DESTINATIONS EUROPE | TOULOUSE
CLOCKWISE top tip
Find out more about Toulouse and get ideas for what to see in the city at
toulouse-visit.com
of the Mir space station, and even climb into a Soyuz launch capsule (€21,
cite-espace.com).
16.30: Head back to central Toulouse and browse for an outfit for the evening. The city is the birthplace of many a cutting-edge fashion brand, from Le Comptoir des Cotonniers to The Kooples. There are branches of both near the Esquirol Metro station.
19.30: Toulouse is a university city with a bright, buzzy nightlife. Enjoy a lively atmosphere and sample some local specialities at Cosmopolitain, a bustling, central restaurant specialising in Occitan-style tapas (
cosmopolitain-toulouse.fr).
22.00: Time for a nightcap. Choose your grape at N5 Wine Bar – there are 500 wines available by the glass, including a wide choice from the local Languedoc-Roussillon region,
64 4 JULY 2019
known for full-bodied reds and aromatic whites (
n5winebar.com).
DAY TWoi
09.30: Take a wander through the streets of the old town, full of tall, 19th-century, pink-brick buildings that have given the city its nickname, La Ville Rose. Street names in both French and Occitan highlight this region’s historic refusal to bow to the rule of Paris, and the mishmash of architectural styles visible in St Etienne Cathedral is evidence of a 13th-century clash between dominant Catholicism and the rebellious Cathars.
10.30: Enjoy one of the city centre’s most tranquil spaces, and get an overview of fine arts from the Middle Ages right through to the 20th century. The Musée des Augustins is a former Gothic convent, with rooms of Renaissance sculptures, Romantic
paintings and even colourful, modern works by contemporary artist Jorge Pardo. It’s all set around a beautiful cloister, colonised by gargoyles rescued from other religious buildings (€2, free the first Sunday of every month;
augustins.org).
12.00: Visit Le Capitole, its magnificent neoclassical facade stretching the whole length of the square that shares its name. Inside, you’ll find gilded reception rooms and a series of giant canvases by local Impressionist Henri Martin, showing the city throughout the seasons.
13.00: Walk to the Marché Victor Hugo, where the region’s finest produce can be found. Shop for supplies to take home, including specialities such as foie gras, Toulouse sausages, cassoulet in tall jars, Roquefort and crisp, almond Croquant biscuits. With your appetite well and truly whetted,
FROM TOP LEFT:
Le Capitole; Marché Victor Hugo; Church of the Jacobins; Musée des Augustins; Aeroscopia
PICTURES: Antoine Collas/HapTag; Patrice Thebault/ Grands Sites Midi-Pyrénées; Dominique Viet; Chloé Sabatier
get some lunch. Start with a few oysters and a glass of wine at one of the fish stalls, and then head up to the first floor where a handful of restaurants cook with the freshest of ingredients (
marche-victor-hugo.fr).
15.00: Ahead of your flight home, head out towards the airport in Blagnac and visit Aeroscopia. This aeronautical museum is a plane- spotter’s dream: you can climb into the cockpit of a Concorde – the first prototype of the supersonic jet was built and tested in Toulouse – and see everything from a nippy MiG fighter jet to an enormous, swing-nosed Super Guppy cargo plane (entry €12.50; musee-
aeroscopia.fr). Anyone with an interest in
how planes are made can book a tour of the huge Airbus factory next door, where you can see the assembly line for the giant of the skies, the A380 (reserve at least two days in advance at
manatour.fr). TW
travelweekly.co.uk
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