We take a short flight from Paris to Toulouse, the center of European aerospace and HQ for Airbus industries. Toulouse is on the South West corner of France, a region that neither one of us has visited before.
We have a little rental car awaiting us at the airport ~ requiring an adjustment on our part from driving on the left side of the road in Sri Lanka and as well, it has been some time since either of us has driven a car at all. But off we go to find our Air BnB for one night in Toulouse before we head into the French countryside.
Start the day, any day, with a good cafe au lait “Grand Creme”. Plotting our day in Toulouse using an architecture “walking tour” as a loose guide.
Toulouse has a magnificent and grand architecture, which all emanates from the large main square in the heart of the “old town”.
Toulouse is a city made for walking ~ with a myriad architectural details such as colorful wooden shutters, wrought iron balconies, arches and street lamps.
Shades of peach and salmon walls, light blue and teal shutters against a bright blue sky are rather pleasing to the eye.
The “Capitole” is the seat of administrative authority, the city hall where marriages are consecrated and a grand building that houses Toulouse’s opera house.
It’s our lucky day – the upstairs, which is graced by floor to ceiling paintings, is open for viewing as there are no formal events scheduled.
The sheer scale of the “murals” is impressive. The main room features a series of paintings called country and city, done circa 1900. This mural depicts urban bourgeoisie strolling along the main river that flows through Toulouse.
The counterpart to the urban landscape is a vignette of farm life, toiling the fields in the Toulouse countryside.
Impressionist pointillism at its best.
Love this close up of a section of a large mural, which shows the iteration of work by the artist.
Super high vaulted ceilings in some pretty grand ball rooms are all covered in gorgeous paintings. In combination with the walls it creates a pretty dramatic backdrop. (Luckily we were before the crowds of the day..)
Life was definitely good for the upper crust of society along the banks of the Toulouse river. This mural captures the soft sunlight on those bare breasted ivory skinned women.
There are quite a number of impressive centuries buildings that border the city’s squares.
Europe has apparently had months of rain and now the sun is finally out and people are enjoying the day on the grass by the river. It is clear that we could easily spend several days enjoying Toulouse, but we are just “passing through” for this time.
Some of the older streets are narrow and cobbled, enticing us to wander towards the steeples of one of many grand churches.
This church is one of the stopping points on the “Chemin de Compostelle”, a religious pilgrimage that dates back to about 1000 years ago when this church was built. Built over several generations, the church and its accompanying abbey is known for some of the sculpted gargoyles and stained glass windows. Let’s take a look…
This church is actually a “basilica”, the oldest in Toulouse. It is called Basilique Saint-Sernin. Constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1080 and 1120, with construction continuing thereafter, Saint-Sernin is the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, if not the world. The church is particularly noted for the quality and quantity of its Romanesque sculpture. In 1998 the basilica was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the description: World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
The stained glass windows in French churches and cathedrals are always worth a look at regardless of one’s religious orientation. Stained glass windows were a major art form for several centuries.
At a distance stark and austere, up close the walls of the interior are all beautifully painted.
This basilica houses one of the most important organs in France today due to the fact that its a 3 tiered organ structure.
We popped our head into two more churches during our walk. And luckily for us, one of them had the organist practicing his hundreds-of years old musical instrument. Dark to the point of being hard to see anything inside, the high vaulted ceilings filled with the booming organ sounds. Have a listen:
The Capitole building in the evening on a now deserted central square, save for the restaurants on the opposite side.
A cat cafe in the center of Toulouse. The first time we went to a cat cafe was in Hoi An, Viet Nam where they had at least 60 rescued cats. This cafe, has a modest 9 resident felines and the place is so popular that one needs to reserve ahead of time for lunch tables.
As fluffy and as content as can be…
We almost went to Toulouse once, then our plans changed, I can’t remember why. Looks good! And the cat is adorable.
We are wondering why we never went there before! But then again, France is full of wonderful magical cities and towns to discover. So no matter how many times we go back to France, there are always new places to discover.
