18 TOULOUSE – The Pink City (La Ville Rose)


Toulouse is a city in south western France, near the Pyrenees, in the Midi-Pyrenees region, half way between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon. The Canal du Midi or Canal des Deux Mers is a 240 km long canal in the south of France, le Midi. The canal connects the Garonne River to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and passes through Toulouse on its journey.


The city at the Garonne river is on the site of an ancient Roman settlement; even today many of the smaller streets follow their Roman counterparts and many of the red brick buildings are of a pseudo-Roman style. These buildings are also what give Toulouse its nickname La ville rose (The pink city).


THE CAPITOLE de TOULOUSE I


richest cities of France due to the sale of blue colouring


extracted from woad plants. This monopoly was only broken when the Portuguese began to import Indigo to Europe. Over 50 hotels, mansions, remain witness to the past wealth.


(pastel) The Pink City


industries; Airbus / EADS is the largest employer in the region. The city has remained relatively unchanged despite the economic boom.


VICTOR HUGO MARKET


The biggest covered market in Toulouse is located on the ground floor of a large 1970's building. With magret (duck breast) available at a fair price, it has the best poultry, meat and fish in town. There are also dairy products, greengrocers, cold meats, tripe, and bakery stalls, as well as a handful of small bars and florists. The produce is all top quality. On the first floor, tiny restaurants prepare food from the market produce; among these you will find the famous Attila, one of the


Toulouse has become a center of aviation and spaceflight in the past 20 years. More than 35,000 of the inner city's 400,000 citizen’s work in the civil aviation or space


n the middle ages, Toulouse was one of the


best known restaurants in Toulouse. The five floors above contain a multi-storey car-park.


SPORT


Most notably, Toulouse is represented by Stade Toulousain, a rugby union club competing in the Top 14 competition. Stade Toulousain is considered one of the finest rugby union clubs in all of Europe, having been crowned the Heineken Cup champions four times since 1996.


Toulouse Olympique represents the city in Rugby League; they play in the Co-operative Championship.


THE CAPITOLE de TOULOUSE


The Capitole de Toulouse is the heart of the municipal administration of the French city of Toulouse. The Capitole features the imposing and palatial town hall and theatre and its beautiful façade faces onto the Grand Place du Capitole.


The Capitouls (governing magistrates) of the Toulouse embarked on the construction of the original building in 1190, to provide a seat for the government of a province growing in wealth and influence. The name "Capitole" referred not only to the Roman Capitol but also to the capitulum which was the chapter of the governing magistrates.


In the 20th century, the structures surrounding the vast (2 hectares) Place du Capitole was redesigned. Some of the interior of the Capitole can be traced back to the 16th century, but the current façade, 135 metres long and built of the characteristic pink brick in Neo-classical


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