- Toulouse

Transcription

- Toulouse

© J. M. Herrador
© Boigontier
© K. Lhémon
© D. Viet
Toulo
Travel Book
a
e
r
A
n
a
b
r
use and U
Come and experience
TOULOUSE MÉTROPOLE !
The gateway to an exceptional region
2015
© D. Viet
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© Grands Sites de Midi-Pyrénées - P. Thebault
© K. Lhémon
Contents
The unmissable rendezvous in Toulouse
Map of Toulouse Métropole urban area
38
41
43
45
From Riquet to the “Laté”.
Toulouse, metropolitan melting-pot
46
Index
Toulouse in figures
Toulouse in full
Map of Toulouse city centre
Toulouse, capital of the Oval Ball
Toulouse, sporting city
Toulouse Convention Bureau:
the congress, seminar and incentive industry
Toulouse, the city that transports you
Epicurean Toulouse
Tapas Time in Toulouse
Around Toulouse: the major UNESCO sites
Toulouse, gateway to an exceptional region
Toulouse, European capital of aeronautics and space
Toulouse, city of culture and heritage
Toulouse beats to the rhythm of live shows
TOLOPÉDIA
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Toulou
European capital of innovation
(aeronautics, space, research)
• European City of Science in 2018
• N°1 in Europe for the aeronautics industry, N°2 in the world
• N°1 in Europe for the space industry
• N°1 in France for on-board electronic systems
• 10,500 people work in more than 400 research centres
th of stay
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4 days.
otel nights
4.7 million h
and 43%
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4th largestsceille and Lyon
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abitants
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• 461,190 inh
illion in the w
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• 30 open-a
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19km of sho
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, 1,600
Tourist numbers
• 453,200 visitors to the Donjon du Capitole (Tourist
Office - 2014).
• 1,135,500 visits to the 10 most popular tourist sites
(2013).
• Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (2014): 7,517,736 million
passengers, nearly 80 international connections, more
than 80,964 individual flights (Number 1 business
airport in France).
• Toulouse-Matabiau Railway Station: 9 million
passengers, 18 TER stations in the metropolitan area.
TOULOUSE in full
Gateway to the entire South-West of France, this regional
metropolis pushes outside of the historic boundaries of the
province of Languedoc. It speaks English with a flamenco
accent. It bounces in unexpected directions, just like a rugby
ball. It conquers nature with the colourful Canal du Midi
flowing to the Mediterranean Sea, whilst its River Garonne
rises in the Pyrenees and yearns to reach the Atlantic Ocean.
What awaits you is the setting sun and the aroma of the lime
trees in the Place Saint-Sernin in the spring. You can finish off
ff
with a mint tea under a marquee planted in the meadow off
the Prairie des Filtres. Start the day off with a coffee underr
the arcades of Le Capitole and finish gazing at Mars in the
Cité de l’Espace. Your feet on the ground, but your head in the
clouds.
Attractive
and
festive
© Ville de Toulouse - P. Nin
Forget all the clichés about the “Ville Rose”. Toulouse cannot
be summed up by its artisanal bricks or by its title as European
capital of aeronautics. Seen from above, the ancient city of
the Counts of Toulouse stretches far beyond the banks of
the River Garonne in all directions and into the surrounding
countryside.
Inn
ova
t iv
con and e
nec
ted
nd
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un ami
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Y yn
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Accessibl
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5
6
© Imapping
© D. Viet
Map of Toulouse City Centre
s de Midi-P yré
© Imapping
© Grands Site
bault
© K. Lhémon
nées - P. The
Map of Toulouse
Métropole urban area
7
TOLOPÉDIA
Latécoère
© BNF - Agen
ce de presse
Meurisse
Pierre-Georges Latécoère (1883/1943) studied
engineering at the Ecole Centrale de Paris.
He took over the family joinery that was
established by his father in Bagnères-deBigorre (Hautes-Pyrénées) and built tramways
and carriages for the railway company of the
Midi. During the First World War, he contributed
to the war effort by opening a bomb factory
and an aircraft factory in Toulouse. In 1918, his
company, based in the Montaudran district,
employed 800 workers that produced up to
6 aircrafts every day. After the armistice, he
employed pilots such as Mermoz or SaintExupéry to handle air mail flights to Dakar,
and then to South America. The entrepreneur
then transferred the management of the
Latécoère Airlines to Aéropostale, the
precursor of Air France, and they continued
manufacturing aircraft. In order to cross the
Atlantic, he became increasingly passionate
about seaplanes. In 1939 he sold his company
to Bréguet and set up a new factory in their
current premises on rue de Périole in Toulouse
in order to launch the world’s biggest seaplane,
the Laté 631. The company has only built its
own craft since the 1950’s, but it remains an
important subcontractor for Airbus, Boeing,
Bombardier and Embraer. The runway and the
Montaudran assembly plants have been listed
as Historic Monuments since 1997.
www.memoire-aeropostale.com
In 1918, his
mployed
company e
rs that
800 worke
p to 6
pro duced u
er y day.
aircrafts ev
© L’Illust
8
© L’Illustratio
n - Anonym
e
ration -
Anonym
e
rénées - P. Th
louse - P. Nin
louse
© Ville de Tou
ebault
de Tou
You have to keep following the meanderings of the canal
until you reach the scientific complex of Rangueil and
explore the birthplace of Toulouse’s aeronautical industry.
The vestiges of the Latécoère plant can still be seen here
and there beside the railway line that crosses a Montaudran
district that is now undergoing profound changes. In 1918,
the industrialist revamped his aircraft and pilots, creating
Aéropostale. A remembrance site will be created in the
former airport of “Latécoère Airlines”, whilst the artistengineer François Delarozière will display his performance
machines on the runway (www.toulouse-metropole.fr/
projets). Rendezvous in 2018.
© Grands Sit
es de Midi-Py
© Ville
As surprising as it may seem, there is indeed a port in
Toulouse; several in fact, proof of which lies in the great
fresco created by the painter Henri Martin in Le Capitole.
Here you see the illustrious Jean Jaurès strolling along
the left bank of the River Garonne during the last century.
Opposite this, the Port de la Daurade is still in use. Today,
the boats of the “sand fishermen” have left the river and
the old canal barges now transport tourists or have been
turned into restaurants. British or Dutch pleasure boaters
stop at the Port Saint-Sauveur, awarded a “Pavillon Bleu”
label in 2014 just like the very best seaside resorts along the
coast
(www.toulouse.fr/web/environnement/port-saintsauveur).
Behind Riquet, the Marengo Arch overlooks Matabiau
railway station. This building prefigured the future face of
the Toulouse Euro-Sud-Ouest district that will welcome the
TGV in the run up to 2020 (www.toulouse-eurosudouest.
eu). High speed trains from Spain’s RENFE network have
stopped at the station since December 2013, putting
Barcelona just 3 hours from Toulouse. With over 9 million
passengers, Matabiau welcomes more visitors every year
than Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. This traffic is essentially
made up of regional trains. The station, listed as a Historic
Monument in 1984, remains one of the main points of
entry for the inhabitants of the neighbouring departments
when visiting the region’s capital (www.toulouse-visit.com/
Prepare-your-stay/Practical-guide).
nées - P. The
bault
Each year, mischievous acrobats climb the statue of PierrePaul Riquet in order to stick a red nose on his face. This
former tax collector was, nevertheless, knighted by Louis
XIV for having built the Canal Royal du Languedoc. This
waterway that is flanked by greenery and flows on and
on was listed in 1996 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
(www.canal-et-voie-verte.com / www.toulouse-visit.com/
Interested-in/Discovery). The crowds of walkers, cyclists
and roller-bladers that take to the banks of the Canal du
Midi every day surely do not even know that Baron Riquet
died in poverty in 1680, a few months before his master
work reached his home town of Béziers. He is buried in
Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Toulouse, just a short hop from
the former Port Saint-Étienne where a modest brick building
houses the precious archives of the canal.
s de Midi-P yré
Toulouse, the metropolitan melting-pot
© Grands Site
From Riquet to the “Laté”
9
The Port de l’Embouchure
Ab
bas-relief sculpted in Carrare marble adorns
the two brick bridges that span the canals. It
de
depicts an allegorical celebration of the union
of the Languedoc and the Garonne under
the auspices of Occitania. In the XIX Century,
a third canal was constructed alongside the
River Garonne, which is difficult to navigate,
stretching right up to the Gironde.
The dream of Pierre-Paul Riquet, who wanted
to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
was finally realised. But it vanished amidst the
steam and smoke of the locomotives of the
Bordeaux-Sète railway, which was inaugurated
in 1858. In the 70’s, the Garonne lock
disappeared during construction work for the
ring-road and the Ponts-Jumeaux interchange.
d Balcon
© Ville de Tou
louse - P. Nin
During construction of the Canal Royal du
La
Languedoc (1666/1681), which was renamed
“Ca
“Canal du Midi” following the French
Re
Revolution, a lock allowed boats to access the
Riv
River Garonne. Under the reign of Louis XVI,
Ca
Cardinal Loménie de Brienne commissioned
the building of another canal in order to bypass
the Bazacle causeway that bars the river as it
pa
passes through Toulouse.
© Le Gran
TOLOPÉDIA
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Discovery
Did you know?
Sleep in Saint-Exupéry’s bedroom.
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Le Grand Balcon, a family run boarding house where the Aéropostale pilots used to stay, just
a short hop from Le Capitole, is nowadays a 4*hotel. The legendary room 32 belonging to
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was restored during renovation works.
www.grandbalconhotel.com
Riquet’s hydraulic machine
Pierre-Paul Riquet, designer of the Canal du Midi, had water basins constructed in the park
of his château in order to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the water supply system to
be used in these works. The estate and the house were purchased by the small commune of
Bonrepos-Riquet, 20km from Toulouse in the Girou Valley. Château de Bonrepos-Riquet, open
to the public from May to September.
www.bonrepos-riquet.fr
The Grand Balcony of Marengo
The top floor of the Marengo Arch is equipped with a kitchen and reception rooms. Overlooking
the city, this 1000m² space and its 300m² terrace can be hired by businesses or by individuals.
Espaces Vanel : www.espacesvanel.com
© D. Viet
From Riquet to the“Laté”
© D. Viet
© D. Viet
© Grands Sit
es de Midi-
Pyrénées -
P. Thebault
© Airbus
Riquet was born in Béziers, Jaurès in Castres,
Latécoère in Bagnères-de-Bigorre: over
the centuries, the metropolitan area has
expanded and has welcomed the inhabitants
of the whole region, stretching from the
Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. This wave of
immigration gathered pace with the exile of
Spanish republicans in the 1930’s, and then
with the arrival of workers from the Maghreb.
It continues nowadays with Airbus employees
that come from Germany or Great Britain.
The university, for its part, attracts students
and researchers from across the globe. Every
year, 100,000 people sign-up to attend a
higher education establishment linked to the
academy and 20,000 extra inhabitants set
up home in the area. One in four people in
Toulouse is a student, 75% of the population
of the urban area was not born in the city.
SAS
Melting-pot on the Garonne
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One in fou
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Toulouse
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11
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ées - P. Th
Midi-P yrén
also in Rennes, in the airports of Orly and
Chicago, in Turin, Taïwan and South Korea.
The 38 stations of Toulouse’s metro system
are unique in that they all house works of
contemporary art, which can be discovered
thanks to a guided visit organised by the
Tourist Office.