Peta & Ben
Wonderful post! Never heard of Toulouse, other than Toulouse-Lautrec, that is!
Deb
Deb, that was my reaction too! Toulouse other than being the center of aerospace (which is why we were there) is also a dynamic center for high technology and biotechnology. We suspected it would be beautiful but were certainly surprised by the size and beauty of the old city. Also a very well maintained and dynamic city. I would gladly return to discover more.
Peta
My kind of place – beautiful, with plenty to see, but just small enough to discover most of it by foot.. Gorgeous art at the opera house! How lucky to get there before the crowds.
Yes, Dee, exactly right! So much to see, and most of it can be done by walking, which really was a treat. We didn’t manage to even get to all the architectural highlights, we just scratched the surface. The art at the City Hall (which is co joined with the Opera House) was simply magnificent!
Ben & Peta
Thanks for sharing – the murals are beeeeautiful!
Ellyn, so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for your feedback.
Peta
Toulouse has such a different feel from Sri Lanka and India – its emphasis is on the grandeur of the buildings in all their exquisite detail. Maybe the same is true of the temples in Asia. We humans put a lot of effort into honoring our faiths. The sense of history is profound.
Thank you for this lovely tour – you seem to have arrived at a perfect time.
Shari, yes, what a great contrast arriving from India to Paris and Toulouse. One of the beauties of travel is how one can be somewhere as exotic as India and hours later, in a completely different universe and reality.
You are absolutely right. The purpose of these grand constructions, be they temples, cathedrals, mosques etc is to inspire awe (thus the large size, massive investment in art etc) and also to be multigenerational. In this case it means that as you walk in a temple, or church that is hundreds of years old, you quickly come to terms with the limited life span of the single human experience and the continuity of history of the community.
Ben
A profound thought, Ben, thank you for making me consider my tiny place in the universe. Puts my problems in perspective.
What gorgeous paintings! Toulouse definitely will be added to our (hopefully) future trip to France. The streets don’t look very crowded, which is nice.
Janis the paintings were simply incredible. Room after room of them, walls and ceilings. So much beauty to take in. The streets were not crowded, in fact on the contrary, but then again, coming from India (our last stop) nothing seems crowded 🙂 Toulouse is not one of the big tourist drawing cities, which definitely adds to its charm.
Peta
Toulouse is SO beautiful! You’ve just given me one more reason to add to the hundreds I already had of why I absolutely adore France.
The photo near the beginning with Ben that has the building with reddish-brown stripes is so interesting. I don’t know anything about architecture, but isn’t this a Middle Eastern or Morrocan influence? I love this building … then again the murals, the church spires, … so much to love.
.. and the irresistible kitty belly! That’s a contented little furry one 💕
Joanne, we were surprised by the beauty of Toulouse! But then again France is jam packed with architectural beauty in big cities and small towns. So many places still to see in one country.
Interesting you mention the Middle Eastern or Moroccan influence. In fact, this area of France, several hundred years ago had been occupied by the Moors, i.e Muslims whose empire spread from todays Middle East, through North Africa, up through Spain and Southern France. The reddish brown and cream alternating stripes on the arches, are indeed influenced by Moorish architecture.
Ben
Another mouth watering view of your and Ben’s fabulous life!
Thanks Aaron, glad you enjoyed this post so much!
Peta
Such a postcard perfect city! The gorgeous blue skies are an astounding back drop to endless stunning architecture. I really enjoyed hearing the organ music. The audio gives an added dimension. Now I think I should love to sit outdoors and start my day at the table where you began. I can practically smell the coffee.
Ahh this was one of those perfectly glorious days! Started well and continued that way as we meandered through the city enjoyed the architecture. We sat quite a long time listening to the organist practicing his music. The enormous copper pipes of the organs are a rare piece of music history. Each organ being built simultaneously with the church, one fitting into the other.
