Occitanie Toulouse Advice Appreciated

[Penn251]

We are planning a month in Toulouse late Spring 2023. Any advice as to neighborhoods to stay in or particular apartments or rental agencies would be appreciated. Any other information such as restaurants, must-sees, hidden gems, side trips, etc. would also be appreciated. Although we are experienced slow-travellers, this will be our first time in Toulouse and its environs. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Parigi]

Would you consider the nearby beautiful city Alibi as a base? It is not only beautiful but is surrounded by beautiful villages and countryside. It often reminds my French friends and me of Tuscany.
Toulouse may be a bigger town and is pleasant, Albi may just the better choice in terms of architectural beauty, charm, and number of points of interest.
Therefore I personally would make Albi my base and Toulouse a day-trip.

 

[phirhon]

Parigi has raised an interesting idea. We have not been to Toulouse but from accounts it seems to be a vibrant, interesting place to visit. Obvious side trips by train would be Albi and Carcassonne. It really depends on what you want to do and whether you will have a car or be relying on public transport.

We really enjoy smaller places and being able to spend time in the countryside and small towns and villages. In 2016 we stayed about ten minutes out of Albi and enjoyed the region. There are a host of beautiful villages in the region to visit. These include Cordes sur Ciel, Castelnau Montmirail, Puycelsci, Penne, St Antonin Noble Val, Lautrec. With the exception of Lautrec which we visited on another trip, the rest we saw while in the area. I do have a trip report here but it is for the whole trip so you would need to scroll through to the relevant section ( the Tarn department ) to see some of the places we visited.

Whatever you decide, Albi is definitely worth a day trip from Toulouse.

 

[phirhon]

I meant to include the link to my report.

Country Roads in Autumn. Ten weeks in country France.

We had another great trip to France in 2016. This is what we did, region by region. As introduction, we are an early 60’s Australian couple and this was our sixth trip to France. Our journey began when we were picked up at our front door at 6-15 am by the shuttle service for the 2.5 hour trip...

www.sloweurope.com

 

[Amy]

Penn251, have you gathered any more detail on Toulouse? We are considering ending our Spring trip with a few nights there.

 

[Penn251]

Alas--as is typical for us, our plans have changed (evolved). We will be spending two weeks in Lyon and then 2 weeks in 2 weeks in Piemonte. We are locked in to that - travel and AirBnB's booked. I have turned my focus to those areas. Toulouse will have to wait.

 

[Dana]

Hello! I live near Toulouse, la Ville Rose (so named for its millions of pink bricks) and can confirm it's a pretty lively place and I think terribly under-rated. You can see much of it in three days (try to stay near the centre, although nearly all the hotels there are French chain hotels). The world's biggest Romanesque church St Seurnin, the gallery at Le Capitole, the superb Gothic Les Jacobins, the archaeology museum, the contemporary in Les Abbatoirs are great, but two of my favourites are temporarily closed for restoration: the Augustines art museum and the Fondation Bemberg. But the fabulous Halle de la Machine is open, near the Cité de Space museum and new pioneers of flight museum, and you can watch them make planes are Airbus. Carcassonne and Cahors are an hour away, Albi not far either.

 

[Amy]

Thank you, Dana! We will be in the Languedoc for two weeks in May and will end with a few days in Toulouse. (Btw, your new Dordogne book was great for our recent trip there!)