Toulouse

I based myself in Toulouse several years ago and did day trips to Carcasonne (walled city), Foix (castle), Albi (known for its catheral and the Toulouse-Lautrec museum) and Narbonne (cathedral). I stayed near the train station for ease of transportation.

Hi Jan. I was just getting to posting the same question as we are going to Toulouse for 2 weeks as part of a house exchange. We recently downloaded for Kindle Lonely Planet's chapter as well as Beyond Travel's Toulouse ($3.50). Place du Capitole sounds like a good place to start and branch out to St Sernin church. Two recommended museums are The Musee St Raymond and Hotel D'Assezat. When are you going? We'll be there the end of April into a full week in May.

Look for others to reply to help us both out!

Hello Gail,
We will be in Toulouse in September. I understand there is an AirBus assembly plant in Toulouse, but not sure if they have tours of that facility. Also, I understand that parking is a problem in the city itself, so I am not sure yet as to where to stay. Any ideas?

We spent a couple of days in Toulouse last fall. We had no expectations, and found it delightful. A large area of the city center is pedestrian only with a series of plazas that are quite charming. We had several delicious meals, all at restaurants recommended by our hotel, Hotel Garonne. This hotel is well located near the canal and the center city, and, while not at all luxurious, it is comfortable. I would make every effort to tour the Airbus facility - reservations do have to be made in advance and we missed the opportunity. The canal trips are in demand - I'd book that head also, because not all trips go every day, and you might want to plan
accordingly.

Neglected to mention that parking is very difficult and we were glad we decided not to rent a car.

Thanks, Mary! Would you happen to remember some of the names of the restaurants you enjoyed?

We stayed at St. Claire Hotel in Toulouse and enjoyed a meal at Le Bistrot nearby. The Fondation Bemberg is interesting--liked the city alot!

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I found an apartment close to a metro and relatively close to the train station so we won't need a car since driving in the city is difficult. I am looking forward to trying out some of those restaurants that were listed.
Jan

I have been to Toulouse for many year for business - Airbus business and highly recommend the Airbus plant tour. If you don't know it, Airbus is a major commercial aircraft supplier to all of the major airline in the world. Their major competitor is Boeing. Any hotel can tell you when to pick up the tour and all of the hotel I have been during my business trips have brochures at their front desk giving the details.

FYI, one of their major tour sites is their new facilities built a few years ago for the largest commercial aircraft in the world today, the A380.