Ben
I love those vaulted ceilings and detailed paintings most of all… ahhh, and the cafe, of course! Bon appetit, mes amis 😉
Amit, a few years back we had to be in Paris for an environmental conference which was held at the Mairie de Paris (city hall) and it had the same wonderful vaulted ceilings and wonderfully detailed paintings. We were stunned then and reminded of the beauty again, this time in Toulouse.
Peta & Ben
Those are amazing photos! Thanks for sharing them. I was completely unaware of the beauty of Toulouse!
Thanks Ann, so glad you enjoyed this post on Toulouse. We are so happy to share a city that was new to us!
Peta
I was fascinated by that little detail you captured showing the artist’s previous “sketched” (?) attempts before the final scene was portrayed in the mural.
Thanks for commenting on that. As a painter, I appreciate the kinds of detail which capture the history and the process of the making of the painting. What choices are made to leave or keep certain strokes and lines and where they should go. Sometimes the underlying work is as interesting as the final image.
Peta
The photos exude charm and beauty and a serene knowledge in the city’s superior existence. Does that sound weird? But that’s how I felt as I looked through your gorgeous photos. I hope to visit France sooner rather than later, and of course we considered Paris, but perhaps Toulouse should be on the list instead. And a cat café? Too too precious. 🙂
When you visit France, you must of course have Paris on your list and Toulouse would be a lovely addition. Although truthfully there are so many beautiful towns and cities all over France, it just depends on how much time you have and which region you are interested in. Normandy (for cider), Brittany (for buckwheat crepes) and Orleans (for castles) just as an example of a few.
Peta
Many years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I visited Paris and felt like I’d arrived “home,” which was a rather interesting experience. But I also drove with a friend to Normandy, where we visited for the day, then tried to drive back to Paris. The fog had rolled in, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had a scarier ride in the dark, swirling morass of invisible night. ;-0
It might have been a scary ride, but I love your description of it!
Peta
So picturesque, Peta! Toulouse seems mesmerizing and definitely worth exploring. You have given me a great destination for my bucket list. How many days would be enough to see all of the highlights there?
Lydia so glad that we have inspired you to spend time in Toulouse. In terms of how many days, you probably would want to take time for the surrounding region as well as it is really beautiful. Anything between 1 and 99 days haha. I would say at least a couple days for Toulouse and a week for the countryside surrounding, but if you have more, you won’t get bored.
Peta
Choette. Très belles photos. Merci.
Merci Sartenada.
The murals and cathedral are exquisite. But I must admit, what really captured me is the cat cafe. :-)) We’ve recently seen a couple of these sweet cafes in our travels. For a small donation, you can relax with a beverage and hang out with the kitties who are looking for a forever home. I love it. What an adorable photo you took of the sleeping kitty!
Laurel, the concept of a cat cafe is just wonderful for all us cat lovers. We visited a wonderful one in Vietnam in Hoi An, which had at the time over fifty cats (and had rescued and placed many more over the years). It was cat heaven. Thanks for stopping by!
Peta
I’m trying to keep up with you two. 🙂 We’ve had some pretty terrible internet connections and it’s not always easy, but I check in when possible to see what you’re up to! I know it’s always going to be something interesting.
I enjoyed this look at Toulouse with you. There are many fine French cities, it seems. I wish I’d had opportunity to see some of them.
France does have a great wealth of mid sized towns with character and local regional accents, be it in the subtle changes in architecture, in gastronomy and in language. So yes, there is much to discover. Glad you enjoyed our visit to Toulouse.
B&P
I very much enjoyed this tour of Toulouse, especially the museum. The Pointillist work is mesmerizing. Et le petit dej bien français…ça me donne envie!
The museum was definitely a highlight for both of us and such a lovely surprise. Et le petit dej c’est, bien sur, le point de depart avant d’aller visiter! Obligatoire!
Ben
another gorgeous French town to add to my list:)
Worth it for the architecture alone!
Peta