Toulouse, France: Business and Pleasure. October 20 – 22, 2016

The aerospace industry, including EU’s version of NASA, CNES (pronounced “Kah-ness”), is centered in Toulouse, along with Airbus and other tech companies. The final stages of the project Mark’s working on may require him to be on-site, meaning we would live there during the last few months of our stay in France. Not a problem! We visited Toulouse for some meetings Mark needed to attend, and I went along to see the city. Although Mark would work in the modern part of Toulouse, we stayed in the old town to enjoy the historic sites.

Located on the river Garonne in the southwest (Mid-Pyrenees/Dept. Haute-Garonne/Occitanie region), Toulouse is about 400 miles from Paris and is the fourth-largest city in France. It is only a three-hour train ride to Barcelona, Spain, which will give us lots of new places to explore.

Toulouse has a long history, and has been a very important trade city for many hundreds of years. The University of Toulouse, founded in 1229, is currently home to about 100,000 students. Its nickname, “la Ville Rose,” comes from the pink stone used in the construction of many of its buildings, and the terra cotta tiles on its rooftops.

 

Churches

There are some amazing churches in Toulouse, including one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture, the Basilique St-Sernin, (built between 1080 and 1120).

I didn’t go into St-Sernin on this trip, but I did visit the 14^th Century Notre Dame du Taur. Located between other buildings on a main street, it isn’t impressive on the outside, but it is quite beautiful inside, and I liked the stained glass in particular. The church is said to be built on the exact location where the body of Saint Sernin became detached from the bull which had dragged him to his death. Gory, right?! The poor guy was really in the wrong place at the wrong time: Pagan priests were getting ready to sacrifice a bull, but weren’t too crazy about the Christian influence of the Church. The bishop was walking by, and they decided to spare the bull, but murder him instead, by roping him to the bull. Who says history is dull?

 

              

Regional Food

This region of France has its own culinary traditions, based on its climate, trading history, and proximity to the river, mountains, and Spain. One of the traditional foods here is cassoulet, a hearty dish of slow-cooked white beans, duck, and sausage. I ordered it at Le Florida, on the Place du Capitole, and it was delicious!

 

Museum Visit

I visited the Musée des Augustins, a fine art museum located in what once was an Augustin church and convent. They’ve got a great collection of art and sculpture from Roman times, through the Gothic and up to the 19^th Century.

 

Place du Capitole

The Capitole is the name of the main administrative building (Hôtel de Ville) in the center of Toulouse’ Old Town.

It is named after the original regional magistrates of the region, The Capitouls, who were in charge of Justice, Trade, Church, and Construction from the Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1789. These Capitouls were among the privileged class who were allowed to have towers on their homes – the more prestige one had, the higher the tower could be. On the Toulouse Walking Tour, Penny, our British expat guide, pointed-out many of these grand homes. She was so knowledgeable, and truly enjoyed sharing the history of Toulouse with her tour group.

          

All of this, and we’ve only scratched the surface of Toulouse! Mark needs to go back in a few weeks for meetings, but I’m not sure if I’ll join him on this trip. Hopefully, we’ll have plenty of time to really explore the region in the Spring.