Sites de
Toulouse was the second city to establish
an automatic light rail transit system (VAL)
in 1993, which was designed in Lille and
developed by the company Matra. The
first line (A), running between the Mirail
district and Jolimont, was extended out to
Balma-Gramont. A second line (B) has linked
the Borderouge district with RamonvilleSaint-Agne since 2007. It will be extended
out to Labège-Innopole. A third line is
being studied that will connect the Airbus
factories, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, the
forthcoming TGV station of Matabiau and
the Montaudran district. Branches of the
VAL, now produced by Siemens, operate
seo.fr
Tisséo (bus-metro-tram) : www.tisseo.fr
isseoArt in the metro : www.tisseo.fr/tisseoeseau
lentreprise/page-standard/l-art-du-reseau
© D. Viet
© D. Viet
tions
The 38 sta
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of Toulous
m
metro syste
in
are unique
ll
that they a
s of
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contempora
The VAL
© Grands
TOLOPÉDIA
12
© D. Viet
ontier
ebault
rénées - P. Th
© D. Viet
© Grands Sit
es de Midi-Py
The river itself has also been given over to navigation
since the late 1980’s. Three sightseeing boats now venture
beyond the calm waters of the canal and pass through the
Saint-Pierre lock when the weather is fine. The passengers
on these new Garonne river boats share their special playground with the members of the Péniche ski club, who for
a long time were restricted to the meadows of Les Filtres,
and have joined the rowers of Émulation Nautique on the
Ile du Ramier. You can even spot anglers bobbing along
on “float tubes”, a type of floating buoy that is perfect for
catching bullhead under the pillars of the Pont Neuf, helping
them compete with the local cormorants.
If you are on a bike you will feel it in your calves that the
oldest of Toulouse ‘s bridges across the Garonne – the
Pont Neuf – has a slight, uneven slope in order to tackle
the height difference between the two riverbanks. The
first horse-drawn omnibus services started in 1683, crossing this bridge that was inaugurated by Louis XIV. The new
tram lines now cross Pont Saint-Michel, which has been
strengthened for the purpose, and will run as far as Toulouse-Blagnac Airport from April 2015. The automatic metro
system, opened in 1993, passes imperceptibly underneath
the Garonne thanks to two separate tunnels. It only surfaces once it has gone beyond the ring-road, a new motorised belt that marks out the city limits as neatly as the
ancient ramparts once did, although they have since been
transformed into boulevards and planted with plane trees.
Only a select few electric minibuses can meander through
the intricate network of narrow medieval streets in the city
centre. The “home port” of these free shuttle buses is located in the Cours Dillon, a pleasant and shaded promenade
that is a favourite with boules enthusiasts who gather to
push the jack just a stone’s throw from the former Château
d’Eau, one of the leading art galleries in France dedicated
to photography.
© D. Viet
In Toulouse, we walk on water. The walkway that has been
secured onto the medieval façade of the Hôpital La Grave
since 2008 provides a link between the belvedere of the
gardens of Les Abattoirs and the former Port Viguerie. It is
closed to the public when the River Garonne, which gushes
over the Bazacle causeway, swells and does an impression
of Niagara. The heavy metal doors riveted to the wall remind us that the river’s tantrums can be terrible, as was the
case during the flood of 1875 that ravaged the Saint-Cyprien
district on the left bank. Walkers who love to stroll in the
evening above the quays of the right bank, as the sun sets
and illuminates the brick façades, can now easily reach the
banks of the Garonne from Place Saint-Pierre by descending the new stepped terrace that has been designed in
the form of an amphitheatre by Joan Busquets, the Catalan
architect who is gradually making the city centre more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.
© Boig
Toulouse, the city
that transports you
13
TOLOPÉDIA
Pl
Plague
victims, beggars, prostitutes,
or
orphans and paupers have succeeded one
an
another through the centuries as residents
be
behind the brick walls that rise from the left
ba
bank of the River Garonne right back to the
m
medieval era. Up until 2003, generations
of Toulousains were born in the shadow
of the dome of Saint-Joseph de La Grave.
Th
The transfer of the maternity ward, and
th
then the geriatric ward in 2010, marked a
tu
turning point in the history of healthcare
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www.toulou
14
it.co
in Toulouse. The neighnouring Hôtel-Dieu
Saint-Jacques is now home to the CHU
teaching hospital of Toulouse. Like the
basilica Saint-Sernin, this building was
listed by UNESCO in remembrance of the
time when pilgrims that were on-route to
Compostella would be lodged in the Hôpital
Sainte-Marie-du-Bout-du-Pont.
http://www.chu-toulouse.fr/-histoire-dess-hopitaux-de-toulouse--
© D. Viet
© K. Lhémon
The Hospices de la Garonne
Did you know?
A tour of the city aboard a panoramic minibus
Since June 2013, an open-topped minibus has toured most of the historic sites and monuments
of the city. The visit lasts 75 minutes and has commentary in 13 languages via audio-guide. A
child version is also available.
www.citytour-toulouse.com
Segway Tours
If you want to explore every corner of the city without getting tired, Segway gyro-pods are
perfect. After 15 minutes of instruction on how to operate the machine, you strap on a helmet
and set off for a fun discovery tour of Toulouse. Circuits from 30min to 2h30.
www.mobilboard.com/fr/agence/segway/toulouse
Sail along the canal
A small electric boat with a solar panel that can be operated without a licence made an
appearance during the summer of 2014 at the Port de l’Embouchure. The rental company,
who set up base at the Ponts-Jumeaux in 2013, provides these silent and non-polluting craft
for those who want an initiation into sailing on the Canal de Brienne. They also have a fleet
of house boats available for hire from the motorway services at Port-Lauragais, half way
between Toulouse and Carcassonne.
http://navicanal.com
These activities can be reserved on-line at the Tourist Office website www.toulouse-visit.com
P. Thebault
Pyrénées © Grands Sit
es de Midi-
Toulouse, the city
that transports you
V80 : the cycle route for the Canal des Deux-Mers
There are two major stages to ride:
The Canal de Garonne by bike from Agen
to Toulouse (113km)
■
This section of the Canal des 2 Mers by bike,
entirely on greenway routes, allows visitors
to appreciate the richness of the lands that
they cross. Deviating from the Canal de
Garonne, visitors can discover a landscape
with Tuscan airs. Moissac and Montauban,
“Cities of Art and History” that overlook the
Tarn, provide an attractive and gastronomic
detour. The beautiful and vibrant city of
Toulouse, a regional capital with multiple
flavours and riches, invites visitors to stroll
among its numerous monuments and its
districts that are lively by day or by night.
The Canal du Midi by bike from Toulouse
to Carcassonne (138.5 km)
■
From Toulouse to Carcassonne, this section
of the Canal des 2 Mers by bike plunges
riders into the fabulous history of the Canall
du Midi, built in the XVII Century to link the
River Garonne to the Mediterranean. This
stage offers a tour that is full of charm in
the heart of the Pays de Cocagne and in
the footsteps of the Cathars from Toulouse
e
to Carcassonne. It should be noted that
the section to the south of Port Lauragais,
in parts neither paved nor sign-posted,
requires cyclists to be vigilant and to have
the necessary equipment.
www.francevelotourisme.com/base-1/
-1/
itineraires/canal-des-deux-mers-a-velo
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From the beaches of the Atlantic to those
of the Mediterranean, this is a new and
enchanting cycling itinerary with accents of
the Midi that awaits lovers of two wheels.
They can pedal along the Canal de Garonne
and the Canal du Midi, listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, before enjoying a
thousand and one stop-offs with a cultural
or gastronomic flavour. Toulouse, the Ville
Rose, lies at the heart of this cycling route
that is financed by Toulouse Métropole and
the Tourist Office.
15
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Gastronomy
on
© K. Lhém
16
- D. Viet
Pyrénées
© CRT Midi-
The little flower that has been cultivated in Toulouse
since 1854 is a cousin of the fragrant Parma violet,
but one which only flowers in winter. This variety,
which does not produce any seeds but rather
reproduces by means of runners ( like strawberry
rss
plants), has become a speciality of market gardeners
in the north of Toulouse, who established a “cooperative of violet and onion producers” in 1908.
They in turn supplied around 600 producers
that sent up to 600,000 bouquets per year by
train throughout the whole of Europe (!) before
experiencing a downturn… Nowadays, we can
only find around ten producers. Under threat from
years of propagation through cuttings, new hybrid
plants have been readied in-vitro by the Chamber
of Agriculture, with the help of the city of Toulouse.
130 international types of violet are preserved in
beautiful municipal greenhouses and are exhibited
every year at the start of February in the Place du
Capitole during the Fête de la Violette. The Berdoues
company has been making a perfume from violets
since 1936 in Cugnaux, the Benoît Serres company
produces 15,000 bottles of violet liqueur for two
generations in Villefranche-de-Lauragais and the
crystallised flowers, sold in sweet shops since the
XIX Century (produced in Toulouse most notably
by Candiflor), are still popular today, to be enjoyed
on the Maison de la Violette barge, for example
(boutique/exhibition venue/tea room), which is
moored on the Canal du Midi.
www.toulouse-visit.com
www.parfumsberdoues.com
www.benoitserres.com
www.candiflor.fr
www.lamaisondelaviolette.com
on
The Toulouse violet
Toulouse sausage is a charcuterie speciality made
up of lean and fatty chunks of pork, roughly
chopped and stuffed into natural casings. The
original recipe has become the general appellation
for frying sausages that are made by the kilometre
in every corner of France. The “Véritable saucisse
de Toulouse” red label protects local sausage
production since 1992, covering those that have at
least 75% of lean meat (shoulder, leg), and contain
no colourings or preservatives. Toulouse sausage
figures prominently in the recipe for cassoulet, an
emblematic dish that is also claimed by Carcassonne
and Castelnaudary. The recipes may have local or
family variations, but it invariably centres on the
slow simmering of meats in a “cassole” pot that
also contains dried beans, preferably of the Tarbes
variety. This stew can be made using lamb in
Carcassonne or confit goose in Toulouse, and should
be cooked for a long time in the oven, with the
golden crust that forms on the surface being cracked
several times before it is eaten. The invention of
methods to conserve food has meant that this
popular and traditional dish has been exported all
over the world.
Lhém
Sausages and Cassoulet
© Maison
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The specialities
© K.
TOLOPÉDIA
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Gastronomy
© D. Viet
louse -
P. Nin
© Boigontier
de Tou
This culture of conviviality in the open air can be found in
the dozen or so outdoor markets that bring the different districts of Toulouse to life every week. The biggest and most
popular, known as the Cristal, is held every morning (except
Monday) beneath the plane trees of the boulevards. It has
kept the name of the great Café Cristal, which is no longer
there, where the market gardeners of Blagnac or Saint-Jory
would come to warm up after having sold out of vegetables
on their stalls. Small producers from the region make the
Sunday market in the Place Saint-Aubin a sure fire success,
the last “farmer’s” market where you can still find a few
live chickens in the midst of the troupes of musicians that
provide the ambiance. Tuesday and Saturday mornings it is
the turn of the producers at the Esparcette organic market,
created more than 30 years ago (www.marchebiotoulouse.
org), to bring life to the garden at the foot of the Donjon
du Capitole. More focused on delicatessens and food professionals, three covered markets are also on hand to delight gourmets that have no time for “junk food”. Squeezing
together to enjoy lunch at one of the five restaurants on
the first floor of Victor-Hugo market will allow visitors to
understand the real soul of the city, just like a rugby ball
underneath a melee of Stade Toulousain.
With over 1,700 places to eat that are listed by the Chamber
of Commerce and Industry of Toulouse, the city has reputation as one of the country’s best served in terms of restaurants. Traditional restaurants or world cuisine, there is something to suit all tastes. Michel Bras, since 2014, has tried
his hand at running a quality fast food establishment in the
city centre with Les Capucins (Janus Design Pize in 2014).
