9 Best Things to Do in Toulouse
Toulouse packs a UNESCO basilica, a Gothic Dominican church, a working aerospace industry, and a 17th-century canal into a city small enough to cross on foot. These are the 9 things worth building a trip around.
1. Stand in Place du Capitole
The neoclassical pink-brick facade you’re looking at, 135m long with eight Corinthian columns for the city’s eight medieval “capitouls,” dates to 1760 and still functions as the city hall. Step inside (free, standard building hours) for the ornately painted Salle des Illustres, and check what’s on at the attached Theatre du Capitole, home of the Orchestre National du Capitole.
2. Walk the length of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin
At 104m, this is the largest surviving Romanesque church in Europe, begun before 1096 and UNESCO-listed since 1998 as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela. It was built on a pilgrimage plan, with an ambulatory designed to move crowds around the relics of Saint Saturnin without disrupting Mass. Climb the octagonal bell tower for a view over the brick rooftops if it’s open that day.
3. See the palm-tree vault at the Jacobins
The Couvent des Jacobins (1230 to 1385) is Southern Gothic brick architecture at its most inventive: a single column at the east end fans into 22 ribs, 28m up, resembling a palm frond. The church has held the relics of St Thomas Aquinas since 1369. It’s a short walk from the Capitole and worth 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Spend an hour with Romanesque sculpture at the Musee des Augustins
This fine-arts museum occupies a 14th-century former convent and holds 4,000-plus works, but its real draw is the Romanesque sculpture salvaged from Notre-Dame de la Daurade, Saint-Sernin, and the old Saint-Etienne cathedral, alongside paintings by Rubens, Ingres, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
5. Walk or cycle the Canal du Midi towpath
Riquet’s 17th-century canal (UNESCO since 1996) starts at the Port de l’Embouchure, where it meets the Garonne, and runs under a plane-tree canopy for as far as you want to go. A short boat trip from the port covers the same stretch without the legwork.
6. Go to space at the Cite de l’Espace
This space-themed park on the eastern edge of the city has a full-scale 55m Ariane 5 mock-up, a walk-through Mir station replica, and two planetariums. Book tickets online for a discount over the gate price; plan on half a day.
7. See two Concordes at Aeroscopia, or book the Airbus assembly line tour
Aeroscopia, next to Airbus’s Blagnac final-assembly line, displays two retired Concorde airliners and an A380 viewing building. Airbus itself runs the “Let’s Visit Airbus” tour of the A320 or A350 line from a visitor center nearby, advance booking and photo ID required (verify current tour operator and availability).
8. Eat your way through Marche Victor Hugo
The city’s main covered food market has ground-floor stalls for produce, cheese, and charcuterie, with a cluster of small upstairs bistros serving market-fresh lunches. Go hungry and go before noon.
9. Follow the Garonne past the Pont Neuf
Despite the name, the Pont Neuf is Toulouse’s oldest surviving bridge, finished in 1659 and the only one that survived the catastrophic 1875 flood. Walk the Daurade quays alongside it at sunset, then cross the river to Saint-Cyprien for Les Abattoirs, a modern-art museum inside a former 1823 slaughterhouse.
Book the Cite de l’Espace or an Airbus-adjacent tour on GetYourGuide , or check canal boat trips on Viator . For where to base yourself between all this, see our guide to Toulouse’s best areas to stay .
Read more: the main Toulouse guide has the essentials table, and our guide to eating in Toulouse covers cassoulet and the market food scene in depth.