Toulouse
Pink City
General Information
Other Name: -, District: NA, State: Midi Pyrenees, France
Area: 0 -
Languages Spoken: French
Long Distance Code: -
Importance: It is well known for some remarkable monuments and some worldwide famous products and companies.
Best Time to Visit: June to August and -
International Access: -Description
The Ville Rose ("Pink City") of France - Toulouse is the capital of good life, a city of students, and a center of cutting-edge European technology, located between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast, with a rich and diverse culture, taste for celebrations and fine food to attract a growing number of new inhabitants.Toulouse is one of the centers of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, Galileo positioning system, the SPOT satellite system, and CNES`s Toulouse Space Center (CST), the largest space center in Europe.It is now the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region, the largest region in metropolitan France. It is also the capital of the Haute-Garonne department.Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon.Location
It is located on the banks of the Garonne, close to the Pyrenees and halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.Climate
Milder
This is the largest remaining Romanesque church in the world. It takes its name from Saint Saturnin.Work on the present basilica started around 1080. It is worth visiting for the exterior brickwork, the two crypts, the tympanum over the main door depicting Christ''s ascension, and the 800 sculpted column heads.
There is plenty to look at in this extraordinary Gothic edifice. The floor is black marble, and the apse, called The Palm of Jacobins.
It took 12 000 workers and over ten years to build the canal connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Pierre-Paul Riquet designed it in 1667 to boost the local economy; it is now considered one of the masterpieces of Louis XIV''s reign, and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Designed in 1555 for the rich pastel merchant, Pierre Assezat, this beautiful private mansion in Toulouse has been superbly restored. It now houses the personal collection of Georges Bemberg. While paintings have pride of place, there are also bronze sculptures and other objects on display.
Formerly the head office of the old town magistrates, the city hall is impressive, with its white marble columns all along the front. Today it houses the Capitole Theatre and the Town Hall. As you go through the Henri-IV courtyard you can admire the work of local 19th-century artists such as Jean-Paul Laurens or Henri Martin, while the Hall of Fame contains busts of Toulouse celebrities.
The largest green space in the city centre runs all the way from the Pont-Neuf to the Pont-Saint-Michel, along the river bank. It''s one of the best places in the city for a walk. On sunny days, the entire right bank of the city is reflected in the water.
This is the oldest and most beautiful bridge in Toulouse. It was built between 1544 and 1632, and Louis XIV himself crossed it in 1659.
On the corner of the Rue de la Concorde and the Rue Falguières, a tiny unnamed square has one of the most stunning fountains in Toulouse. It is crowned by a statue of a beautiful lady wearing a wide-brimmed hat: she is reported to be Clemence Isaure, a fictional character invented by troubadours to protect the local "Floral Games". At her feet, frogs and fish surround three turtles spitting water into the basin.