Young chef Yannick Delpech is also an innovator, leaving his
gastronomic restaurant (L’Amphitryon in Colomiers, two Michelin stars) to one side for a moment in order to open Sandyan, a tea room on the rue Alsace-Lorraine where guests
who are in a rush will find burgers and Japanese bento
to take away, as well as the pastries of the house. Michel
Sarran, another pair of safe hands for gastronomy in Toulouse, also leaves his kitchens that lie opposite the ancient
ramparts (two stars, boulevard Duportal) in order to spruce
up the menus of other restaurants (ex: Toulouse airport,
brasserie at the Stade Toulousain, Café Emma in Barcelona)
and television programmes (like Top Chef). Toulousains can
award their very own stars every year thanks to the Prix Lucien Vanel. For its 7th edition in 2014, 161 restaurants took up
the challenge. In any case, every year Toulouse throws itself
into the Fête de la Gastronomie (www.fete-gastronomie.fr)!
After the success of spit-roast beef during the Toulouse
à Table event in September 2014, Toulouse provides a new
rendezvous for lovers of good food and festivities with a 5th
edition of the Fête de la Gastronomie on the 25th, 26th and
27th September 2015, which promises to be full of surprises.
© Ville
On sunny days in Toulouse, we gather on the streets for dinner with our neighbours. The “repas de quartier”, launched
in 1991 by the Occitan musician Claude Sicre at his den in
the Arnaud-Bernard quarter, have spread everywhere. In
the style of a “Spanish Inn”, everyone brings a dish, a drink,
sometimes a guitar, and everything is shared with those
on your table. The city, that stops traffic and supplies tables
and chairs for the occasion, lists no fewer than 300 of these
micro-events in the area from May to October. This formula
has since been exported throughout the rest of France.
© K. Lhémon
Epicurean Toulouse
17
T
These
small liquorice sweets that are
flavoured with English mint were invented
iin 1880 by Léon Lajaunie, a pharmacist
ffrom Toulouse. The yellow metal box, the
ssize of a pocket watch and that contributed
g
greatly to the commercial success of this
herbal recipe, was designed by one of his
ffriends, a watchmaker from Isle-Jourdain
((Gers). The Sirven brothers, printers from
Toulouse and makers of the packaging,
bought the brand in 1905 and sold the
Catechus in tobacconists. Production at the
time was 320,000 boxes, but is nowadays
more than 10 million. Having passed through
several different hands, the company today
is owned by the Kraft Group, who also
produce Hollywood chewing gum and Kiss
Cool sweets.
Toulouse
Lajaunie’s Catechus
© Ville de
© OT Toulou
se
TOLOPÉDIA
Did you know?
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After having picked up stars in his gastronomic restaurant, Gérard Garrigues set up Moaï in
2008, a self-service restaurant at the Muséum. This former Michelin starred chef passed
the baton to his former apprentices in 2012 in order to concentrate fully on Hémicycle, the
restaurant-cafeteria at the Musée des Abattoirs.
www.lemoai.com
www.restaurant-lhemicycle-toulouse.com
Focus on farm produce at the centre for agriculture
Since September 2014, the Chamber of Agriculture has provided residents of Toulouse with the
chance to order farm products on-line every week, before they themselves head out to the
banks of the Canal de Brienne or to the agricultural centre at the Domaine de Candie to collect
their order. This “geek” formula by AMAP brings together around forty producers who deliver
over 200 products.
www.drivefermiertoulousain.fr
Violets on the banks of the canal
A farm in the Lauragais produces Toulouse violets in greenhouses. Focusing now on agritourism,
the Viola 2000 farm in Renneville provides accommodation for walkers and offers canoe and
rickshaw hire for those wishing to explore the banks of the canal in summer.
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/haute-garonne/ferme-viola-2000-193072/contact_plan_acces
Poupart
© IVSO - P.
Epicurean Toulouse
www.france-sudouest.com
© IVSO - P. Poupart
Toulouse is the only large city in France that
has been growing its own vines since 1976.
In the Domaine de Candie, 26 hectares are
organically cultivated in front of the ThalèsAlenia satellite factory. The development of
the urban area has pushed the city right out
to the vineyards of Fronton (their unusual
local grape variety, Négrette, surprises
people with its flavours of violet) or Gaillac
(Tarn). From the hillsides of Gascony to the
wines of Cahors, the region boasts over
300 listed grape varieties, 14 protected
geographical indications and 29 protected
appellations of origin that are regrouped
under the banner of the association
“Interprofession des vins du Sud-Ouest”
(IVSO). To distinguish themselves from
the wines of Bordeaux or the LanguedocRoussillon, the IVSO focuses on innovation.
The Domaine de Candie is set to become
a site where visitors can discover a unique
local heritage and will also serve as a
laboratory for the 120 native grape varieties
of a wine-growing region stretching from
the Basque Country to the Aveyron.
© K. Lh
Some people consider the Ways of St James
to have been the world’s very first wine
routes. In fact, as a drink that was essential
to mankind (water was very often unsafe to
drink) and sacred in the Christian faith, wine
rapidly acquired considerable importance.
The planting of vineyards quite naturally
developed right across the South-West,
most notably thanks to the Benedictine
and Cistercian monks, along the Ways of
St James upon which Toulouse was a major
stopping point – with its basilica of SaintSernin and the Hôtel-Dieu de Toulouse
being listed as UNESCO World Heritage
Sites. Its river, the Garonne, and the Canal
du Midi have been used for a long time to
transport the wines of the South-West to
the port of Bordeaux. Due to this history
and its geographical location, Toulouse
provides the perfect showcase for the wines
of the South-West. The wine bars, cellars
and restaurants of Toulouse are veritable
ambassadors of good living thanks to the
gastronomy and the fine wines of the
region.
émon
The wines of the South-West
19
TOLOPÉDIA
CAFÉS in their original state
© Ville de
- P.
Toulouse
Nin
sunny terrace have been features of the Place
des Carmes for generations. This is the popular
café par excellence, where regulars are sure to
meet old friends without even having had to
arrange a rendezvous.
A little further out, the café Chez Authié,
a short hop from the Halle aux Grains on
Place Dupuy, and the Bar de la Concorde, in
the road that shares its name in the Chalets
quarter, have also known how to preserve an
atmosphere of the start of the last century.
www.maisonconstant.com/bibent
www.leflorida-capitole.fr
www.au-pere-louis.fr
www.chezauthie.fr
m/CafeDeLaConcorde
www.facebook.com/CafeDeLaConcorde
20
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© D. Vie
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The paintings on the ceilings and stucco
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decorations call to mind the ceremonial
cha
chambers of the neighbouring Le Capitole. Le
Bib
Bibent (“drink well” in Occitan) and Le Florida
pro
provide some of the last evidence of the great
café
cafés that bordered the central square of
Tou
Toulouse during the last century. The brasserie,
liste
listed as a Historic Monument since 1975, was
bou
bought in 2011 by Christian Constant, a cook
wh
who was originally from Montauban and is
we
well-known in Paris, made famous by the
pro
programme Top Chef.
Le P
Père Louis is another institution well-known
by Toulousains.
T
Between Le Capitole and the
Plac
Place Esquirol, this wine bar can boast of being
the oldest bistro in the city. It has maintained
its a
ancient ensign on its narrow façade, which
has indicated its speciality since 1889: Quinine
Win
Wine.
Wh
Whether it is time for an aperitif or a croissant,
the zinc counter at the Bar du Matin and its
P. Nin
© D. Viet
© D. Viet
louse -
The 100,000 students now set the tempo for the city just as
the old Spanish refugees used to. They are “sous, sous, sous
© D. Viet
de Tou
It is when the sun goes down that the poetic brilliance of
Claude Nougaro is confirmed: Spain has “pushed its horns”
so far into the city that it now sets its watch to Madrid or
Barcelona time. When aperitif hour arrives, the tapas come
out. The terraces of the bars fill up and the drinks are always
accompanied by a few things to nibble on. Most bars serve
their own tapas, often created using regional products.
la place Saint-Pierre” (on, on, on the place Saint-Pierre), as
Nougaro himself might sing. The terraced steps that now
descend towards the River Garonne provide a new open-air
amphitheatre for them to enjoy. The bars in the square fill up
every night and the terraces overflow more often than the
river, especially when rugby matches are shown on the big
screen at the Bar Saint-Pierre. Pastis lovers head for Chez
Tonton, who has served it by the metre for generations,
whilst lovers of beer get in a froth at Bar Basque. The rue
Pargaminières, linking this hotspot for student parties with
Le Capitole, is the new “thirsty street”, with its kebabs that
ease nocturnal hunger pangs. The rue des Blanchers is
more like “hungry street”, with around ten small restaurants
in the space of just a few metres. The terrace at the Café
des Artistes, Place de la Daurade, is the place to go in order
to catch the last rays of sun as its sets across the Garonne.
At one end of the Pont Neuf, the crowd stands on the
pavement outside Le Filochard to enjoy the very last rays
of sun. On the other side, the left bank, the Saint-Cyprien
quarter provides a village atmosphere that is a big hit on
the Place de l’Estrapade (tapas bars like Vasco Le Gama and
l’Extrapade, Le Temps des Vendanges wine bar and cellar)
or Place du Ravelin (The Dispensary pub, the restaurant Le
Bistrologue, Le Ravelin wine bar), without forgetting the
Place Olivier that has been recently renovated.
© Ville
In its historic centre or its surrounding districts, the city
provides some unforgettable strolls along well-preserved
narrow streets flanked by ancient façades with remarkable
décor, brick walls that are shrouded in leaves and branches
that leave gaps through which you can spot pleasant
gardens. A stroll through the narrow streets of the SaintÉtienne quarter, between Les Carmes and La Dalbade or
in the pleasant Chalets or du Busca districts in order to feel
the atmosphere of Toulouse is an authentic way in which
visitors can immerse themselves in the city. Place Salengro,
Place de la Trinité, Place Boulbonne, Place Olivier, Place de
la Concorde, here and there, in an architectural setting that
is typically Toulousain, little squares dotted with refreshing
fountains that provide a lively place to stop where it is a
pleasure to savour the sweet life of Toulouse.
21
© Comédie de Toulouse
TOLOPÉDIA
Cafes-theatres
Outside of the Printemps du Rire, the comedy
festival that celebrated its 20th edition in
2015, Toulouse knows how to entertain
itself all year round. The Chevaliers du Fiel, a
comic duo that have travelled the theatres
of France and of Navarre since the 1980’s,
opened their very own show venue in their
home town in 2010. The 300 seats at the
Comédie de Toulouse adds to the city’s already
impressive café-theatre offer. A pioneer in
this field, the 3T cabaret, opened in 1986 on
the banks of the Canal du Midi, presents a
number of pieces every evening in its three
studios. The Minimes café-theatre opened a
second venue, a short hop from the 57 on the
boulevard des Minimes. The Fil à Plomb has
seen a procession of comedians through the
generations in its pocket-sized neighbourhood
theatre in the Arnaud-Bernard quarter and the
Grand-Rond theatre has even more aperitifshows in its two, more “classic”, rooms.
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Outings
www.printempsdurire.com
www.lacomediedetoulouse.com
http://3tcafetheatre.com/
http://lesminimes.com/
www.le57.com
http://theatrelefilaplomb.fr/
http://grand-rond.org/
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fountain. From the rue Boulbonne to the rue Saint-Antoinedu-T that links the oasis of Saint-Georges to the Place
Wilson and its cinemas, right up to the Place Victor-Hugo
(with its unmissable J’GO), wine bars offer cheese platters
“à la française” as an alternative to the Spanish tapas. All
along the rue des Filatiers, up until the Place des Carmes,
people of all ages come together joyfully, sitting at a table
in a trendy restaurant or sipping a drink on a terrace. Sushi
madness has also taken on the challenge of usurping the
Iberian model of enjoying a nibble with your aperitif, with
notable “afterwork” sessions organised on the roof terraces
of Galeries Lafayette every Friday, from 17h to 21h. Here, they
serve “tapas Japanese style” with a glass of champagne
whilst admiring the view of the “sprinkling of roof tiles” that
Nougaro sang of.
