La Ville Rose

Toulouse is a capital of a region called Occitanie on the south of France. It’s the fourth-largest city in France (after Paris, Lyon and Marseille). Toulouse is located about 150 km away from the Spanish border. The city was founded by Romans and in the 5th century it was the capital of Visigothic Kingdom. Its unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname La Ville Rose (“The Pink City”). Toulouse is also famous of being the center of the European aerospace industry and having one of the oldest universities in Europe (University of Toulouse founded in 1229).

Three-day French journey

We arrived to Toulouse on Sunday afternoon and immediately started exploring the city. First, we ate a late lunch in the city center and then we headed to Toulouse’s main square – Place du Capitole. Since it was Sunday and pretty much everything was closed, we decided to walk around in sunshine and spend the rest of our evening that way.

Monday started with delicious coffee and some shopping. Buying souvenirs and gifts is a must! Many of local stores enchanted us with their originality. Next, we visited Salle des Illustres inside the Capitole which contains 19th century works of art. Then we went to see the biggest remaining Romanesque church in Europe – la basilique Saint-Sernin. We weren’t disappointed at any moment. The day was long but great. It ended with a delicious dinner in a fantastic atmosphere.

We wanted to make the most of our last day and because of that we woke up early and left our hotel at 8 a.m. After a tasty French breakfast we headed to the main point of our Tuesday’s itinerary: Marché Victor Hugo. It’s a historic covered market that takes place everyday and where local merchants sell fresh meats, fish, cheeses, fruits and others. Upstairs, there is a couple of restaurants that serve food made only from the products that are being sold downstairs. It was busy out there, we had to wait for a free table for a while, but it was definitely worth it. An experience to recommend!