The Ville Rose and all its charms

Claude Nougaro, a local, and one of the most famous singers in France, sung the praises of Toulouse, in  his own romantic style. You too can fall in love with Toulouse, strolling the banks of the Canal du Midi and the River Garonne...

The 4th biggest city in France, and the 3rd  biggest city after Paris and Montpellier, Toulouse is the capital of France's largest region, the Midi Pyrenees, some 35000square miles big. It contains the "departements" of the Ariege, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Lot, Hautes-Pyrennees, the Tarn and the Tarn et Garonne.

At around 110 miles from the Mediterranean, 180 from the Atlantic and 60 from the Pyrennees mountains' ski stations, Toulouse has a privileged geographical position.
A southern French city with Spanish accents and Italian facades, Toulouse has always loved to welcome foreign influences and cultures. Whilst cultivating its Occitan identity, Toulouse holds its own  in comparison with other cities and is admired overseas for its cultural richness, its art of living and its technological prowess.

Toulouse manages "par excellence" to combine  the good life with  being a business and technology city of the future.
Its economic dynamism, its history, its passion for sport, and its cultural effervescence create an astonishing cocktail.
In Toulouse, fans of Rugby, architecture, food and culture rub shoulders while indulging in  their respective passions.

Flamboyant Toulouse is known as the Ville Rose (pink city) and this name comes from as far back as Roman times, when builders showed the locals how to make use of the bricks and tiles. The bricks in the historic centre buildings glow pink  in the morning sun , and then purple as the night falls, to create a beautifully romantic effect.
A cosmopolitan and University city, Toulouse lives as much for the night as it does for the day. Due to its proximity to Spain, it has inherited the taste for long, fun evenings in cafes, restaurants and bars..
Festivals and concerts are also a great reason to come and indulge yourself until late at night, in all the pleasures the city offers.

Museums and Monuments
Sites included in the Unesco World Heritage Sites :
- The Canal du Midi (on the Camino de Santiago route)
- The Saint Sernin Basilica
- The Hotel-Dieu Saint Jacques

Other places to visit
- The Abbatoirs museum, the Natural History museum, the Musee D'Augustins, The Paul Dupuy museum, The Georges Labit Museum, the Hotel dAssezat, and its Bemberg Foundation, The Cite de L'espace...
- The Place du Capitole, the banks of the Garonne river, in particular the Quai de la Daurade and the Promenade Henri Martin

Facts and Figures
Population : 426, 700, and 762, 000 including the suburbs, of which over 100,000 students.
Size : 11,800 hectares.

Climate : 2, 027 hours of sunshine per year average.
Spring : is often mild, average temperature 12 degrees.
Summer : is hot and sunny, average 28 degrees.
Autumn : is very gentle, a pleasant prolongation of the summer, 15 degrees average.
Winter : is usually dry, 8 degrees average.