Toulouse

Toulouse has a small center, and you can reach most interesting places in the downtown area comfortably on foot.

Basilique Saint Sernin

a church from the 11th Century, partly restored by the famous french architect Viollet-le-Duc.

Hôtel d'Assézat

one of the most appealing of the many old mansions of the city

Capitole

the imposing and palatial town hall and theater, its beautiful facade facing onto the grand Place du Capitole

Pont-Neuf

despite its namelike the Parisian bridge of the same name, its title is most probably derived from the French for 'New', not 'Nine'., the only old bridge across the Garonne river; built between 1544 and 1626

Les Jacobins

monastery church, contains Thomas Aquinas' relics.

City park

at the Grand Rond, a bit south-east to the center of the city

Les Augustins

Used to be a monastery church, and is today an art museum

Les Abattoirs

Modern Arts museum, and there is also a nice garden with a nice view on the Garonne

Georges Labit Museum

Asian arts and Egyptian antiquities museum in an exotic and Mediterranean garden built in 1893, 17 rue du Japon

citã© de l'espace

The "space city" (http://www.cite-espace.com) is another of Toulouse's "aviation" attractions. However you must be aware that it is not exactly a museum but a sort of scientific theme park without rides. There are some replicas of spacecraft and other exhibits, many of the latter interactive in some minor way. There's also a small planetarium. The park is suited well to 5-14 year old children, everybody else should probably spare themselves the trip. It's situated fairly far outside the city but there's a bus service starting outside the Jolimont metro station.

By Public Transport

Bus:

Take bus route no. 37 from the Jolimont metro station going to La Plaine. Ask for the Cité de l'espace bus stop.

Admission Fees

For Adults : €18.5, for Children: €12.

tours

The tourism information office, Toulouse Tourist Office (http://www.toulouse-touri...), is in the back side of the Capitolium organizes guided tours of the city. Some of these are in English. Check ahead for their schedule.

If you would like some local knowledge on Toulouse before you arrive, the website www.toulouseweekend.com (http://www.toulouseweeken...) is worth visiting. It is an english language website for visitors to the city. They do not provide tours, but you will get all the information you need to get to know the city and what is happening every week.

There is another possibility if you want to have a private guide for a personnalized tour, visit the website called Toulouse A La Carte (http://www.toulousealacar...).

If you are a group, the service Toulouse Visit (http://www.toulousevisit.com/) provides tour in English and Spanish or French.

If you are an individual you can also take daily excursions departing from Toulouse and that head towards all the major sights of the region: Small villages of the region, Albi, Carcassonne, Lourdes, Canal du Midi... The excursions take place on board 8 seater fully equipped minivans and are taken care of by professional driver guides. Languages include English and German. Visit the website Ophorus (http://www.ophorus.com/) Tel: +33 547 277 030. The company also specialises in Pyrenees ski transfers as well as Canal du Midi transfers departing from Toulouse and heading towards all major resorts.

Another company called Toursud (http://www.toursud.com/) proposes private tours of Toulouse and trips in the region Carcassonne, Albi, Lourdes, the Lot... with a specialized driver-guide. Toursud also provides transfers from or to the airport of Toulouse-Blagnac and from the departement of Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban. Maximum 7 passengers by minivan. The services are provided in French, English and Spanish.

Taxiway (http://www.taxiway.fr) is the company which offers Airbus factory tours see below also offers tours of the La Dépêche du Midi regional newspaper and for the more adventurous the water treatment facility!