"Toulouse, France" a Toulouse Travel Page by suzyav8trix

Bonjour.

I have had the opportunity to visit Toulouse 3 times in the past 2 years (June 2003, Nov/Dec 2004, & Feb 2005) and I have fallen for this city. I work for an airline and all 3 trips have been for business at Airbus. However, each time I visit I try to have a bit of time for myself to explore.

Toulouse, in contrast to Paris, is quiet, small, quaint. A wonderful, calm place to visit after several days in Paris -- which was my first experience in 2003.

My husband and I were here for 3 days and 2 nights in 2003 after 4 whirlwind days in Paris. Due to the fact that I was on business and the short time we had, I did not have an opportunity to see much of Toulouse.

However, we did get a tour of the Airbus assembly line. (no pictures allowed) If you like airplanes or aerospace, it's wonderful. Because of my airline affiliation the tour was free and transportation and a guide were provided. And I don't think it costs much to book such a tour.

Went on a 1/2 day trip to Carcasonne, which is a walled midi-eval city about an hour south of Toulouse. No cars are allowing within the walls and it's really quite charming and quiet. Went to the church and paid the few euro to climb to the top for the view. It was worth it. There were lots and lots of stores selling linens -- beautiful, colorful table linens. I bought a tablecloth with hand-painted lavendar which always brings back pleasant memories when we use it. It was a nice afternoon side-trip.

I'm trying to remember the name of the restaurant that we had dinner the first night we were there. It started with C and was very close to the airport. It was June and the weather lovely and we all sat outside. The food and wine were fab! I'll edit when I remember...

Also, went to a restaurant just off Place Capitol to have cassoulet -- a local dish, similar to stew, made with meat and beans and sausage and more. it's not bad, but I just don't care for it, myself. And of course, you need to have a coffee at the Cafe Florida and people watch -- anytime of the year. People were sitting outside when I was there in November and again in February. They were wearing winter coats and gloves, but the sun was shining and they were being "seen".

i arrived a couple of days before my meetings began when I came to Tououse in Nov 2004. This allowed me to properly catch up on my jet lag. it also afforded some time to explore. On Sunday, my friend Neil, who's from Melborn, Australia, and I went for a walk. We walked from our hotel on Place Wilson through Place Capitol to the river, all along the river, past the Pont Neuf bridge, up and over some other bridge, through a beautiful park, and back. When traversing Place Wilson we ran into more of our friends and continued to wander and we visited Saint Sernin church. Old and cold. We weren't there very long. Maybe if I had more time there I'd have more to say about it...

Later that evening, a group of 8 of us went out to dinner at "Le Bon Vivre". This was my first visit, but it has become my favorite restaurant in Toulouse.