Located in the south of France, Toulouse was named the “Pink City” or “La Ville Rose” because of its tiled buildings. Another color that symbolizes the city is purple, so it is possible to come across souvenirs with purple color everywhere. The importance of the purple color comes from the purple marigolds. Toulouse is an extremely convenient place to be a center for visiting the south of France and the Basque region. The city center is pretty cute too. Let’s see what to do in the city together.

Tour the Basilica of Saint-Sernin

The oldest church in the city is the Basilica of Saint-Sernin. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a magnificent place with its giant tile-covered walls and sculptures inside. The story is also quite interesting. Its history dates back to 300 AD. The bishop named Sernin, who was sent to Toulouse, was killed by people of pagan faith, dragged through the streets. Later, his body was carried by two women and buried where the basilica is today. A church was later built on the place where the bishop was buried, and this place became one of the pilgrimage points of Christians. Over time, a larger church was built, and eventually the present church was built in 1080.

Stroll on the Place du Capitole

Capitole is the name of the city’s town hall. It is definitely a place worth visiting because of its walls covered with extremely beautiful paintings. The square where the building is located is the busiest place in Toulouse. It’s fun to watch people passing by while eating ice cream in one of the cafes here.

Take an Airbus Factory Tour

Toulouse’s largest industry is aviation. The Airbus factory is located here. If you are a little interested in aviation, it will be inevitable for you to visit the Airbus factory. The Airbus factory tour begins with a tour of the Aeroscopia Museum. Then you enter the hangar where 4 planes are assembled. You can also visit the cockpit and cabins of one of the planes used as a model.

Walk Along the Garonne River

The name of the river that runs through Toulouse is Garonne. The bridges and historical buildings on it made the view of the river even more beautiful. Make sure to take a walk by the river, even dive among the young people making music, meet new people. Also, stop by Le Pont Neuf, whose name means “New Bridge”. Although it was called “New Bridge”, this bridge was built in 1632.

Fenceé de l’Navigate Espace

Another aviation-related place you can visit is the Cité de l’Espace. This is actually a theme park, but it is specialized in space and aviation. Here you can visit life-size models of the space shuttle Soyuz, the Mir Space Station and the Airane 5 rocket. Apart from these, there is a planetarium, a rocket launch simulator and many other fun activities.

Experience the Nightlife

We can say that there are two centers of nightlife in Toulouse. One is around Saint Pierre Square, where mostly students and young people hang out, and the other is the Carmes neighborhood, where there are more wine houses. It is not possible to come to France and not return without drinking French wine.

Take a Day Tour to Carcassonne

If you want to visit a historical castle that looks like something out of a movie, you can take a day tour from Toulouse to Carcassonne. It is truly an incredible experience to visit one of the best preserved examples of the castle-shaped cities of the Middle Ages and imagine what happened in those years.