200 metres from the Compans Caffarelli Metro.
The c… MoreEUR 69 - 75 Hotel Gascogne
 Hotel Gascogne provides soundproofed, en suite rooms with a TV, in the centre of Toulouse. Free Wi-fi and free parking are available.
Hotel Gascogne … MoreEUR 55 - 72 Hotel Du Taur
 The Taur is located in Toulouse´s historic centre, 20 metres from the Place de Capitole. It offers en suite accommodation with TVs, and free Wi-… MoreEUR 125 - 390 Le Grand Balcon Hotel
 Styled in a 1930s décor, Le Grand Balcon Hotel is located in the centre of the beautiful city of Toulouse, near the Place du Capitole.
Guestrooms co… MoreEUR 48 - 65 Le Prado
 Located south-west of Toulouse, Le Prado offers comfortable accommodation and free Wi-Fi access. It features a lounge area and a terrace to be enjoyed… MoreEUR 62 - 300 Quality Hotel Le Clocher De Rodez
 This Comfort Hotel is located in the heart of Toulouse, 750 metres from the Toulouse-Matabiau Train Station. It offers soundproofed accommodation wit… MoreEUR 107 - 455 Pullman Toulouse Centre
 Pullman Toulouse Centre offers modern and stylish accommodation within walking distance to the city centre and Place du Capitole and just 15 minutes f… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Toulouse: Guide
Toulouse is a city in southwestern France, near the Pyrenees, in the Midi-Pyrenees region, half way between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Understand
Toulouse has become a center of aviation and spaceflight in the past 20 years. More than 35,000 of the city's 400,000 citizens work in the civil aviation or space industries; Airbus / EADS is the largest employer in the region. The city has remained relatively unchanged despite the economic boom.
The city at the Garonne river is located on the site of an ancient Roman settlement; even today many of the smaller streets follow their Roman counterparts and many of the red brick buildings are of a pseudo-Roman style. These buildings are also what gives Toulouse its nickname La ville rose (The pink city).
In the middle ages, Toulouse was one of the richest cities of France due to the sale of blue coloring extracted from woad plants. This monopoly was only broken when the Portuguese began to import Indigo to Europe. Over 50 hotels, mansions, remain witness to the past wealth.
Get in
By plane
Regular scheduled domestic and international flights arrive at , about 20 minutes from the city. It serves connections from Paris about every hour. There are many other flights as well, for example to Munich and Frankfurt.
To get to the city from the airport, you can use a for about 3.90 €. Going by Taxi will cost about 15 €.
By train
:
Paris : 6h
Bordeaux : 2h30
Marseille : 4h00
The train station is almost in the heart of the city.
By car
Major highways towards Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille, Barcelona
By bus
Bus terminal at the railway station.
Get around
Toulouse has a network of bus and metro lines. The bus services tend to be not very reliable and miss the timetable. The metro is relatively small, with only about 15 stations; but then Toulouse is a small city. Consequently you can also walk to most destinations in the inner city quite comfortably.
http://www.semvat.com/ (French only)
You should avoid going downtown with the car, as parking space is seriously limited.
Basilique Saint Sernin - a church from the 14th Century
Admission Fees: For Adults : 18.5 Euros, for Children: 12 Euros.
Also, go during lunch time at the first floor of the Victor Hugo market, you'll find many good restaurants at a very good price. Market atmosphere, and better be patient to wait for seats as no reservations are possible, but it is worth it if you want to feel a typical local atmosphere.
Cassoulet is the most famous regional dish. Try it.
As Toulouse is a city of aviation and spaceflight, check Airbus and the Cite de l'Espace for souvenirs
Holiday Inn Le Capoul 15 Place Wilson, ph: +33 56110 7070 (fax: +33 56121 9670) Located at Place Wilson. Rooms are up to 155 €/night (without any discounts you may get), plus 13€ for breakfast. The location is quite good; there are many decent restaurants of various styles in the immediate neighbourhood and many stores and interesting sights are within comfortable walking distance.
