Things to do in Toulouse - 4 tips from a local

The "Ville Rose" drives more than 5 million of travellers each year. There are several reasons of this growing number of travellers coming to Toulouse : a very pleasant climate, the proximity with the sea, the dynamism of its student areas...

We've then asked "What are the things to do in Toulouse?" to our local, Florent, and here are his 4 advices :

1. Visiting Toulouse - what you need to see in the city-center

Here is a list of the most beautiful places to see in Toulouse:

1. The biggest romanesque church in Europe, the Saint-Sernin basilica.

2. The famous Capitole, which today is the town hall (and the Salle des Illustres)

3. The Jacobins Convent and its cloister

4. The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques

5. The Japanese Garden

6. The Botanic Garden

7. The Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (Les Abattoirs)

8. Along the Garonne river

Florent advises you to walk around in the small streets of the city center, which has been completely rethought for pedestrians. Downtown Toulouse is then very welcoming for travellers, yet it has a single negative point as Florent told us: it is more and more difficult to find a parking spot in the city center! We have studied this parking issue and we tell you how to find a cheap parking in the city center of Toulouse in this article.

2. Some gastronomy!

Visiting Toulouse without tasting the local gastronomy is unthinkable! Go and taste some foie gras, some duck, some Toulouse sausage, but most importantly, taste some CASSOULET! And there is nowhere but one place for this latter one: chez Emile.

And for the dessert, nothing is better than a delicious ice-cream at Octave.

3. Where to go out?

Hard to narrow it down to only one place. Any student would advise you to go in the Saint Pierre Square area, along the Garonne. The addresses to remember: Chez Tonton, Le Bar Basque or Le Saint des Seins. And if you are more a wine-type of drinker, you should go in the Carmes neighborhood.

If you want to go out until 2 or 3 a.m. , our local advises you to go in the Gabriel street either at the iBar or at Le Connexion with its new-york loft atmosphere.

4. To see outside the city

Toulouse dynamism is also highly due to the strength of the aeronautic and spatial sector. You can go and learn more about this at the Airbus factory, the Aéroscopia Museum and the Cité de l'Espace.

You get it, thanks to all these advices of our local, there are plenty of things to do in Toulouse. Whether you come with your friends or with your family, you won't be disappointed!