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Outings
© Conn
The quays of the right bank are not the only ones that come
to life in the evening. Between the boulevards and the
Canal du Midi, night life thrives all around the rue GabrielPéri. Old barrels that now serve as tables ensure that it is
always packed at the Connexion Live, a former audio-visual
hire shop located in the garage of a multi-storey car park
that hosts concerts on the ground floor. On the pavement
opposite, the beautiful building that used to be home to the
Télégramme newspaper at the start of the XX Century has
been transformed into a restaurant and tapas bar across
three floors, with concerts and DJ sets every evening until
2am. The nearby rue de la Colombette is narrower and is
quickly taken over by the clientele of the Café Populaire,
popping out with little plastic cups to smoke a cigarette. The
average age is higher and the ambiance is more relaxed
around the pretty Place Saint-Georges and its Wallace
Nin
23
2 - The City of Carcassonne
The ramparts of Carcassonne have been
on the World Heritage list since 1997 as
an example of a medieval fortified town.
The site includes the Comtal château
from the XII Century, the gothic cathedral
and the walls that date right back to
Roman antiquity. The classification also
highlighted the “lengthy restoration
campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, one
of the founders of the modern science of
conservation”.
www.tourisme-carcassonne.fr
24
4
2
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www.albi-tourisme.fr
3
1
This site of the Pyrenees National
Park was also classified as a “cultural
xperts
landscape” by UNESCO in 1997. The experts
ting
saw it as “a pastoral landscape reflecting
nce
an agricultural way of life that was once
widespread in the upland regions of
lso
Europe”. The Gavarnie classification also
included two other, less-frequented cirques
on the French side and the canyons of
Anisclo on the Spanish side, in the heart of
the Mont Perdu massif.
http://ete.gavarnie.com/
n Stre
4 - The Cirque de Gavarnie
© Ope
This 240km work was built under the reign
of the Sun King from Sète to Toulouse
and was listed as a World Heritage Site in
1996. The listing extends to its derivations
and additional sections (among them
the Canal de Brienne) and its 328 works
of art, including the barrage-reservoir
of Saint-Ferréol in Revel and the “supply
channels” in the Black Mountain. UNESCO
wanted to recognise in particular that the
“care that its creator, Pierre-Paul Riquet,
took in the design and the way it blends
with its surroundings turned a technical
achievement into a work of art”.
www.canal-et-voie-verte.com
5
5 - The Port de la L
Lune
un
ne
in Bordeaux
The classification of the 1,731 hectares of
the Port de la Lune in 2007 highlighted
“an outstanding urban and architectural
ensemble, created in the age of the
Enlightenment, whose values continued
up to the first half of the XX Century”.
UNESCO were particularly impressed by the
protection given by the city to 347 buildings
that were listed or classified, the largest
number of historic buildings in France after
Paris.
www.bordeaux-tourisme.com
- C. Bouthe
1 - The Canal du Midi
3 - The Episcopal City of Albi
UNESCO included the city centre of Albi
bi
on its World Heritage list in 2010. The
classification includes the cathedral off
Sainte-Cécile and the episcopal palace
e of
La Berbie, which houses the ToulouseeLautrec museum, as well as the medieval
ieval
town of Saint-Salvi and the suburb
of La Madeleine, linked by the Pont
n
Vieux across the River Tarn. An “urban
medieval landscape that is wellpreserved and extremely authentic”,
claimed UNESCO’s experts.
© OT Bordeaux
© Boigont
ier
Around Toulouse: the major UNESCO sites
Less than one hour from Le Capitole, discover the “little
sisters” of the Ville Rose: the chasselas grape variety and
the cloister of Saint-Pierre Abbey in Moissac, the Place
Sainte-Cécile in Albi or the Place Nationale in Montauban
with its superb double row of brickwork arcades. The narrow
medieval streets of Albi surround a cathedral that has the
allure of a fortress and overlooks the Tarn. They share the
same history as the stone ramparts of Carcassonne, taken
by storm by Simon de Montfort during the crusade against
the Cathars and restored by Viollet-le-Duc. The architect, a
friend of Prosper Mérimée, also saved the Jacobins convent
in Toulouse from destruction. It belonged to the Dominican
order and was founded in Toulouse in order to combat
“heretics”.
Is Toulouse to be
classified by UNESCO?
The mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, announced
in September 2014 his intention to get the city centre
classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO “in the
next ten years or so”. The city’s bid will centre on the
217 hectare protected area that was defined in 1986.
Stretching as far as the Saint-Cyprien quarter on the left
bank of the River Garonne, “the historic escutcheon”
marked out by the ancient ramparts is the largest
protected zone in France. To this day, only the Canal
du Midi has been classified by UNESCO in Toulouse, in
addition to the basilica of Saint-Sernin and the HôtelDieu that are listed within the framework of the Ways
of St James. Assizes relating to this heritage should,
in 2015, outline the project and inform all public and
private landowners concerned.
© D. Viet
In less than two hours, a car that leaves the car park at
Le Capitole can pull up at a seaside resort along the
Mediterranean coast or in a ski resort up in the Pyrenees.
In winter or in summer, it is possible to jump on a train at
Matabiau with your skis for a day on the Beille Plateau,
the slopes of Ax-3-Domaines or Andorra. Alternatively,
you could grab your swimming costume and head to the
beaches of Leucate or Collioure. The sea and the mountains
are both within reach so that weekends in the country can
be enjoyed by all. Do your shopping under the arcades of
an ancient fortified town in Gascony or Rouergue, climb
up to the hilltop village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie after a stroll
in the Causses du Quercy Regional Nature Park, cross the
Lauragais by bike along the Canal du Midi until you reach
Castelnaudary: the playgrounds of the Toulousain back
country are better than any modern theme park. The Canal
des Deux-Mers cycling route, the V80, will delight lovers of
two wheels who will be able to pedal right along the Canal
de Garonne and the Canal du Midi, stopping off in Toulouse.
© D. Viet
The bronze Occitan cross that is carved into the granite
of the Place du Capitole also flutters above the region’s
hotels, from Toulouse to Montpellier. Well before the merger
that was announced for 2016 linking the Midi-Pyrénées
and Languedoc-Roussillon regions, the city has shared
common roots that are a combination of history, geography
and culture. The eight pink marble columns that have
adorned the façade of Le Capitole since the XVIII Century
were themselves extracted from the quarries of CaunesMinervois. “Languedoc marble” can also be found in the
Place Carnot in Carcassonne and in the Opéra Garnier in
Paris, as well as in the Great Mosque in Cordoba.
© J. M. Herra
dor
Toulouse, gateway to
an exceptional region
25
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The prolific engineer Clément Ader was born
in Muret in 1841. A plaque on the wall of the
house where he was born on the street that
shares his name describes him as “the father
of aviation”. In 1890 he registered a patent
for a “winged machine for aerial navigation,
known as an airplane”. The craft, inspired
by the flight of a bat, was christened Éole.
He made his first test flights in the park of
a château in the Paris region. The French
army, intrigued by his invention, financed the
construction of two prototypes, tested in the
military camp of Satory, next to Versailles. The
inventor broke the vow of secrecy that the
army had made him take in 1906 in order to
confirm the success of an initial flight at the
y, a few years
y
end of the XIX Century,
before
26
the Wright brothers in the USA (1903). Having
retired to a winegrowing estate in Beaumontsur-Lèze, Clément Ader published a number
of works on military aviation, before and after
World War One. He died in 1925 without ever
having been able to prove the truth about
these first flights. His name was given to the
assembly plant for Airbus A330 and A340 in
Colomiers and to the Clément-Ader Institute,
which is the shop window of the research
centre for Toulouse-Aerospace in Montaudran.
www.france.fr/17eme-18eme-et19eme-siecles/invention-de-lavion-par-clementader-1890.html
www.institut-clement-ader.org
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Toulouse, European capital
of aeronautics and space
© Airbus SA
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The 53 metre full-scale model of the Ariane 5 Rocket is in
place on the side of the ring-road that encircles Toulouse,
opposite the Toulouse-Lasbordes aerodrome. Experts
or novices, adults or children, all will be able to enjoy a
memorable day of experiences, spectacles and discoveries
in the European space adventure park. Since 1997, the Cité
de l’Espace, one of the exceptional sites of Toulouse and
unique in Europe, has sat between the Kourou launch base
and the River Garonne (www.cite-espace.com). Just like the
CNES engineers, based a few hundred metres away as the
crow flies on the Rangueil campus, the general public can
follow all the great events taking place in space as they
occur. In 2014, over 300,000 visitors came to the 5 hectare
site of this Guyanese enclave in Toulouse, also connected
to Cape Canaveral and Baikonur. The adventure and the
suspense of the Philae mission, that little robot that landed
on a comet after a journey of more than ten years, as well
as that of the Rosetta probe astonished more than 6000
members of the public and international journalists that
were invited to breakfast on the 12th November 2014. The
animated full-scale models of Philae and of Curiosity, the
NASA “rover” that explored the planet Mars, are on display
at the Cité de l’Espace until the end of 2015.
© P. E. Lang
de l’esp
Replaced by the Airbus “Beluga” cargo planes, the Super
Guppy and its four propeller engines were saved from
oblivion by the Ailes Anciennes association, who take care of
old civil or military aircraft (www.aatlse.org). The association
and all its passionate aeronautics fans petitioned for a
long time to have a place in which to keep their collection
safe from the elements, which were stored behind the
old Dassault-Bréguet factory at the end of the runway at
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Airbus and the local municipalities
invested over 21 million euros into Aeroscopia, which opened
its doors in January 2015 just a few steps from the assembly
plant responsible for the A380, the giant aircraft made by
this European company. The original thing about this lively
and interactive museum, which is unique in Europe, is that
it supports the collections of nine associations that are
focused on safeguarding local aeronautical heritage. This
visit can be combined with an exclusive visit to the Airbus
factory. It is a bridge between the present and the past of
an industry that ensured the economy of the whole local
area could really take off.
© Cité
The rounded fuselage of the Super Guppy vies for star billing
with the nose cone of the Concorde beneath the vast, curved
roof of the new and innovative Aeroscopia museum in Blagnac
(www.musee-aeroscopia.fr). The astonishing silhouette of this
“flying whale” is less well-known than the sleek lines of the
only supersonic aircraft to transport passengers, but it is still
very familiar to all the Toulousains that have watched the
Airbus cargo plane fly above their city every day for decades.
From 1972 to 1996, the hold of this extraordinary aircraft, of
which only four where ever built anywhere in the word, has
transported parts of aircraft constructed throughout Europe
on their way to be assembled in Toulouse. The gaping
mouth of this curious cetacean of the sky lets you see its
insides, filled with cables and pipes. A cinema has been set
up in the interior for visitors to enjoy.
27
TOLOPÉDIA
Historically, Toulouse is home to the second
observatory in France, after Paris. It was
built in 1841 on a hill overlooking the city,
500m up, in order to replace an observation
post that was initially installed in a tower on
the ramparts, in rue des Fleurs. This brick
building housed the first telescope and was
designed by Urbain Vitry, the city’s architect
who was also responsible for, among others,
Les Abattoirs and the neighbouring TerreCabade cemetery. Generations of astronomers
have worked here, studying a map of the
stars that is made up of 10,000 images. Two
other domes would be built to house the new
instruments before scientists left this site
for the Rangueil campus in 1970. Swallowed
up by the growing city, the observatory was
abandoned in favour of the telescopes based
at Pic du Midi (2,876m) at the start of the
XX Century. The instruments are still used
today by the Popular Astonomy Society, who
organise regular science initiation soirees in a
pleasant garden that is open to the public.
www.saptoulouse.net
www.toulouse.fr/web/la-mairie/decouvrir-laville/balades-d-ete/ces-architectes-qui-ont-faittoulouse
© D. Viet
© P. Daubert
The Jolimont Observatory
© Aviasim
Did you know?
