The Toulouse email

Toulouse has stolen my heart. It’s a beautiful, easily walkable, utterly charming city and I am 100% sold. From London to Toulouse the flight is 1h15 which is such a giant win. And makes Toulouse a perfect contender for a weekend city break. However, because I am an excessive woman, I would highly encourage you to stay a little longer or build Toulouse into a broader exploration of the Occitanie region as we did. Toulouse is known as The Pink City or La Ville Rose in French (because of the red clay brick buildings you’ll find throughout the city) and whilst that’s a stretch it still makes for a very beautiful city.

Restaurants we loved in Toulouse

– La Braisière
Family-run establishment, now in its fourth generation specialising in meats grilled over a wood fire. The service was warm and friendly despite our very limited French. We tried the cassoulet and the fillet steak with mushroom sauce. The cassoulet was delicious (very hearty!) and the I had forgotten how good fillet steak could be. A delicious lunch!

– Superette
This is a super delicious smash cheese burger. I woke up from a nap hungry and angry. This sweet potato bun, tender tasty beef burger with generous pickles, onions and melty cheese was the cure. If you’re from Cape Town – think Junior burgers but better. We went with the simplest of choices without chips but I would definitely want to try more of their menu. It’s a causal eat in or take away option.

– Fogo
This was a Jono find when we weren’t sure what to do for dinner. They present a blind four course menu for €49 per person, with an optional wine pairing for €26 per person. What they mean by a blind tasting menu is that they present each course without any introduction and only explain the dish to you after you’ve eaten it. It’s really fun and clever and has you thinking and engaging with the dishes trying to guess the ingredients. The service was fantastic and it really is a wonderful experience. The restaurant is run by an incredibly passionate team who clearly love food.

– Pêché Mignon (which means ‘a guilty pleasure’)
The most perfect delicious patisserie! We actually went back twice because the first round of treats were so delicious. We tried five different patisserie options and each one was perfect. Definitely pop in for a take away for afternoon tea.

– Boulangerie Pâtisserie Cyprien
Famous for their croissant-making skills and particularly for their chocolatines (what they call pain au chocolat in the South West of France). Their chocolatines break the rules by including a third chocolate bar (the scandal!). The chocolatines were flaky and crispy and definitely worth a visit.

– Le Temps des Vendanges
Another spot we went back to twice. Great selection of delicious wines. They kindly helped us fumble our way through good wine choices. If you’re looking for local wine this is a great option.

Things we did when not eating

– History and food tour of Toulouse with Toulouse Gourmet Tours
I was really on the fence about signing up for this tour mostly because we were really busy and thought we’d want the free time and because it was a combined history and food. I do like history and we obviously love a food tour but I wasn’t sure how well they would play out together.

Thrilled to report back that we absolutely loved this tour and could not more highly recommend it. 6 stops, 6 stories, 6 food samples, the perfect way to learn about Toulouse and more than enough for lunch. The history was so interesting and really set the scene for each of the food stops. Alex is your guide and he is kind and lovely and a fantastic host. We absolutely loved our time with Alex and exploring the city through his guidance. This is probably my number one recommendation for how to spend your time in Toulouse – a real treat! Book directly on their website here.

– Stroll along the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi offers a really lovely walk where you can soak in the beautiful buildings and the River Garonne. During the summer months it’s a popular picnic spot. I love the idea of coming back with a bunch of cheeses and a bottle of wine to soak in a lovely evening.
Make a stop at Pont Neuf to spot James Colomina’s little red statue (red l’enfant au bonnet d’âne / child with the dunce cap).

– The Hôtels
Toulouse is home to a collection of over 200 Renaissance Hôtels Particuliers. These are grand private mansions (and not hotels as we know them!) built by wealthy merchant families who made their wealth through the export of pastel dye. Hôtels to look out for include Hôtel d’Assézat and Hôtel de Pierre.

– Basilica of Saint-Sernin
This is the largest Romanesque church in France, a world heritage site and a popular stop on the Santiago de la Compostela route. Entry is free and is worth a quick look around.

– Victor Hugo covered market
Central 100 year old covered market. We didn’t visit but apparently L’Impériale on the first floor does a very good cassoulet.

Places we missed but I am saving here for my next visit

– Chez Emile – known for their cassoulet. Opened since the 1940s.
– Le Détaillant – Baguettes filled with French and Spanish meats and cheeses. Lunch to go to eat alongside the river.
– Fromagerie Xavier – Toulouse’s most famous cheese shop in operation for more than 30 years.
It was closed when we arrived! So check times!
– Chez Loustic – our food guide’s favourite restaurant
– Flower’s Café – Great for cakes and pastries. Moelleux au chocolat, banoffee cake, tarte pistache framboise, crumble poire chocolat and thick hot chocolates all come highly recommended.

Where we stayed in Toulouse

We technically stayed on the wrong side of the river in St Cyprien. The West bank is a little trendier, a little more local and a little cheaper. Despite how much time we spent in Toulouse, we only spent one night in the city. The rest of our visits were day trip visits from our Chateau. If we were visiting again, to be honest, I’d probably stay in St Cyprien again. The suburb was still plenty buzzy but a little out of the tourist madness which we prefer. We stayed at the Aparthotel Adagio Original which was super affordable and came with a large self catering apartment. Getting to the heart of Toulouse was an easy stroll over Pont Saint-Pierre but this may not suit you if you’re looking to be super central.