Novotel Airport is about 15 minutes from the airport, a shuttle bus exists. Has decent, standard Novotel rooms. Staff speaks little to no english however, except those at the reception.
Hotel le Clocher de Rodez (email: ) The two stars Le Clocher de Rodez Hotel is an 18th Century building. As one of Toulouses historic hotels, the building has sheltered numerous artists and musicians. Rooms from 50 to 100 €.
Hotel le Moulin de Moissac (email:) This three star hotel is the oldest in the area - it's five centuries old! Located just 37 miles from the airport. Rooms from 46 to 100 €.
Puy l'Eveque
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Toulouse". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.By car
See
Toulouse is a small city, and you can reach most interesting places in the downtown area comfortably on foot.
Hôtel d'Assézat - one of the most appealing of the many old mansions of the city
Capitole - the imposing and palatial townhall and theatre, its beautiful facade facing onto the grand Place du Capitole
Pont-Neuf - despite its name the only old bridge across the Garonne river; built between 1544 and 1626
Les Jacobins monastery church
City park at the Grand Rond, a bit south-east to the center of the city
Les Augustins Used to be a monastery church, and is today an art museum
Les Abattoirs Modern Arts museum, and there is also a nice garden with a nice view on the GaronneTours
The tourism information office located in the back side of the Capitolium organizes guided tours of the city. Some of these are in English. Check ahead for their schedule.
Further details available on : http://www.toulouse-tourisme.comAirbus
Airbus offers tours of their facilities; the tour takes about 30 minutes and includes a guide who will tell you some background about the company; the screening of a promotional / historical video, and a look at the construction hangars. However you will not get to see the new Airbus A380 (as of November 2004). Photography is strictly forbidden, and you need to bring a piece of photo identification. Book ahead.Cite de l'Espace
The "space city" is another of Toulouse's "aviation" attractions. However you must be aware that it is not exactly a museum but a sort of scientific theme park without rides. There are some replicas of spacecraft and other exhibits, many of the later interactive in some minor way. There's also a small planetarium. The park is suited well to 5-14 year old children, everybody else should probably spare themselves the trip. It's situated fairly outside the city but there's a bus service starting outside the main train station.
By Public Transport (Bus):
Take bus route no. 37 from the Marengo metro station going to La Plaine. Ask for the Cité de l'espace bus stop.
Further details available on : http://www.cite-espace.comDo
Take a walk through the city and along the Canal du Midi
Have a walk along the Garonne river from St Pierre bridge and Pont-neuf during the evening.
Party at St Pierre Place: very popular among Toulouse's students
For cultural events, have a look at this website http://www.toulouseweb.com (in French)
Rent a bike from Tisseo for €1 per dayLearn
There are a lot of universities in Toulouse, that makes that it´s the second city in France for the number of students : 100000.
In Toulouse are major universities and lots of engineer or management school :
Universites
Universite de Paul Sabatier (sciences)
Universite du Mirail (lettres)
Universite de l´Arsenal (Ecomonie)
Engineer Schools
INSA
Supaero
ENAC
ENSICA
Ensiacet
Enseeiht
Other Schools
ESAP
Pharma
ESCWork
Anglophone travellers might find employment in the Aviation industry; however even here French is commonly used. Also, with the current heightened security concerns, new employee will require extensive screening so these jobs are not suited for short-term work.Eat
Like all of France, you will not be disappointed with the food Toulouse offers. Duck is a regional specialty, and thus many restaurants will offer duck for dinner.Buy
Opening hours in Toulouse are generally Mon-Sat 9AM-1PM and 3PM-7PM, but there are numerous exceptions.
There's a flea market every Sunday morning near the Basilique Saint Sernin. While it does not offer anything too special as flea markets go it's a great way to mingle with a local crowd. Another flea market is held every first weekend of the month at the Grand Rond
Also a very nice market around the St Aubin Basilic every sunday morning, selling producer's vegetables and fruits. Very relaxed atmosphere.
Every weekday there is a vegetable market before noon along the Boulevard de Strasbourg
There are excellent 2nd hand shops or "fripperie", especially on Rue GambettaSleep
Get out
Moissac