Flight simulators open to the public
Close to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport and the Jean-Luc Lagardère
re factory that is d
dedicated to the
A380, the Aviasim Centre in Beauzelle offers the opportunity
ty to take command of an A320
in the company of a professional instructor. Two realistic cockpits equipped with a 180° dome
screen and Hi-Fi speakers let visitors replicate a flight of their choosing.
www.aviasim.fr
Fly aboveToulouse in an airplane
Headquartered at the former Francazal air base, Avenir Aviation is a flight school that offers
initiation flights of 20 to 50 minutes above the city on board a small Cessna 172.
www.aveniraviation.fr
These activities can be booked on-line: www.toulouse-visit.com.
28
d’Aéroposta
le
© Mémoire
Toulouse, European capital
of aeronautics and space
The Giants’ Runway at Montaudran
ever airport and the Château Raynal will be
redecorated in order to recall the pioneers of
aviation. A garden will link the two sides of
the old runway, once just grass and already
partially classified as a Historic Monument.
www.lamachine.fr
© Groupe SNC-Lavalin Aéroports - Taillandier Architecte Associés
untaner
www.toulouse-metropole.fr/projets/
toulouse-montaudran-aerospace
nM
© Stepha
François Delarozière’s first giant
performance machines will re-join the
great hall that has sprung up alongside the
historic runway in Montaudran once used by
the Aéropostale fleet. The city of Toulouse
commissioned an original work by this artistengineer that designed the majority of the
mechanical giants for the street theatre
troupe Royal de Luxe in the workshops of
Nantes and Tournefeuille, in the suburbs
of Toulouse. His mysterious Minotaur, his
very personal interpretation of the myth of
Icarus, shouldn’t go on public display until
just before 2018 and the centenary of the
opening of the Toulouse-Barcelona route.
Until then, the historic buildings such as
the old radio tower from the city’s first
29
Pastel / Woad
© D. Viet
30
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Pastel
© Graine de Pastel
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Toulouse.
Used for dyeing and as a medicinal plant since Antiquity,
Isatis Tinctoria was cultivated to pre-industrial levels during
the Renaissance in the Lauragais, between Toulouse, Albi
and Carcassonne. Its blue pigment, obtained from pounding
the dried leaves of this small yellow flower in mills, was
exported throughout the whole of Europe and used as a dye
for textiles. Having earned a fortune, the pastel merchants
had sumptuous private mansions built in Toulouse. The dried
balls of pastel, known as “coques” in the Lauragais language,
would form the basis of the legendary “Pays de Cocagne”.
This flourishing commerce was ended by competition from
indigo, or “Chinese pastel”, that was cultivated in India. Pastel
production slowly started to re-emerge in the region and
its curative properties began to attract the interest of the
cosmetics industry (remember: the Graine de Pastel brand
has won several awards) and of artisan craftsmen (dyeing,
prêt-à-porter, decorations). An unusual complex that combines, museum-spa-boutique-restaurant has been showcasing this plant since 2013 in the south of Toulouse: Terre de
Pastel.
www.toulouse-visit.com/Interested-in/Discovery
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Saint-Sernin & the pilgrimage
to Santiago de Compostela
More well-known than the curious Saint-Etienne cathedral,
al,
the basilica of Saint-Sernin was consecrated in 1096 by Pope
pe
e
Urban II, who came to Toulouse to preach in support of the
First Crusade. The church was built in order to house the remains of Saint Saturnin, the first bishop of the city. Catholic
martyrology tells us that he was tortured and tied behind a
sacrificial bull by pagan priests who tried in vain to convince
e
him to honour the Roman Emperor (which is where the name
of the rue du Taur originates). Boasting numerous relics, this
basilica that is maintained by canons would become an important stage on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela (situated in Via Tolosana or the road to Arles known
on
as the GR 653 Arles/Pamplona), which earned it an inscription
on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In 2014, the Association
of Friends of the Ways of St James welcomed 1,250 walkers
and stamped that many “credentials” (pilgrim’s passport) in
Saint-Sernin. The basilica’s octagonal belfry, a masterpiece off
y
southern medieval art, has served as the template for many
others throughout the region. It also boasts a monumental
organ constructed by one of the leading organ makers of
the XIX Century. A native of the Tarn, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
made over 500 instruments throughout the whole of Europe.
Classed as a Historic Monument, this instrument is one of the
key elements of the Toulouse Les Orgues Festival, which has
been attracting organists from all over the world for the last
20 years to come and play on the city’s twenty or so organs.
The Saint-Raymond museum is the only remaining trace of
the abbey that used to surround the sanctuary in the Middle
Ages, located in the suburb that began to spring up outside
the ramparts of the city.
www.basilique-saint-sernin.fr
http://compostelle-toulouse.com
www.chemins-compostelle.com
http://saintraymond.toulouse.fr
www.toulouse-les-orgues.org
© D. Viet
TOLOPÉDIA
© D. Viet
Toulouse, city of culture
and heritage
© D. Viet
© Ville de
Toulouse P.
Nin
The tower that rises above the Prairie des Filtres is the former water tower, the Château d’eau, which has been transformed into a municipal gallery devoted to the photography of Jean Dieuzaide (www.galeriechateaudeau.org). The
exhibitions that hang even from the ancient pipework that
is visible on the brick walls are an echo of those that are
accessible free of charge in the bowels of the hydro-electric plant of the EDF Bazacle, on the right bank of the River Garonne (http://bazacle.edf.com). The old mills from the
Middle Ages no longer produce flour, but the turbines that
are visible behind the glass have been lighting up the city
since 1888. A small panel that is regularly updated lists the
types of migrating fish that travel upstream along the specially installed water staircase beneath the new panoramic
terrace.
L. Petit
The venerable Halle aux Grains, built on Place Dupuy in 1861
for the trade in grain that was transported up the Canal
du Midi, which flows just behind it, has become the base
for the Capitole National Orchestra (http://onct.toulouse.fr/
halle-aux-grains). Since 1974 the musicians have gathered
on the site of the old boxing ring, installed when this beau-
tiful building that has the appearance of an arena made of
bricks and stone was transformed into a sports pavilion after the war. Today, the city plans to establish a new auditorium that will house the orchestra in what was the prison of
Saint-Michel, abandoned since 2009.
© EDF - J.-
In Toulouse, we don’t discard our old buildings. We find a
new purpose for them. The old slaughterhouse of the city,
built in the XIX Century in the Saint-Cyprien quarter, nowadays houses a museum of modern art and the region’s
contemporary art fund: Les Abattoirs (www.lesabattoirs.
org). The stock of works acquired by Daniel Cordier, former
secretary of Jean Moulin turned gallery owner, have come to
enrich the collections on the first floor of the large brickwork
nave that hosts numerous temporary exhibitions. Another
enlightened collector has entrusted his favourite works to
the city. Georges Bemberg, a wealthy Argentinian art lover,
decided in 1994 to put on display his tableaux that cover a
vast period in the history of art, from the pre-Renaissance
to the post-Impressionists, in the most remarkable private
mansion in Toulouse. The Hôtel d’Assézat, constructed in
1555 by a rich textile industrialist who made his fortune in
the pastel trade, was entirely renovated in order to house
the thousand works of the Bemberg Foundation (www.
fondation-bemberg.fr). It is also home to the headquarters
of the Académie des Jeux Floraux (established in 1323 and
thought to be the most ancient learned society in Europe:
http://jeuxfloraux.fr).
31
© D. Viet
TOLOPÉDIA
Did you know?
Jean Dieuzaide & the Château d’Eau
A new look for the Jacobins Convent!
purchasing the funds and archives of the
photographer, stored at present in the
studio next to his home. They should be
put on public display in the Saint-Cyprien
quarter, thanks to the opening of a new
venue dedicated to humanist photography.
ebault
rénées - P. Th
www.galeriechateaudeau.org
es de Midi-Py
© Grands Sit
Jean Dieuzaide (1921/2003) is a
photographer from Toulouse who
has devoted his life to promoting his
art. Working in publishing as much
as in advertising, he had his first
photographs published in the press
under the pseudonym of “Yan”. In 1974
he inaugurated in Toulouse the first ever
gallery devoted solely to photography
with an exhibition dedicated to his friend
Robert Doisneau. The sons of Jean
Dieuzaide and the daughters of Robert
Doisneau organised a joint exhibition of
their fathers’ pictures to celebrate the
fortieth anniversary of the Château d’Eau.
The city of Toulouse has committed to
After several months of renovation work, the Jacobins Convent (founded by the Dominican
order and the resting place of the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas) now provides visitors
with a new « welcome and boutique » space within the superb La Vierge chapel, which has
been closed to the public until now and has been recently renovated. Another major new
feature is that, since May 2015, tourists can take advantage of an interpretation trail with
information panels and multi-media stations presenting the history and the architecture of
the site, including the famous « Palm tree ».
The Jacobins Convent still plays host to the Marathon des Mots and the Passe ton Bach
d’abord music festivals in June, as well as the Piano aux Jacobins festival in September.
2015 marks the start of the commemorations for the 8th centenary of the Dominican order.
www.jacobins.mairie-toulouse.fr
Lightbulbs for the capitals of the Augustins
Jorge Pardo has totally reimagined the look of the capitals at the Augustins Fine Art
Museum. The artist, originally from Cuba, has designed coloured lighting, a geometric floor
and new colonnades for this forest of sculpted stone. Commissioned for the first edition of
the new Toulouse International Art Festival (FIAT), this work took six months to install and
will remain in place until 2016.
www.augustins.org
www.toulouseartfestival.com
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32
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The Museum’s Skeleton Wall
Once a year, the 75 skeletons are displayed in dynamic poses behind the 120m long curved
window, surging outwards as if in a film and illuminated by x-rays during Museum Night. This
display is unique in the world, taking years of hard work to achieve, and is one of the standout features of the lengthy programme of extensions and renovations at the Muséum
de Toulouse. After ten years of work, the reopening in December 2007 of this temple to
science, housed since 1796 in the former Carmes convent and now the 2nd museum in
France, inaugurated the redevelopment of the buildings around the faculty of medicine
and of Paul-Sabatier University (threatened with demolition). In 2015 the spotlight will once
again shine on the allées Jules-Guesde with the relocation of the Federative University of
Toulouse having been announced and the opening of a resource centre for scientific and
technical culture: The Quai des Savoirs.
www.museum.toulouse.fr
www.toulouse-metropole.fr/projets/quartier-des-sciences
rénées - P. Th
ebault
© Grands Sit
es de Midi-Py
Toulouse, city of culture
and heritage
© D. Viet
Constant…) that cover the walls of the
sumptuous reception rooms , including the
Salle des Illustres, which depicts the major
events in the city’s history. The 29 tableaux
hanging beneath the arcades of the Place du
Capitole since 1997, known as the “Galerue”,
keep alive this tradition. They were created
by Raymond Moretti, the artist who was also
responsible for the large bronze cross adorned
with the twelve signs of the zodiac that was
erected when the square was renovated.
www.toulouse-visit.com
www.theatreducapitole.fr
www.toulouse.fr/web/la-mairie/decouvrir-laville/patrimoine/l-art-dans-la-rue
de To
© Ville
Toulouse is without doubt the only city in the
world where the town hall is also an opera
house. The Capitouls who were responsible
for administration in the city at the time of
the Counts of Toulouse (from 1190) chose the
name of what was their common house from
the XII Century onwards. The current building,
constructed in 1759, has eight marble columns
that evoke the memory of these distant
predecessors of the municipal councillors that
each represented a district of the city. These
Capitouls wore long red and black robes, colours
that were later adopted by the Stade Toulousain
rugby club (www.stadetoulousain.fr). The
adjoining theatre has been renovated several
times over the course of history. Temple of the
“bel canto” during the XIX Century, today the
Théâtre du Capitole is a hotbed of opera.
ulouse
Le Capitole
The first floor of Le Capitole is also a “museum”
that is free to visit, and that should not be
overlooked by virtue of its large tableaux
(by Paul Gervais, Henri Martin, Benjamin
33
TOLOPÉDIA
Back to the source for this festival established
in 1995 on the banks of the River Garonne.
