Despite the rapidly changing world around, Toulouse has managed to preserve its medieval charm. Its historical center attracts thousands of travelers every year who want to get acquainted with the traditions of local residents, in whose veins the blood of the Basques and the French flows. Toulouse was founded on the ruins of an ancient Roman settlement. It lies on the banks of the picturesque Garonne River and is often called the Pink City - many of the mansions in the historical part are built of red stone. Looking for information on what to see in Toulouse? Do not forget about its numerous museums, whose expositions are devoted to the most diverse aspects of human life and the periods of the existence of planet Earth.
TOP 10 attractions of Toulouse
Cathedral
It is no coincidence that Saint-Etienne Cathedral is included in the register of national architectural landmarks. It has been decorating the historical part of the city since the middle of the 9th century, which is mentioned in ancient documents. Restructuring in the XI and XIII centuries. gave the building special features, thanks to which the cathedral of Toulouse is recognizable and unique.
The oldest part of the cathedral is built in a typical southern Gothic style. The most remarkable element of the episcopal nave is unanimously considered a rosette window, covered with the haze of ancient stained-glass windows. The main gate of the temple is also located here. Later, the added north-Gothic part is similar to the European cathedrals of the 13th-16th centuries. The western portal will surely impress all fans of the flaming Gothic style, and the design of the bell tower uses motives of both Gothic and Romanesque architecture.
What to see in Toulouse Cathedral? Especially noteworthy:
- The oldest stained glass windows in the city, dating from the 13th century. They can be seen inside the rose window in the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul chapel.
- Massive choirs in the old nave by masters of the 16th century.
- One chapel, built in the 13th century, and the other sixteen - a century later.
- Organ case, carved in walnut. The pillars of the choirs, decorated with bas-reliefs with mythological creatures, are made of the same material.
The interiors are decorated with 17th century tapestries, which is not quite typical for France.
Basilica of San Sernin
The basilica left from the monastery of St. Saturnen was built on the site of a church from the 4th century. For pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella, it is part of a difficult journey. Back in the 9th century. the temple received several donations in the form of Christian shrines, which ensured its significance for those who followed the path of St. James.
The altar was consecrated in 1096, but the basilica had not yet been completed by that time. Like any long-term medieval construction, the church has signs of different architectural styles and trends. Inside the basilica you will find the tomb of Saint Saturnen and other saints, and the organ of the temple, according to researchers, is considered one of the most valuable in France.
The sculptural compositions are dated to the end of the 12th century. Bas-reliefs with biblical characters are also located on the capitals of the Romanesque columns, of which there are more than two hundred and sixty in the temple.
The altar and the canopy behind it are dedicated to St. Sernin. It is under them that his relics are stored. The altar is made of marble, the carvings on it depict angels and birds, and the work is dated from the 18th century.
Monastery of the Jacobins
The Jacobins appeared in Toulouse at the beginning of the 13th century. and after a few years they began building their own monastery. As a result, the most beautiful complex was completed by the end of the 14th century, but later it was partially rebuilt and expanded.
The monastery church is considered one of the most beautiful not only in Toulouse, but in the entire Old World. Pay attention to the details that make the temple unique and memorable:
- "Palm of the Jacobins" is called a 28-meter-high column supporting an arched vault. The colonnade itself is considered the tallest of all built in the Gothic style.
- Four-tier octagonal bell tower of the 13th century, the height of which is 45 m.
- Multicolored wall painting, the main motive of which is the Occitan cross.
- Chapel Saint-Antonin XIV century with images of angels playing lutes. The murals are made with tempera paints.
The main relic of the monastery is the relics of St. Thomas Aquinas, placed in the 17th century. in a specially built mausoleum. It is composed of marble slabs of different colors and decorated with carved wood bas-reliefs, gilding and sculptures.
Capitol
The building where the city council of Toulouse sits is called the Capitol in the city. The palace received its present appearance in 1750, although the first Capitol existed on this site since the 12th century.
On the façade, attention is drawn to the pink marble columns, which symbolize the eight chapters - parts of the structure of the city government. The surviving courtyard of the Capitol bears the name of Henry IV and is notorious for the fact that the Duke of Montmorency, who dared to rebel against Cardinal Richelieu, was beheaded there.
