I will be flying out of Toulouse after an action packed two weeks in France in September of this year. My dilemma is how to spend the last day. We have about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Luz St Saveur in the Pyrenees to Toulouse. I figure that we would arrive early afternoon (12-1 pm). What do you think my best way to spend the last afternoon and evening? Do we stop in Albi (I know that is about another 45 minutes away from Toulouse) and check out the Toulouse Lautrec Museum as this is one of wife's favorite artists? Do we go to Toulouse and spend the afternoon and evening there? Our flight is at 7 am the next morning; do we stay in Toulouse centro or someplace near the airport? I really do not like the prospect of ending a great trip by staying in a boring airport hotel. The rest of the trip is set, so we cannot change our itinerary and spend additional nights in Toulouse/Albi. Any suggestions are welcome.
Posted by
English but living in Melbourne, Australia
432 posts
I don't know Albi but Toulouse has plenty to see in the centre and is easy to walk around as many streets are for pedestrians only. Not sure about your hotel dilemma: the airport shuttle bus takes 20 minutes and runs every 20 minutes; the first is at 5am so may not get you there early enough to check in for an international flight.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
Albi is well worth the stop. Not only is the Toulouse-Lautrec museum wonderful but the cathedral is also quite amazing. The town is unlike other towns in France...it's mostly made of brick; even the cathedral. The interior of the cathedral has some pretty spectacular murals of heaven and hell in the front and a painted ceiling that is hundreds of years old but looks like it was painted yesterday.
Posted by
San Diego CA
11 posts
Toulouse Lautrec is also one of my favorite artists and I have traveled to Albi twice, just to see his museum which is more than just his sketches and paintings. Albi is also a beautiful city with lovely gardens. We have been to Toulouse four times, not by choice but because we needed to be in that city to connect to another town, or to pick up or return a car. Maybe we are cursed but never have we had a good experience in Toulouse, from hotel to car rental/return. One thing that you didn't mention was where you were flying to from Toulouse (within Europe or internationally?). A 7am flight will require being at the airport very early, even for a European flight. I'd recommend spending a nice day/evening in Albi and then staying close to the Toulouse airport for your morning flight.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
126 posts
Hi Nick,
I agree with Anita and vote you go to Albi – it would be a great ending to your holiday to finish with a visit to the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. The museum is open till 18:00 in September.
It’s about a three hour drive from Luz St Saveur to Albi, leave a bit earlier than normal and it will be a breeze. Stop along the way for a café’ or two. Albi back to Toulouse is only an hour.
My first thoughts were for you to stay in Albi then drive to Toulouse in the morning and I'm assuming it will be an international flight you’d need to be up very early to do that. So it looks like a night in Toulouse for you.
The other thing to consider is the drop off time for your hire car, you’d need to check to make sure you get back from Albi in time or arrange a key drop in advance.
We used the Radisson Blu Hotel near the airport, it has a 24 hour shuttle
Posted by
OP
Oak Park
243 posts
Thank you for your suggestions. I should have specified about our flight. We fly to Frankfort where catch a connecting flight to Chicago.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
Since your flight from Toulouse is a Schengen zone flight, that gives you a little more leeway as to when you have to be there. But it still means getting there quite early, particularly with the increased security (the Toulouse terminal was evacuated twice this week).
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I have also really enjoyed Albi's Toulouse-Lautrec Museum more than once, as well as the very well-preserved painted interior of its unusual (brick exterior) gothic cathedral; two excellent sites right next to each other.
Posted by
1 posts
I live near Albi and think it would be an ideal place for s short visit. The cathedral is a truly remarkable building. There are some pleasant restaurants for lunch. The T-L museum is worth a visit and is not too expensive if you want to hurry round. Wherever you go Bon Voyage!