The Nile, the Danube and the Mississippi are
all invited to come and mingle on the left bank
of Toulouse’s river, just as they were when
this festival of world music was known by its
former name of “Garonne”. Claude Nougaro,
Joan Baez, Jimmy Cliff, Johnny Clegg, Youssou
N’Dour and Paco de Lucia have all performed
on the big stages that are set up on the Prairie
des Filtres as the summer solstice draws near.
The programme aims to bring together the
most iconic artists to have performed here
over the last 20 years. From June 17 to 21,
this great celebration of music that is “made in
Toulouse” is also a temporary village, with its
exhibition pavilions, restaurants and play areas
for children. Screenings of films in the open air,
circus arts performances and installations by
visual artists are also on the agenda. There is
also the return of Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow, whose Masai warriors and Nouba
fighters were exhibited during the first edition
of the festival on the Pont Neuf.
www.rio-loco.org
34
© K. Lhém
on
© Estudi
o zoveck
© C. Picc
i
celebration
This great
at is
of music th
oulouse”
“made in T
mporar y
is also a te
village.
20 years of Rio Loco
© Ville de Tou
The young musicians of the band Cats on Trees (http://
catsontrees.com/) or the singer Manu Galure (www.
manugalure.com) have taken up the mantle of their
predecessors, the thunderous Juliette (http://juliette.
artiste.universalmusic.fr/) or Jean-Pierre Mader (www.
jeanpierremader.com), King of the Charts on the FM radio
during the 1980’s.
louse -
P. Nin
© K. Lhémon
de Tou
We also dance the tango in the streets of Toulouse once
the summer arrives. Since 2009, the Tangopostale festival
(www.tangopostale.com), founded by around twenty
associations of enthusiasts of this Argentinian musical
genre, organises open-air balls in the city of Carlos Gardel’s
birth, a veritable “star” in South America. In honour of this
son of a washer woman from the rue des Sept-Troubadours
who had to emigrate to the pavements of Buenos Aires in
1892, the Tourist Office has dedicated a touristic itinerary to
him (www.cultures.toulouse.fr/-/un-itineraire-sur-les-pasde
-carlos-gardel). In homage to another great, the Tourist
Office offers guided visits “in the footsteps of Nougaro”,
from the house where he was born on boulevard d’Arcole
right up to the mural of him that was painted by Raymond
Moretti under the arcades of Le Capitole and his statue
close to Le Donjon that was sculpted by Sébastien Langloÿs
(inaugurated in 2014 / www.sculpture-nougaro.com and
www.assonougaro.com).
louse - P. Nin
© Ville
Tugan Sokhiev, the young Russian conductor from SaintPetersburg, has quickly won over a public that was
accustomed to following the swing of Michel Plasson’s
baton, the iconic musical director of the Capitole National
Orchestra (http://onct.toulouse.fr/). The band Zebda, hailing
from the northern districts of the city, have succeeded
Claude Nougaro in singing with a Toulouse accent all over
France. The combination of cultures is a hallmark in the
city of Bombes 2 Bal and the out of the ordinary Fabulous
Trobadors, a duo of so-called “tchatcheurs” and originators
of “patois rap” that are managed by Claude Sicre (http://
escambiar.com/). The love of lyrics and the taste for rhythm
have inspired “No Landais” singer Dick Annegarn (http://
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Annegarn) to follow this lead in
organising “poetic jousts” that are improvised on the Place
du Capitole. Perched on a stepladder and armed with a
megaphone, anybody can recite a few verses or a piece of
prose, just as it was with the ancient eloquence contests
that were held in the times of the troubadours.
- D. Mayoussi
er
On Thursday at midday there are free concerts. Every
week, musicians turn up around lunch time for a “musical
interlude” that is open to everyone, with no ticket required.
This formula, launched in September 2008 by Joël Saurin,
bassist with local band Zebda, has quickly grabbed the
public’s attention. The eclectic programme attracts a crowd
of curious spectators in the municipal hall of the Sénéchal
in winter and in the courtyard of the Ostal d’Occitania when
the weather is fine (www.cultures.toulouse.fr/thematique/
toulouse-bonsplans/pause-musicale). Music lovers that
are regulars at the Halle aux Grains (http://onct.toulouse.
fr/halle-aux-grains / www.grandsinterpretes.com), a rock
crowd at the Bikini (www.lebikini.com) or French chanson
aficionados at the café-concert hall Le Bijou (www.le-bijou.
net) get together here informally to share a few tunes.
© Tangopostale
Toulouse beats to
the rhythm of live shows
35
© K. Lhémon
Electronic Siestas and Synthetic Gardens
The Rotation association floated the idea of
a free festival dedicated to electronic music
in 2001. The very first Siestes Electroniques
were held on the Prairie des Filtres, and
later in the Raymond VI gardens with the
support of the Les Abattoirs contemporary art
museum. The festival has also made use of
disused churches, the Théâtre Garonne or the
former halls of La Cartoucherie, before being
exported to Egypt, Japan, Berlin and Paris. This
Toulousain association has been involved for
four years with the Musée Branly and has also
launched a revue devoted to Pop music
© K. Lhém
on
TOLOPÉDIA
In the same spirit, since 2010 the SaintRaymond museum has hosted a festival that
brings together contemporary art installations
and antique statues. The Jardins Synthétiques
clears out other unusual exhibition spaces for
each edition, such as the chapel of the former
Carmelite convent.
www.les-siestes-electroniques.com
www.jardins-synthetiques.org
Did you know?
A circus education
us time by the
h
t
i
w
l
l
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s
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i inaugurated during his life hall
Nougaourgo
cert
H
aro all was
one, this con
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The Claude-N
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nger himself
si
in
sa
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great To
u
ork ’s co
m this artist
the Airbus w
hter to who
g
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a
d
belonging to
e
th
,
in 2015. It
écile
on Nougaro
ormances. C
is
rf
a
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M
p
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n
th
so
d
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a
ch
song, open
d a riverside
very famous
museum an
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dedicated a
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ting sta
canal barge
e time a floa
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36
ougaro.com
http://sallen
r
n-nougaro.f
o
is
a
.m
w
w
w
The Lido circus school celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013 in its new home in the green area
of Les Argoulets. Initially based at a local neighbourhood cinema, this municipal school is open to
amateurs and professionals alike. The circus artists can also put on performances at La Grainerie de
Balma, on the other side of the ring road (easily accessible by metro).
www.circolido.fr
www.la-grainerie.net
L’Usine: the show factory
The spectacular street performance machines by François Delarozières are dreamed up in
Tournefeuille (in the suburbs of Toulouse), in a workshop that this artist and engineer wished to
maintain when the Royal de Luxe troupe moved to Nantes. Other street theatre companies are
housed in L’Usine, a performance venue that is also home to troupes in residence.
www.lusine.net
www.lamachine.fr/visite-des-ateliers
The monthly flea market in Toulouse
On the first weekend of every month, from Friday to Sunday, 120 professional stallholders take over
the space beneath the plane trees of the allées François-Verdier, in between the Monument to the
Fallen and the Grand-Rond. It is a rendezvous that delights bargain hunters, who happily combine it
with a visit to the museums, free on the first Sunday of every month (now free every weekend for
Toulouse residents).
www.toulouse.fr/-/vide-greniers
- P. Nin
s ready for the
The Toulouse Carnival wa
4th April
k place on 28th March to
too
ich
wh
new incarnation,
grand parade
0 people took part in the
2015. More than 100,00
al burning
last event, with the ritu
that brought colour to the
allées Jeanl and his fat cigar on the
of the effigy of M.Carnava
every year
make a new giant statue
Jaurès. Toulousain artists
tege, whilst
ned at the end of the cor
that is destined to be bur
s prepare
ns and the larger school
the districts, the associatio
C.O.C.U that
sident since 2012 of the
floats and costumes. Pre
t took over from
ular event, Julien Laffon
organises this major pop
rly the head of the
a law yer but was forme
his father, who today is
nging life to the
anisation Committee, bri
University’s Carnival Org
almost twenty
, prior to a long winter of
city’s streets in the 1980’s
Toulouse
the carnival
The renaissance of fortieth edition of its
© Ville de
Just like the photographs that are on display outdoors or
in unexpected venues during the “Mois de l’image” in
September, the street performances and circus festivals
come thick and fast whatever the season. This adds to the
offer provided by the 27 theatres that are dotted across the
city. In 2014, young acrobats and tightrope walkers decided
it would be fun to restage, 60 years after the event, the
famous photograph by Jean Dieuzaide that immortalised
in black and white the marriage of two tightrope walkers
at the Place du Capitole in 1954. The crossing of circus arts
and theatre has led to the creation of numerous street
performance companies, which take to the streets across
France and sometimes even further afield. The success of
the 111 company belonging to Aurélien Bory (www.cie111.
com), a stage director with the precision of a choreographer
who was trained at the Circus Arts Centre of Toulouse that is
known as Le Lido (www.circolido.fr), illustrates perfectly the
new forms of performance art created by this overlapping
of cultures that makes Toulouse bubble with life.
© K. Lhémon
The gateway to France for Hispanic culture, Toulouse
also celebrates flamenco every year on the banks of the
Garonne. The “Toulouse l’Espagnole” Festival most notably
celebrated 70 years of the “Retirada” in 2009 at the Port
Viguerie, which was renamed the “Republican Exiles quay”
especially for the occasion (www.cultures.toulouse.fr/-/
toulouse-l-espagno-1).
© D. Viet
Toulouse beats to the
rhythm of live shows
years.
of the Carnival
ude Nougaro was King
It is worth noting that Cla
t occasion whilst
per formed a song on tha
of Toulouse in 1987 and
Capitole.
perched on the roof of Le
www.carnavaldetoulou
se.fr
37
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39
19 French
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championsh
pean
and 4 Euro
Cups.
40
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain is a club that covers all
sports, born out of the merger of the city’s
student clubs in 1907. The rugby team of
this club is the most famous and the most
successful, with 19 French championship
titles and 4 European Cups to date. The club
owns its own stadium, demolished in 1980
when the Ponts-Jumeaux bypass was built.
Reconstructed a few hundred metres away,
in the Sept-Deniers quarter, it bears the name
of Ernest Wallon, professor of law and director
of the club who invested 10,000 francs in
order to purchase the 7ha plot that was the
site of the first stadium. The rugby club grew
in the traditional way and wearing the red
and black strip (in honour of the Capitouls).
It boasts 29 international players among its
ranks, 17 of which have been selected for the
French national team (2014/2015 season).
The Brasserie du Stade welcomes amateur
gourmets and supporters of all nationalities.
