19 Attractions in Toulouse You Cannot Miss

Toulouse is known for being the capital of the southwestern region of France, located on the banks of the famous Garonne River, and for housing the headquarters of the largest center for space research in Europe.

The countless churches, museums, and beautiful gardens make this city an incredibly interesting place to visit during a tourist trip to France. The overview below will help you navigate and understand what to see in Toulouse.

Cité de l'Espace is an amazing space museum on the eastern outskirts of the city. It introduces visitors to the glorious history of Toulouse's aeronautics through hands-on exhibits, including an interactive model of a lunar rover; a rotating section for testing pilots' fitness for space travel; a planetarium and observatory, as well as a huge modern cinema where you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a space expedition.

In the museum, you will see full-scale replicas of iconic spacecraft, including the Mir space station and the 52-meter Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Address: Cité de l'espace, Avenue Jean Gonord, Toulouse, France.

Couvent des Jacobins is an elegant monastery complex consisting of several buildings. It was built by preachers of the Dominican order, founded in 1215. First, admire the Jacobins church (Église des Jacobins), adorned with whimsical stained glass. Then take a stroll through the cloister (Cloitre des Jacobins), whose delicate reddish-brown columns frame the monastery's green courtyard.

Stop by the chapels and side rooms along the way, such as the 14th-century hall resembling a chapter house - decorated with an image of a lamb surrounded by a halo and portraits of Dominican saints executed in grisaille technique.

Don't miss the chapel of St. Antoninus with 14th-century ceiling frescoes depicting scenes of the apocalypse.

Address: Couvent des Jacobins, Rue Lakanal, Toulouse, France.

Basilique St-Sernin is a well-preserved Romanesque style temple. The entire structure, up to the octagonal bell tower, is built from pink bricks and white stone. Make sure to visit the inner gallery, where majestic marble statues stand in the alcoves of the brick walls.

A place of honor in the temple is occupied by the crypt, where the relics of St. Saturninus (also known as St. Sernin) - the first bishop of Toulouse who met a martyr's death when pagan priests tied him to a bull and sent him down the road - rest.

Address: Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse, Place Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France.

Place du Capitole is the magnificent main square of Toulouse. It is literally and metaphorically the heart of the city, where crowds of Toulouse residents come to enjoy an early aperitif or evening coffee at one of the street cafes. On the eastern side of the square, you can see the long 128-meter façade of the Capitole - the main administrative building, constructed in the 1750s.

Inside, you will find the Théâtre du Capitole - one of the most prestigious opera houses in France, as well as the Hall of Fame dedicated to the great figures of the late 19th century. To the south of the square lies Vieux Quartier - the old town district that consists of a maze of alleys and squares filled with numerous cafes, shops, and restaurants.

Address: Place du Capitole, 31000 Toulouse, France.

Musée des Augustins is the art museum of Toulouse, housed in a former Augustinian monastery. The museum has a rich collection that spans from the Roman period to the early 20th century.

The stylistically echoed staircases and halls with high arches are as beautiful as the artworks, among which are many works by French artists - Delacroix, Ingres, and Courbet, as well as the later Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet. Don't miss the lovely 14th-century monastery gardens with gargoyle sculptures that seem to grimace as if trying to get your attention.

Address: Musée des Augustins, Rue de Metz, 31000 Toulouse, France.

On the eastern side of the city's main square - Place du Capitole - there is a view of the 128-meter façade of the Capitole, which houses the municipality. This architectural masterpiece of Neoclassicism is made of typical pink bricks of Toulouse and adorned with shimmering white columns, built in the early 1750s.

For 500 years, the Capitole has served as the residence of city authorities. Inside the building, be sure to check out the Salle des Illustres - Hall of Fame, dedicated to the illustrious people of the Capitole who lived in the 19th century. The walls of the hall are painted by renowned artists, including neo-impressionist Henri Martin.

Address: Capitolium, Toulouse, Place du Capitole, Toulouse, France.

This museum of fine arts and historical design is located in one of the most luxurious private mansions (hôtel particulier) in Toulouse - Hôtel d'Assézat.

On the first floor, rooms with velvet walls are furnished with antique furniture and adorned with paintings, sculptures, and decorative items; on the second floor, works of visual art of various styles and schools are exhibited - from Impressionists to Expressionists. Here you can see sketches by Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as lesser-known works by Pissarro, Sisley, and Egon Schiele.

Address: Hotel d'Assézat Fondation Georges Bemberg, Place d'Assezat, Toulouse, France.

It is now hard to imagine Toulouse with a statue of a naked Venus or Corinthian columns. Filled with light, the Musée St-Raymond helps one to seamlessly transition from the quarters of the modern city to ancient times. Unique exhibits include stone reliefs of Hercules on the first floor; on the second floor, you can see amazing fragments of mosaics from St-Rustice dating back to the 4th-5th centuries, remnants of a huge sea-themed decorative element depicting frolicking dolphins.

