Drawing Toulouse
A one-day Toulouse itinerary, mapped and walked
At the end of December, just before the holidays, we visited Toulouse. It was a stop on our road trip to Barcelona, and since I’d never been before, it sounded like a good halfway point - even if it was slightly off the direct route.
Toulouse is called la ville rose, the Pink City. I had no idea. But it really is pink - dusky, sometimes leaning toward orange, soft and friendly. The river accentuates the cold at the end of December, and because of that, we had planned our day around indoor visits. On top of the cold, it was a Monday, which meant that the usual tourist refuges - museums - were closed.
Although the whole region of Occitanie is known for its mild weather, the cold we experienced was intense and unexpected. After all, we were heading south, toward Barcelona, so we hadn’t come prepared. We simply assumed wrong - or maybe we were just hopeful. Whichever sounds better.
The Walk
We stayed only two nights. We arrived late from Paris and left early on the third day, but we chose to sleep right in the center so we could walk everywhere. That turned out to be a very good decision.
First on our list - and, importantly, open that day - was the Capitole, just a few minutes from our hotel. You enter a complex that functions as a town hall, a regional administration center, and a theatre: beautifully symmetrical, calm, neoclassical. Well - almost. Except for the donjon tower from the 15th century, which insists on reminding you that cities are layered things.
The interior of the Capitole of Toulouse is magnificent. So magnificent that I immediately asked the question I always ask in places like this: where did the money come from? That question can tell you a lot about a city’s history.