© D. Viet
Among others, the club has opened boutiques
on rue Alsace-Lorraine in Toulouse and at
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, selling products
related to the club. It has the biggest budget
of any Top 14 club (€35million in 2014). Its
training centre, opened in 1988, welcomes 24
trainees that play alongside the professional
team and the club’s associative teams. The
women’s team of Fonsorbes joined with
Stade Toulousain in 2014. The club also took
in the Blagnac baseball team (ex-Tigers) in
2004. The Tourist Office offers regular guided
visits entitled “Allez le Stade!” to help visitors
immerse themselves into the heart of the
melee.
www.stadetoulousain.fr
© D. Viet
TOLOPÉDIA
louse
© Ville de Tou
Toulouse, capital
of the Oval Ball
ake
The construction of the Stadium started in 1937 in the wake
y’s
of the building of the Nakache swimming pool by the city’s
architect, Jean Montauriol, who was also responsible for the
ers
first low cost housing estates (HBM) in Toulouse. Swimmers
ain
from the Dauphins du TOEC club, who come here to train
de
in all seasons, are to the history of swimming what Stade
Toulousain is to rugby (www.lesdauphinsdutoec.com). The
rts
club, who became independent from the TOEC Omni sports
nd
club in 1938, boasts 280 French championship medals and
ng
400 national records. It has over 2000 members, including
a great many athletes that are regularly selected for the
Olympic Games.
On the île du Ramier, the Stadium is already undergoing renovation. This stadium, which regularly hosts the football
© D. Viet
t
matches of Toulouse Football Club (known as TFC and founded in 1937), has been put in line with UEFA regulations and
will be able to hold 33,500 spectators by the time of the
2016 European Championships (www.tfc.info / www.uefa.
com). The city’s largest sporting facility is often compared
to a miniature version of the old Wembley Stadium in London. It hosts prestigious matches (European cup, Top 14) for
rts
Stade Toulousain. It will also host major open-air concerts
015.
after its rebuilding works are completed at the end of 2015.
© D. Vie
Every year, the Place du Capitole transforms into a giant
rugby field. The turf and the posts of Festoval (a fun rugby
event/www.toulouse.fr/web/sports/grands-rdv-sportifs/
rugby) remind everyone that Toulouse is the French capital
of the oval ball. The Gods of Stade are certainly from Toulouse when it comes to rugby, but the “Red and Blacks” are
not the only rugby gods in this land. If the players of Stade
Toulousain have already taken the Brennus Shield onto
the balcony of the mayor’s office in Le Capitole 19 times as
French champions, their rugby league counterparts from
Toulouse Olympique had the honour of plastering their
names across the façade of the town hall in 2014 (www.
to13.com). The rugby league club took home a league and
cup double. The semi-professional team also has its sights
set on Europe and has already abandoned the French
championship in order to test itself against the elite clubs
in Britain. Following the lead of the Catalan Dragons of Perpignan, the TO XIII hopes to join the Super League championship after development work on their historic stadium
in the Minimes quarter has been completed, raising the capacity of the Stade Arnauné to 12,000, all seated.
4
41
TOLOPÉDIA
ridge
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42
acup.com
http://garon
Nin
Toulouse P.
The whole of this aquatic complex, rounded off
by the large building that houses a covered
pool, gymnasium and a great hall for municipal
events (salle Mermoz), bears the name of
Alfred Nakache, a former champion of the
Dauphins who was deported to Auschwitz.
Built by the Public Office for Low-Cost Housing,
the pool was part of a bigger ensemble that
covered 25ha and was christened the “parc
toulousain”, which was intended to be the
equivalent of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
The pool and its curious façade, decorated with
a sort of concrete minaret, were classified as
Historic Monuments in 1993.
© Ville de
The Nakache swimming pool is a monumental
ensemble of buildings that includes five pools,
constructed from 1931 to 1936 on the Ile du
Ramier in the middle of the River Garonne. Its
great 150m long summer pool, with its
“cascade” running over rocks, was the
precursor to the “Toulouse Plages” event at
the time of the Front Populaire. This hygienic
pool was built in order to provide swimming
facilities to as many people as possible, whilst
the swimming club at the start of the century
based itself at the Canal de Brienne or at a
floating pool that was moored on the River
Garonne at the quai de Tounis. The Dauphins
du TOEC club has trained in the Castex pool
since 1936, an 50m open-air Olympic pool.
© Ville de Tou
louse - P. Nin
The Nakache swimming pool
www.toulouse.fr/web/sports/piscines
Did you know?
Water skiing without a boat
Established in an old quarry to the north of the city, the Sesquières water sports centre is equipped
with a water-ski cableway that delights fans of wake-boarding, knee-boarding and water skiing
from April to the end of October. Enthusiasts are welcome and equipment can be hired on site.
www.teleskitoulouse.com
Wild River and Nature
Based at a camp site in Merville, just before Toulouse, Patrice Sanchez, a canoe-kayak (and even
Dragon Boat) excursion guide looks for new discovery trails along the watercourses of the area.
Get active, discover, feel and learn is also the credo of Granhòta, who offer a link between sport
and nature on the doorstep of Toulouse (trails, Nordic walking, climbing, canoeing, mountain biking,
orienteering or urban rally’s in the centre of Toulouse), with half-day, after work or instructional
courses all available.
www.canoe-garonne.com
www.granhota.fr
Toulouse, sporting city
Toulouse Go
lf de Seilh
a boasts 8 golf
The Toulouse urban are
louse and
somewhere between Tou
sites. The Golf de Seilh,
hectares. It
e courses covering 140
Grenada, has two 18-hol
r for the
e of the European golf tou
regularly gathers the elit
historic
sponsored by Allianz. The
Toulouse Métropole Open,
borders
the
on
Toulouse can be found
course for the golfers of
In the
.
city
unbeatable view over the
of Old Toulouse, with an
by an
ed
ign
Palmola golf club was des
direction of the Tarn, the
the
and
zet
edge of the Forest of Bu
English architect on the
the direction of
in
,
uch
-To
-du
nce
isa
in Pla
Téoula course is located
s established
ually inside Toulouse wa
Gers. The only course act
a of Toulouse,
on a common green are
around La Ramée Lake,
Drémil-Lafarge
x. Two 9-hole courses in
Tournefeuille and Cugnau
the offer.
(Saint-Gabriel) complete
(Estolosa) and Montrabé
interested-in/leisure
www.toulouse-visit.com/
© Mercure
For lovers of other varieties of team sports, rendezvous
at the André-Brouat sports centre in the Compans-Caffarelli quarter, close to the Pierre-Baudis conference centre.
Since 2006, after having been entirely rebuilt, it hosts the
matches of Fenix Toulouse Handball Club (www.fenix-toulouse.fr/3 of its players – Cyril Dumoulin, Jérôme Fernandez
and Valentin Porte – were part of the French team that became world champions in 2015) as well as Spacer’s du Toulouse Volley-Ball Club (www.spacerstoulouse.fr). This multi-sports centre also boasts an innovative architecture: the
façades are entirely made of glass and the roof has been
covered with plants by architects Jean Guervilly and Puig
Pujol, helping to improve the heat insulation properties and
reducing noise for residents of the riverside areas.
y
Close to the city centre, easily accessible by
tramway, the Hippodrome de Toulouse welcomess
horseracing enthusiasts to its leafy 34-hectare site
e
(www.hippodrome-toulouse.com). With over 380
0
races every year, its programme makes it France’ss
3rd racecourse, and its infrastructure allows it to
o
compete with the biggest and the best. Visitors parrticularly like the restaurant facilities, the reception
n
areas and, not forgetting, the festive and free theemed soirees that are perfect for families.
© J. Hociné
The departure of the Toulouse Métropole Marathon, which
boasts the international label awarded by the French
Athletics Federation, is traditionally held on the Pont
Pierre-de-Coubertin that links the Stadium and the Nakache
swimming pool (www.marathon-toulousemetropole.fr). The
route of this marathon, which gathers over 6,000 runners,
crosses 5 communes of the north of the metropolitan area
before reaching the Place du Capitole. To mark the occasion,
the turf laid for fans of rugby is replaced by a pink carpet.
ss
84 ho les in the gra
nt
courses across 7 differe
© D. Viet
43
TOLOPÉDIA
Competitiveness Hubs and Labex
(Laboratories par excellence)
The scientific and university communities
in Toulouse also boast 7 Labex, including
CIMI (mathematics/www.cimi.univ-toulouse.
fr), Toulouse White Biotechnology (www.
toulousewhite-biotechnology.com), Tulip
(environmental impact/www.labex-tulip.fr),
e
TOUCAN (cancer/www.labex-toucan.fr), Institute
for Advanced Study in Toulouse managed by
4/
Jean Tirole (Nobel Laureate for Economics 2014/
www.iast.fr).
The competitiveness hubs position themselvess
in terms of R & D and technological innovation,,
relying on a close cooperation between public
research and private business. This research
and innovation ecosystem and the presence off
ake
numerous advanced technology companies make
Toulouse a benchmark with regards to scientific
business travel.
ela
© P. Nin - La Nov
© Diago
ra
a
Toulouse is
it
w h
benchmark
scientific
regards to
avel.
business tr
Toulouse boasts 4 competitiveness hubs, one of
which is world class:
• Aerospace Valley, the global hub for
Aeronautics- Space – On-board systems (120,000
employed in the industry, 8,500 researchers/
www.aerospace-valley.com),
• The Cancer-Organic-Health Hub (3500
researchers/www.cancerbiosante.fr),
• The South-West Agricultural Innovation Hub
(5,000 employed in R & D, 121 laboratories/www.
agrisudouest.com),
• The Global Water Use Mission (present in
Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées and
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, €72.5 million of
projects financed/www.pole-eau.com)
Did you know?
ESOF: Toulouse, European City of Science in 2018
Toulouse proudly bears the title of “European City of Science” in 2018 by welcoming the European
science meeting EuroScience Open Forum, to be held for the very first time in France.
www.euroscience.org
www.esof.eu/media-room/press-releases/press-release/toulouse-organizes-esof-2018.html
44
© Espaces Vanel
Toulouse Convention Bureau:
the congress, seminar and incentive industry
The European capital of the aeronautics and space industry,
headquarters of Airbus Industries, Toulouse is proud of its
place as a destination par excellence in terms of research
and of innovation, recently awarded the French Tech label
(www.frenchtechtoulouse.com). In 4 years, Toulouse has
experienced a meteoric rise as a congress city in the latest
league table published in 2013 by ICCA: 79th at world level,
42nd in Europe and 3rd in France!
Among the destination’s major projects, Aerospace Valley
and the Montaudran Aerospace hub will occupy 355,000m²
and bring together 2 research centres in the fields of
aeronautics, space and on-board systems. In terms of the
Cancer-Organic-Health Hub, as well as a new conference
centre on the site of Purpan Hospital, Toulouse boasts a
major European centre for the fight against cancer: the
Oncopole, unique in France (www.oncopoletoulouse.com).
Inaugurated in November 2014, it brings under one roof the
private and public sectors, research, care and teaching.
Since January 2015, Aeroscopia, the new museum dedicated
to aeronautic and scientific discovery that is home to some
legendary aircraft, completes the incentive travel offer with
an unusual 506m² events space that can be privatised in
the evenings (www.musee-aeroscopia.fr).
ent org
A one-stop service for ev
Before your event:
and sourcing suppliers
• Help with venue finding
s
the relevant professional
• Assistance contacting
trips
• Organisation of study
requests: “Intranet Client”
to
ted
ica
ded
l
too
w
• Ne
During your event:
• Mobile Application
ents
• Supply plans and docum
the
abase in order to illustrate
dat
ge
ima
an
to
ess
• Acc
event suppor t materials
the reception sites
• Dedicated signage at
After your event:
• Satisfaction sur vey via
the app
Bureau
So Toulouse Convention
lmas
De
anhab
s-C
que
Arche Marengo - Allée Jac
se
lou
Tou
31500
com
se.
lou
tou
ail : infos@soTel : +33 5 81 31 30 20/Em
www.so-toulouse.com
© VIB Ar
chitectur
e - S. Ch
almeau
This destination has known how to innovate when it comes
to business travel thanks to its distinctive positioning
brought about by the So Toulouse Convention Bureau
that values unity and synergy in terms of all the supplier
partners that operate within this sector (www.so-toulouse.
com). In fact, this body has reorganised and federated the
sector since its inception in 2009. A telling factor is that
Toulouse launched the Alliance GSCA (The Global Science
& Convention Alliance) at the end of 2011 in order to unite
the convention bureaus of Adelaide (Australia), Hyderabad
(India), Daejeon (Korea) and Prague (Czech Republic), sharing
the same scientific positioning on itinerant congresses.
