Toulouse yourself in the beautiful ‘Pink City’

WANDERING through the magical La Ville Rose you never know quite what you’ll stumble upon next.

From a market packed with artisan sellers hidden under a multi-storey car park to La Cite de l’espace, a huge centre dedicated to space and science, Toulouse is filled with treats scattered among its curved and winding streets.

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The ‘Pink City’ was untouched by World War Two bombs that struck most of the north of France, leaving much of the original architecture and layout of the city intact, along with its charm.

My partner Chris and I visited on Valentine’s weekend when it was pleasantly warm.

We were staying at the Mama Shelter Toulouse, built behind the face of an old theatre near to the Place du Capitole.

Our room was spacious and welcoming with captivating panoramic views, and on our first night tucked into dinner before heading to the rooftop for sensational city views and ca cocktail or two.

Despite being in the land of duck and sausage, we were well catered for as vegetarians — but it did mean eating quite a lot of cheese.
The vegetarian burrata with candied cherry tomatoes and focaccia was fab.

Following it with a cheese board to share and a banoffee pie each was a tasty mistake — thankfully there was a lift back down to the room.

We woke early the next morning and enjoyed a continental breakfast of pastries, fruit, yoghurt and strong coffee before meeting with Marine for a tour of the city.

She took us through the winding streets of the old town, filled with expensive boutiques and grand houses with secret courtyards — and we even managed to sneak into a few for a closer look.

Busts of the Virgin Mary, huge vines reaching skyward and pockets of serenity can be found throughout the whole city, almost every block has a perfectly preened courtyard waiting to be discovered.

It was fascinating to see some of the towers built onto the buildings, a sign of wealth in old Toulouse — if you had money you built up instead of out.

We stopped for a filling lunch at Une Table à Deux, a quaint Bib Gourmand restaurant hidden down one of the many winding streets.

I particularly enjoyed a beetroot heavy main course with rice, romanesco broccoli and radishes, while Chris’ favourite was his starter — a large vegetable spring roll and Asian-style infused sides.

The food was forward thinking and only two options were available for each course, which change daily and depending on produce.

This easy mix of the future and the past is an exciting feature of Toulouse, as although it works hard to preserve its history — it’s not scared to look forward and is a hub of the aerospace industry.

We stepped into the future next, jumping into a taxi to La Cite de l’espace.

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“Dissemination is in our DNA”, managing director Jean Baptiste Desbois told us as he took us around the park filled with space relics and a replica of the former international space station, the Soviet Union spacecraft Mir.

And it felt that way, Space City isn’t a museum in a traditional sense, the exhibits require you to take part, to feel and touch and to imagine what it might be like in space.

The moon exhibition intrigued us both the most, with pods laid out like lunar cafes, sleeping quarters and the inside of the crafts used to travel there, along with some freeze dried food, which admittedly, did not look appetising.

For both of us, being strapped into a huge white backpack and simulating the atmosphere on the moon was definitely a highlight.
I couldn’t stop laughing as we bounded around the room, it was truly an unforgettable experience — where you felt light and heavy at the same time.

We spent our Saturday morning on an interesting Secret Toulouse walking tour and to our surprise found out there was even more to the city than we had first expected.

Our guide showed us hidden churches, luxurious rooftop cafe bars and underground fine dining spots.

The city’s history is a rich tapestry, with new and old art mixing together in public spaces — from sculpture installations in metro stations to huge colourful murals on the sides of buildings.

After getting to know the city a bit better, we made our way to La Brasserie Capoul, a traditional French restaurant that could have been right out of the golden age where we had a savoury pancake piled with vegetables, and I couldn’t resist having another cheese course.

In the afternoon, we had time to kill and used our tourist pass to visit La Basilique Saint-Sernin, the largest Romanesque church in France, and almost got lost in the gilded crypts hidden underneath.

The archaeological Musée Saint-Raymond is only a few steps away, and hosts busts and intriguing Roman and Greek artifacts that are well worth a quick visit.

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But the best site to visit, albeit a little out of the way of the centre it is certainly walkable, is the Couvent des Jacobins, which has a serene courtyard filled with columns and perfectly preened trees.

To get to it, you pass through the medieval cathedral, and if you go at the right time — as we were lucky to — the colourful lights from the stained glass windows are cast across the high stone walls.

At restaurant Aux Pieds Sous La Table, our main course, a butternut squash-based dish that had a delicious crumble on top that melted in my mouth, and the hors d’oeuvres — duck egg and cauliflower puree — were my favourite from the whole trip.

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Before our meal we stopped into a nearby pub for a quick aperitif, and discovered a band playing what I can only describe as French funk rock, to a packed bar of grinning locals who were warm and welcoming.

In Toulouse, it’s easy to stumble upon something gloriously unexpected.

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