In the premises of the palace, noteworthy are the wall paintings and works of artists of the 19th century collected in the Hall of Fame.
One of the wings of the Capitol houses the local opera and symphony orchestra. The stage for the performances of dancers and musicians was designed in the first third of the 18th century. 1150 spectators can listen and watch the opera at the same time in Toulouse.
Natural History Museum
2.5 million exhibits are in the collection of the Natural History Museum. It also boasts that it was the first in the world to offer visitors a prehistoric gallery. This happened in 1865.
The Natural History Museum of Toulouse presents five thematic sections that tell about the nature of the solar system, the biological diversity of life on Earth, the history of our planet, the physiology of living organisms and how humans affect biological and ecological balance.
The Toulouse Natural History Museum invites visitors to get acquainted with the finds from megalithic burials, examine the tools of the Neolithic era, find out what jewelry was made by jewelers during the Holocene. The collection of exhibits dedicated to prehistoric animals includes fossils dating from the Paleoarchean period.
Augustinian Museum
The Toulouse Art Museum is housed in an old building built in 1309. Before the French Revolution, the Augustinian monastery was located in a Gothic mansion, and immediately after its completion, the building was given to the museum. Opened in 1795, it has become one of the oldest in the country. In the XIX century. the mansion was restored and rebuilt to accommodate all the exhibits accumulated in the collection.
The pearls of the Augustinian Museum are the works of Delacroix, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet and Ingres. In the halls you will also see paintings by Rubens and Perugino, Guercino and Anthony van Dyck. The goal of the museum organizers was to present interesting works by different masters, to create series reflecting as many genres and schools as possible. The organizers of the exposition, of course, coped with the task.
The collection includes samples of Romanesque sculpture of the 12th century, collected in old city churches, works of local craftsmen of the 14th-15th centuries. and several works by Rodin and Claudel.
Museum Saint-Raymond
The Museum of Antiquity of Toulouse, founded at the end of the 19th century, occupies an ancient building, built in the first third of the 16th century. for the needs of the medical college. But not only the architectural features of the structure attract visitors to its walls. The main treasures of the Museum Saint-Raymond are artifacts discovered during archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the city.
Among the exhibits you will see sculptures from the Roman period, marble bas-reliefs, Celtic jewelry made no later than the 3rd century, sarcophagi and burial urns, numismatic rarities and mosaics that have long become priceless relics.
The entire collection is presented in three exhibition areas:
- The Golden Age of Toulouse offers Roman sculptures made of marble and bronze figurines dating from the 5th century. BC NS.
- The Mosaic Collection displays mosaic panels and floors discovered in a Roman villa that were made 400-500 years before the new era.
- The exposition of finds from Shirgan presents busts of ancient Roman emperors and gods and bas-reliefs on the theme of the myths of Ancient Greece.
In the garden surrounding the museum, you can sip coffee and admire the lush vegetation.
Modern Art Museum
Les Abattoirs is dedicated to all known forms of contemporary art, including photography, installations, sculpture and drawing. Located in a former slaughterhouse, the museum offers 4,000 exhibits, including a Picasso stage curtain. Created by the master in 1936 for the production of Rolland's play, the curtain is not shown every day - it has become pretty dilapidated over the years of its existence. But the museum has many other interesting exhibits, and you can look at the work of Georges Mathieu, Lucio Fontana and Jean Dubuffet, or visit one of the permanent exhibitions that demonstrate the importance of art in the modern world.
Labi Museum
Georges Labi was an avid traveler, and his particular love was the Far East and Egypt. It is these regions that the exposition of the museum founded by him in 1893 is dedicated to.
The villa, built in the Moorish style, contains thousands of interesting artifacts from Cambodia, Thailand, Siam, Nepal and Tibet. Among the most valuable are Chinese jade figurines, ritual objects made of precious stones, Indian gods carved from precious wood, Khmer stone sculptures.
Space city
As the center of French and world aircraft construction, Toulouse could not help but open a theme park where you can learn everything about space and the conquest of the sky.
The viewing platforms display life-size spacecraft and rockets, in the entertainment center you can virtually launch a rocket and control it in orbit, and in the Terr @ dome pavilion you can see the history of space development since the Big Bang.
Part of the park is given to children, and playgrounds for toddlers are decorated in a space style - rockets slides, moon buggies, plane swings and a lot of other things.