In addition to the current facilities, the future establishment
of a new exhibition park (70,000m² of built-up surface area
and 40,000m² of outdoor exhibition space) should confirm
how accessible Toulouse has become for the major congress
and corporate events market (www.toulousemetropole.fr/
projets).
Bureau:
So Toulouse Conventionanisers!
ecture - S. Ch
© VIB Archit
almeau
45
Index
14th July
P39
A380
P27
Abattoirs
P13, 18, 28, 31, 32, 36
Académie des Jeux Floraux
P31
Clément Ader
P26
Aéropostale
P8, 9, 10 26, 29
Aeroscopia
P27, 45
Ailes Anciennes
P27
Airbus
P8, 11, 12, 26 27, 45
Alliance GSCA (The Global Science
& Convention Alliance)
P45
Alsace-Lorraine (rue)
P17, 40
Altern’Mobil
P15
AMAP
P18
Amphitryon
P17
P43
André-Brouat Sports Centre
Dick Annegarn
P35
Antoine-du-T (rue)
P23
AHPY
P30
Arche Marengo
P9, 10
Argoulets
P36
Ariane 5 (rocket)
P27
Arnaud-Bernard
P17
Avenir Aviation
P28
Aviasim
P28
Augustins
P14, 32
46
Bar du Matin
Bar Basque
Basilica Saint-Sernin
Bazacle (espace EDF, gué)
Eugène Bellet
Bemberg (fondation)
Benoît Serres
Berdoues (Maison)
Bibent
Bijou
Bikini
Bistrologue
Bombes 2 bal
P20
P21
P14, 30
P10, 13, 23, 31
P26
P14, 31
P16
P16
P20
P35
P35
P21
P35
Blanchers (rue des)
Brasserie du Stade
Boulbonne (rue)
Michel Bras
Bréguet
Joan Busquets
P21
P40
P21
P17
P8, 26, 27
P13
Cabaret 3T
P22
Cachou Lajaunie
P18
Café des Artistes
P21
Café Populaire
P21
Canal du Midi
P5, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 31, 36
Canal de Brienne
P10, 14, 18, 24, 42
Canal Royal du Languedoc
P9, 10
Candie (domaine de)
P18, 19
Candiflor
P16
Canoë
P18, 42
Capitole
P5, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 25, 31, 33, 35, 37, 41
Capitole National Orchestra
P31, 35
Capucins
P17
Caravane de cirques
P38
Carmes (place des)
P20, 21
Carmélites (chapelle)
P36
Carnaval
P37, 38
Casino théâtre Barrière
P22
Cassoulet
P16
Cathédrale Saint-Étienne
P9, 23, 30
Cats on trees
P35
C’est de la Danse Contemporaine
P38
Château de Bonrepos-Riquet
P10
Château d’eau
P13, 31, 32
Château Raynal
P29
Chevaliers du Fiel
P22
Chez Authié
P20
Chez Tonton
P21
CHU
P14, 45
Cité de l’espace
P5, 27
CityTour Toulouse
P14
Club des dauphins du TOEC
CNES
Colombette (rue de la)
Comédie de Toulouse
Compagnie 111 d’Aurélien Bory
Compans-Caffarelli
Competitiveness Hubs
Concorde (bar)
Concorde (avion)
Connexion Live
Constant (Benjamin)
Christian Constant
Christmas
Cours Dillon
Daurade
Yannick Delpech
Des Étoiles et des Ailes
Jean Dieuzaide
Cyril Dumoulin
Dupuy (place)
P41, 42
P27
P23
P22
P37
P43
P44, 45
P20
P27
P23
P33
P20
P39
P13
P9, 21
P17
P39
P31, 32, 37
P43
P20, 31
Émulation Nautique
P13
P44
ESOF 2018 (EuroScience Open Forum)
Espaces Vanel
P10
Esquirol
P20, 22
Esparcette organic market
P17
Estrapade (place de l’)
P23
Extrapade
P23
Fabulous Trobadors
P35
Fenix Toulouse Handball
P43
Jérôme Fernandez
P43
Festival Flamenco
P38
Festival
P30, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39
Fête de la Gastronomie
P17
Fête de la Musique
P34, 38
Fête de la Violette
P16, 38
Fil à plomb
P22
Filatiers (rue des)
P23
Filochard
Fleurée de Pastel shop
Florida
Fouquet’s
Francazal (old military base)
François-Verdier (allées)
French Tech
P23
P30
P20
P22
P28
P36
P45
Galeries Lafayette
P23
Galerue
P33
Manu Galure
P37
Carlos Gardel
P37
Garonne P5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 25,
31, 34, 37, 42
Garona Cup
P42
Gervais (Paul)
P33
Golf
P43
Graine de Pastel
P30
Grainerie (la)
P36, 38
Granhòta
P42
Halle aux Grains
Happymoov
Hémicycle
Henri Martin
Hippodrome
Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques
Île du Ramier
P20, 31, 35
P15
P18
P9, 33
P43
P14, 19, 25
P13, 21, 41, 42
Jacobins (couvent des)
P23, 25, 32
Jardins Synthétiques (festival)
P36, 39
Jean Jaurès
P9, 11, 22, 37
Jean-Pierre Mader
P35
J’Go
P23
Juliette
P35
Laboratoires d’excellence (Labex)
P44
Laté 631
P8
Latécoère
P8, 9, 11, 26
Le Grand Balcon (Hôtel)
La Grave
Le 57
Lido
Lighting Plan
P10
P13, 14, 23
P22
P36, 37
P23
Machine (La)
P9, 29, 36
Made in Asia
P38
Maison de la Violette
P16
Maison du Vélo
P15
Marathon des Mots
P32, 38
Marché du Cristal
P17
Marché Saint-Aubin
P17
Marché Victor-Hugo
P17
Market(s)
P4, 17
Métro VAL
P12, 13, 14
Mermoz
P8
Moaï
P18
Mobilboard
P14
Montaudran
P8, 9, 12, 26, 29, 45
Monthly flea market
P36
Monument aux Morts
P36
Raymond Moretti
P33, 35
Muséum de Toulouse
P18, 32
Museum Night
P32, 38
Musical Interludes
P35
Nakache (swimming pool)
P41, 42, 43
Navicanal
P14
Négrette
P19
Nobel
P44
Claude Nougaro
P21, 23, 34, 35, 36, 37
Observatoire de Jolimont
P28
Occitanie/occitan
P10, 17, 20, 25, 39
Olivier (place)
P21
Oncopole
P45
Open-air cinema
P38
Ostal d’Occitania
P35
Pargaminières (rue)
P21
Pastel (Isatis Tinctoria)
P30, 31
Passe ton Bach d’abord !
P32, 38
Père Louis
P20
Péri (rue Gabriel)
P23
Piano aux Jacobins
P32, 39
Picasso
P32
Pierre-Baudis Convention Centre
P43
PinkPong
P38
Ponts-Jumeaux
P10, 14, 40
Pont Neuf
P13, 21, 23, 34, 42
Pont Saint-Michel
P13
Valentin Porte
P43
Port de l’Embouchure
P10, 14, 36
Port Saint-Sauveur
P9
Port Viguerie
P13, 37
Prairie des Filtres
P5, 13, 31, 34, 36
Printemps du Rire
P22, 38
Prison Saint-Michel
P31
Prix Lucien Vanel
P17
Quai des Savoirs
La Ramée
Rangueil
Ravelin (place du)
Ravelin (bar)
Raymond-VI Garden
Rio Loco (festival)
Pierre-Paul Riquet
Saint-Cyprien
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Saint-Georges (place)
Saint-Pierre
Saint-Raymond (museum)
Salle des Illustres
Sandyan
Santiago de Compostela
Michel Sarran
P32
P43
P9, 27, 28
P21
P21
P36
P34, 38
P9, 10, 11, 24
P13, 21, 25, 31
P8, 10, 26
P23
P13, 21
P30, 36
P33
P17
P14, 19, 25, 30
P17
Saucisse (sausage)
P16
Sébastien Langloÿs
P35
Segway
P14
Sept-Deniers
P40
Sesquières (water sport centre)
P42
Claude Sicre
P17, 35
Siestes électroniques (festival)
P36, 38
P18
SISQA (food quality fair)
Ski club de la Péniche
P13
Spacer’s Toulouse Volley-Ball
P43
Tugan Sokhiev
P35
So Toulouse Convention Bureau
P45
Stade Arnauné
P41
Stade Ernest-Wallon
P40
Stade Toulousain
P17, 33, 40, 41
Stadium
P41, 43
Super Guppy
P27
Tangopostale
P35, 39
Taur (rue du)
P30
Télégramme
P23
Téléski
P42
Temps des vendanges
P21
Terre-Cabade (cemetery)
P28
Terre de Pastel
P30
The Dispensary
P21
Théâtre du Capitole
P22, 33
Théâtre Garonne
P36
Théâtre du Grand-Rond
P22
Théâtre des Minimes
P22
Jean Tirole
P44
Tisséo
P12, 14
Toulouse-Aerospace
P26, 44, 45
Toulouse à table
P17, 39
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport P4, 9, 12, 13, 27
Toulouse en piste
P38
Toulouse Euro-Sud-Ouest
P9
Toulouse d’été
P39
Toulouse Football Club (TFC)
P41
Toulouse Greeters
P10
Toulouse Handball
P43
Toulouse l’Espagnole
P37
Toulouse International Art Festival (FIAT)
P32, 38
Toulouse-Lasbordes Aerodrome
P27
Toulouse les Orgues
P30, 39
Toulouse-Matabiau Railway Station
P4, 9, 12, 15, 25
Toulouse Métropole Marathon
P43
Toulouse Olympique XIII (TO XIII)
P41
Toulouse Plages
P39, 42
Tourism Pass
P14
Tourist Office
P8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 28, 35, 40
Tram
P8, 12, 13, 14
UEFA 2016
P41
Unesco
P9, 14 15, 19, 24, 25, 30
Université Paul-Sabatier
P32
Usine (L’)
P36
V80 véloroute du canal des Deux-Mers
P15, 25
VélôToulouse
P15
Victor-Hugo (place)
P23
Violette
P16, 18, 19, 38
Viola 2000
P18
Urbain Vitry
P28
Wallace (fountain)
P23
WEAC (week-end de l’art contemporain)
P38
Wilson (place)
P23
Wines of the South West (IVSO)
P19
Zebda
Zoom Arrière
P35
P38
47
Contact
So Toulous
e
- Tourist Offi
ce
S quare du
Général-C
harles-de31080 Tou
Gaulle - B
louse Ced
P 3 800 1
e
x
6
– France
Tel. from F
rance: 089
2 180 180
Tel from a
(€0.34 inc.
broad: +33
VAT/min)
5
4
0
1
31 531/Fax
Email: info
: +33 561 2
s@toulous
3 74 97
e-tourism
e.com/We
b : www.to
ulouse-tou
Press Con
risme.com
tac t: Méli
s
s
a
B
U
T
TELLI
Direc t Tel:
+33 561 11
0
2
36/Email :
Trade and
m.buttelli@
press area
toulouse-t
: www.to
ourisme.c
ulouse-tou
om
risme.com
/Pro-press
e
Follow the latest tourism news
on social media with the hashtag #visiteztoulouse:
On Twitter with the accounts:
@visiteztoulouse (FR) or @visittoulouse (UK)
On Facebook :
www.facebook.com/Toulouse.tourisme (FR) or www.facebook.com/TurismoToulouse (ES)
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- Toulouse

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