Unique Things To Do In Toulouse

An Overview of Toulouse

Toulouse is a famous French city resting on the banks of the Garonne River. Filly with stately, pretty buildings, visitors often enjoy the city’s famed culinary culture, canal-side walking paths and Spanish influences. The city rests close to both the Pyrenees Mountain Range and the Spanish boarder, making both the scenery, cultural influences and art styles of the city distinct. It’s sometimes called La Ville Rose (‘The Pink City’) thanks to the terra-cotta bricks which make up many of its buildings. Toulouse is also known for it’s robust aerospace industry, where the French Aerospace Valley companies are often headquartered. There are many unique things to do in Toulouse.

Unique Things To Do In Toulouse

Church of the Jacobins’ Little Crushed Man

The Church of the Jacobins is a deconsecrated brick building made in the unique Gothique-Méridional style. Aside from being known as a prominent, even foundational base for the Dominican Order, the church is also known for the unique “Palm Tree” ceilings within. Famously, the building houses the remains of St. Thomas Aquinas. The church was requisitioned during the French Revolution and saw considerable damage and restorations. For visitors wishing to see a humorous secret of the building, there is also a “Little Crushed Man.” Hidden behind the remains of St. Thomas Aquinas, there are two bony hands and tiny crossed feet underneath a pillar, their meaning and origin unknown. With the deep history of the church and strange hidden features, this is one of the most unique things to do in Toulouse.

Basilique Saint-Sernin

Named for the influential Saint Sernin, who spread the gospels to obscure regions of Gaul, this is a truly beautiful and serene Basilica in the center of Toulouse. The building has an impressive steeple, additional chapels, carved sculptures, and the tomb of a saint.

Georges Bemberg’s Foundation — Hotel of Assézat

This ornate French Renaissance hôtel particulier of the 16th is home to the Bemberg Foundation, a prominent art gallery collaboration project within the City of Toulouse. The enormous collection features ancient artifacts, unique sculptures, impressive drawings and other gallery features.

 Musee des Augustins

This is a fine arts musuem focusing on sculptures and paintings ranging from the Middle Ages to the early 20th-century.

Jardin des Plantes

This is a public park combined with a lovely botanical garden located on Allée Jules-Guesde, Toulouse. The ancient botanical garden is a peaceful place to visit with a narrow stream, ducks, swans, beautiful flowers and a small amusement park.

Pont Neuf Toulouse

Pont Neuf is a picturesque stone bridge stretching over the Garonne River. It provides easy access to the quaint greenspace Prairie des Filtres, making it a scenic stop-point while exploring the city.

Victor Hugo Market

This is a historic covered market of Toulouse with an abundance of food, spices and other goods. Visitors can find stalls selling premium cheeses, fresh fish, rich meats and colorful mounds of spices. It is a central and popular shopping area in the city.

Castillos de Lastours Day Trip

Located roughly an hour and a half way from Toulouse, this is a vast 4-part medieval fortress complex. The four ruined structures, linked by a series of hills top trails and smaller ruin checkpoints, once hosted contingents of crusader knights. The large archaeological complex’s four main castles are called Cabaret, Tour Régine, Surdespine and Quertineux. The castle system is a popular day trip outside of the city.

Château Comtal Day Trip

Located roughly an hour away from Toulouse, this is a popular day trip. Château Comtal is a heavily restored 12th-century hilltop castle with impressive walls protecting an entire town within. The walled city is complete with several museums, castle ramparts and the Cité de Carcassonne mediaeval citadel within. The citadel itself has Gallo-Roman origins, but many of the expansions were implemented by the Trencaval family. The varied history of Château Comtal is especially interesting, as the residents followed the Cathar Religious Doctrine, which stipulated the Roman Catholic Church was a tool of an adverse god. The territory was eventually brought into the Catholic fold following a takeover by crusaders.

Albi Day Trip

Albi is an astonishingly beautiful town located on the banks of the Tarn River. The town is known for it’s beautiful red-bricked buildings, narrow lanes, dominating cathedral, scenic river views and impressive history. The unique city is home to various attractions, from the iconic, red-brick, Gothic Sainte-Cécile Cathedral to the centuries-old Palais de la Berbie. There is also a Fashion musuem hidden in a former convent, the iconic Pont Vieux, and a quaint historic district full of medieval and Renaissance influence.

Hotel de Bernuy, 1 Rue Léon Gambetta

In the past, Toulouse was ruled by influential, wealthy households who would use their considerable resources to construct imposing mansions known as hôtels’ in French. Many of these structures, venerated for their beauty, have been transformed into galleries, museums and public venues. The Hotel de Bernuy on Rue Léon Gambetta is a particularly vivid construct with intricate stone carvings, looping balconies and patterned doors. The mansion was originally commissioned by a successful woad merchant (woad being a source of dye and factor in building Toulouse’s great wealth).

Gallo-Roman Wall Remanants

Located throuhgout the old portion of Toulouse, there are still fragments of the ancient Gallo-Roman fortifications which once formed the Remparts de Toulouse (Toulouse Ramparts). The wall features were often modified and enlarged to protect the developing city, so the ruins can be found in many areas in Toulouse.

The Minotaur of Halle de la Machine

For a truly outlandish art display, the Minotaur isa massive animatronic robotic creature out of the mythology. The 14 meter high street-theatre machine walks, blinks, snorts smoke and offers rides to guests along the Runway of Giants near the L’Envol des Pionniers Museum. This isn’t’ the only creature within the Halle de la Machine. There is also a 37 ton walking spider, bizarre musical machines, strangely detached sets of wings, flame-spouting pipes and other odd, moving mechanical artworks. This is one of the most unique things to do in Toulouse.

Les Abbatoirs Museum

This modern art musuem has an interesting series of creations with Picasso’s famous stage curtain “The Remains of the Minotaur in a Harlequin Costume” as a major centerpiece. The museum focuses on work made by Spanish artists who were exiled from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The museum has interesting events, including workshops, a library and yoga classes amongst the artworks.

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