Be sure to visit the necropolis in the basement - a place illuminated by mysterious light with ancient sarcophagi and tombstones.

Address: Musée Saint-Raymond, 1 ter Place Saint-Sernin, 31000 Toulouse, France.

Musée Paul Dupuy is a true treasure trove of decorative applied arts, pharmacy inventory, and antique clocks. The exhibits were collected by Toulouse patron and collector Paul Dupuy, whose name the museum now bears. To create the museum, he purchased an ancient 17th-century mansion.

Medical ceramic jars and instruments convey a grim impression compared to modern medical attributes. Among the rare exhibits is a wooden bench dating from 1500 featuring scenes from the life of St. Stephen and a tapestry embroidered with silk threads depicting scenes from the life of Christ (dating back to 1320).

Address: Paul-Dupuy. Musée des Arts Précieux, Rue de la Pleau, Toulouse, France.

The Catholic church Notre-Dame de la Dalbade is a must-see attraction during a walking tour of Toulouse. Primarily, it draws attention with its colorful tympanum - the recessed part of the wall above the door. The semicircular niche is decorated with a composition made of Renaissance-period Italian ceramics depicting the coronation of the Virgin Mary.

Address: Église Notre-Dame de la Dalbade, 30 Rue de la Dalbade, 31000 Toulouse, France.

This city cathedral was built over several centuries - starting in the 12th and finishing in the 13th centuries. It is notable for its magnificent 'gothic rose' - a large round stained-glass window above the entrance. Additionally, the cathedral is the burial place of Pierre-Paul Riquet - a talented engineer, whose project led to the construction of the famous Canal du Midi.

Address: Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, Place Saint-Étienne, Toulouse, France.

Église Notre Dame du Taur is a beautiful 14th-century church dedicated to the patron saint of the city, St. Saturninus, who met a martyr's death. According to legend, it is on the site of the present church that the first bishop of Toulouse was killed, tied to a bull. Thus the name of the church - du Taur translates from French as 'bull'.

Address: Notre-Dame du Taur, Rue du Taur, Toulouse, France.

Jardin des Plantes is a 200-year-old botanical garden covering 7 hectares, made up of several park areas with numerous sculptures. It is a quiet corner of Toulouse where one can rest from the hustle and bustle of the city. The entrance to the botanical garden is located 500 meters south of Place St-Jacques.

Address: Jardin des Plantes, Allée Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France.

Muséum de Toulouse is the city's natural science museum. The exhibit for the prehistoric department covers different epochs of history - from the skeletons of pterodactyls to ancient fossils. The museum has a very original and fun approach to displaying exhibits - for instance, here you can see skeletons sitting astride horses.

Address: Muséum de Toulouse, Allée Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France.

The name of the Les Abattoirs museum complex (which translates from French as 'slaughterhouses') is because it was established on the site of former slaughterhouses on the outskirts of Toulouse. In addition to a museum with an extensive collection of exhibits, the complex includes an art gallery where numerous exhibitions are regularly held.

Address: Les Abattoirs, Allées Charles de Fitte, Toulouse, France.

Château d'Eau is the name given to the old water tower in Toulouse. This brick building, constructed in the 19th century, was once used to pump and store fresh water. However, since the 1970s, the tower has been used for exhibitions of contemporary photography.

Address: Le Château d'Eau, 1 Place Laganne, 31300 Toulouse, France.

The Canal du Midi, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, is not just an urban waterway, but also a talented engineering project from the 17th century. It represents a section of the 430-kilometer Canal des Deux Mers, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Simply put, the Canal du Midi is a 240-kilometer water canal that starts in Toulouse and stretches to Lake Thau via the coastal town of Sète. The canal was constructed at the behest of Louis XIV, and the genius engineer Pierre-Paul Riquet worked on its design. The construction of the canal took fifteen years.

GPS coordinates: 43°35'36.5"N 1°27'26.6"E.

Musée Georges Labit is named after its founder Georges Labit - a true connoisseur of Eastern culture and an avid traveler who lived in the 19th century.

From his travels to Eastern countries, he brought interesting items to Toulouse to sell in a store owned by his family.

The museum, founded in 1893, houses a rich collection of unique exhibits from Ancient Egypt and East Asia. The museum building is a large mansion in neo-Moorish architectural style, located near the Canal du Midi.

The museum's collection spans three millennia. Among the rare exhibits are samurai armor from the Edo period, works of Coptic art, and sculptures of Buddha from Afghanistan, India, and Burma. The Egyptian galleries with intact mummies and sarcophagi are particularly popular with visitors.

Address: Musée Georges-Labit, Rue du Japon, Toulouse, France.

The Aeroscopia Museum is built on the same site where the first Airbus A380 was assembled. Visitors can closely examine commercial and military aircraft, learn more about the specifics of aircraft manufacturing, and even climb inside some real planes.

Address: Musée Aeroscopia, 1 Allée André Turcat, 31700 Blagnac, France.