7 things to do in Toulouse

1. Marche Victor Hugo

A bustling busy fresh food market in the middle of the city offering a variety of foods: cheeses, wines, breads, seafoods, dried meats etc… Some stalls offer seafood platters that you can eat then and there, with a glass of wine if you wish. Really cool retro looking bars where locals hang out. Great atmosphere. There are restaurants upstairs.

2. Couvent des Jacobins

Dominican monastery built in 1229. Visit to the church is free while there is €4 entrance fee to the cloister. The church is serene and inspiring with stunning stained glass windows. The cloister is peaceful and pretty, but I personally feel that €4 is a little much. Fabulous architecture and to me, the stained glass windows in the main church was most impressive and memorable.

3. Basilique St-Sernin

The former abbey church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin. Visit to the church is free, but there is a small fee for the crypt. Fascinating architecture with an iconic bell tower. Construction of the Basilica began around the 4^th century and it is a UNESCO world heritage site.

4. Stroll around the pink city

Toulouse is a compact, walkable and really pretty city. It is a shame we were rained on and drenched during our very short 1+1/2 days visit. Still, we enjoyed walking around, exploring the small and narrow streets, popping into the shops whatever caught our fancy.

5. Eat Croissants

Some say croissants actually originate in Turkey, but never mind that, eat croissants when you’re in France, eat lots of it. Small bakeries can be found all around Toulouse and croissants cost around €0.8-1. Flaky and crispy on the outside and buttery and moist inside. Our hotel’s buffet breakfast was €10, so instead we had coffee and croissants in a cafe, a great combination and surprisingly filling (suggesting their proper butter content). Espresso was around €1.50-1.80 and everything else over €3 was my general impression of Toulouse city centre cafes, a bit expensive I think.

6. Place du Capitole

A beautiful square. We went during the Christmas market time and the area was busy with a nice selection of stalls selling traditional foods and local products etc… We went during the day, but the evening would have been really pretty with all the lights on.

7. Find pink space invaders

A random last entry.

Invader is a French street artist and their work can be found in so many various locations in more than 65 cities in 33 countries. I just love stumbling upon Invader’s mosaics completely by chance specially during my travelling and wandering around the world. We got rained on during our entire stay and were feeling a bit grumpy and fed up, and suddenly there it was, a pink space invader in the pink city!! It instantly lifted up my spirit. Apparently there are 10 in Toulouse.