Toulouse – Introduction
The city of Toulouse is the second largest centre of population in the south of France, slightly smaller than Marseille and similar in size to Nice. The name is synonymous within France as the main town of the Midi Pyrenees region, the centre of the aerospace industry, and home to Stade Toulousain one of the top French rugby teams. It lies on the river Garonne which rises in the Pyrenees and joins the Tarn and the Dordogne to flow into the sea at Bordeaux.
It is important to get a sense of the position of Toulouse along the river as there are few places in the town where it is possible to gain any elevation and consequently it can be difficult to orientate yourself in the wider context of the city. There are two bridges from the heart of the old town. The Pont Neuf is at the end of the street which leads west from the cathedral, the rue de Metz and the Pont Saint Pierre is located at the end of the main street leading away from the basilica Saint Sernin. Most of the major monuments are contained within the area bounded by these two streets making the city ideal for exploring on foot.
Toulouse is known locally as ‘la ville rose’ – the pink city – because it is built almost entirely in brick. Even its most important monuments have little stone decoration and the overall impression is of a red or ochre colour.
Toulouse – Getting there
Toulouse airport – known as Toulouse Blagnac or simply Blagnac – is the major airport in the south west of France. It serves both the western Mediterranean and the interior towards the also large Bordeaux airport. It is famous as the centre of the french air industry and home of Airbus and the European Space project.
Currently the airport is undergoing major construction works although this is not a large problem for the traveller.
From Blagnac to the centre of town taxis are available for €30 approximately, and there is a bus servicewhich drops off at four locations downtown (see map).
Toulouse – Getting around
There are many buses in the city of course but these are often hard to understand for the newcomer. However there is a free electric bus which runs through the city centre.
There are also two metro lines – A & B – which link up at a station called Jean Jaurès. The whole process of taking the metro is automated which makes it easier for the foreigner. Tickets currently cost €1.40 for each journey or a set of 10 tickets can be purchased for €11.70. These are available exclusively from machines in the lobby of the metro stations but can be purchased with coins or notes. It is important to know the direction that you wish to travel – as in Paris it is the stop at the end of the line that is the important name to remember. You place your ticket into a slot at the barrier to let you into the system, remembering to take the ticket back and keep it with you throughout your journey. There is no reciprocal process at the end; you just walk straight through the barrier when you have finished your journey. Trains are new and relatively clean although they are well used and get busy at certain times of day. They are small and can be crowded – but frequent. Beware, as in all metros, pickpockets.
Toulouse – the sights
In the centre of the town is the Capitole, the name reminding us that the town was organised by a chapter of Capitouls or consuls. This enormous neo-classical building dominates the square of the same name and now houses the town hall and the municipal authorities. As a public building it can be visited by the inquisitive just by entering and seeing how far you get before being repelled by security guards. However the tourist office, located in the DONJON, the oldest part of the complex at the rear of the main building, does organize guided tours.
To the east of here is the oldest part of the city which is most easily accessed along the rue Saint Rome. Where this joins the rue de Change is the most photographed part of the town although you have to keep your gaze raised above the level of the mass of ersatz chain stores that unfortunately line these streets. Don’t keep your nose in the air for too long however as the local dog owners are not scrupulous about clearing up after their pets!
From this area there is easy access to the Cathedral and the Art Museum as well as the other sites listed below. There are many other fine monuments and museums in the city which also repay a visit – the ones that follow are merely the most prominent.
Cathedral of Saint Étienne (Stephen). Open 8am-7pm daily. Free
Three bays remain (much restored) from the C12 building now devoid of any early decoration with the exception of their ceiling bosses (decorated keystones). The third and last of these depicts the earliest known representation of the Cross of Languedoc with its twelve pearls now incorporated into the coat of arms of the town and of the region.
The early church does not align with the later Gothic (C13-C14) construction. In this part of the building there is a vibrant high altar of the second half of the C17 and finely carved choir stalls of earlier that century. High on the new west wall is a stunning organ whose mass seems to defy gravity.
In the first chapel on the south side of the ambulatory is an image of Saint James the Great reminding us of the importance of Toulouse on the pilgrimage route from southern Europe to Santiago de Compostela.
In the corresponding chapel on the opposite north side is a keystone boss representing Saint Dominic, an important figure in the history of Toulouse who founded the preaching order who were to build the Jacobin monastery (located between the Capitole and the river).
In the third chapel of the south side of the ambulatory (the chapel of Sainte-Germaine) are the tombs of the two inquisitors murdered at Avignonet in 1242 on the orders of the garrison at Montsegur. They were canons at the cathedral.
In the sixth chapel there is a keystone boss with an effigy of the king of France reminding churchgoers of the attachment of Languedoc to France in the C13.
Musée des Augustins
Toulouse fine art museum (21 rue de Metz) is located in the old Augustinian Monastery and is known as the Musée des Augustins. Open every day from 10am to 6pm. €3.
The monastery is a huge brick building from the C14 and C15. The exhibition rooms are located around the main cloister. On the ground floor are the sculpture galleries, Gothic on the east side nearest the entrance, and Romanesque on the west side. The church contains some of the more famous paintings while the space above the Romanesque sculpture gallery houses painting, principally from the C18 and C19.
Highlights
Gothic Sculpture.
A Collection of apostles housed in the central section of the gallery is of interest.
Church
Paintings by Murillo, van Dyck, Perugino and Rubens are of interest although some are hard to see.
Romanesque sculpture
An excellent chance to see the carvings that once adorned the basilica of Saint Cernin and the cathedral of Saint Etienne at close quarters. The final grouping of capitals from Saint Etienne (1120-1140) is especially fine: the journey and adoration of the Magi, the parable of the Wise and the Foolish Virgins, and the life of Saint Mary Egyptia. The room also contains a map showing the principal features of the city of Toulouse in the early C13, the period of the sieges.
French Painting
The sheer quantity of art on display in the gallery above is daunting. Some famous names represented are Courbet, Corot, Manet and Delacroix. Local painters include the fascinating Jean-Paul Laurens whose painting of a Dominican declaring before an inquisitorial tribunal (l’Agitateur du Languedoc – 1887) is particularly appropriate to our trip and typical of his historical paintings. Toulouse-Lautrec is also present as is the Montauban artist Ingres. One of his gloomy works is offsetby a fine portrait of Frederic Desmarrais (1805). There is also an excellent representation of Judith with the head of Holofernes by Valentin.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin (Saint Saturninus). Open daily 08.30 – 12.00 and 14.30 – 18.00. Free – but €2 charge to enter the ambulatory and crypt.
This is the major monument in the city and constitutes one of the finest pieces of Romanesque architecture in southern France. The present basilica was consecrated in 1096 by Pope Urban II. For a long time the present church was surrounded by a major abbey, now disappeared. Although much of the statuary has been taken to the Musée des Augustins (see below) there are still many excellent examples that survive in situ. In addition the church houses some important religious relics.
Exterior
The bulk of the brick building is unrelieved by much in the way of decoration. All the statuary has been moved from the West front to the Musée des Augustins. However the upper tiers of the church are enlivened by a beautiful Romanesque arcade whose capitals, as in the interior of the church, stand out all the more for being the only elements carved from stone.
The east end of the building is a delight; the multi-tiered bell tower leads the eye down to a veritable cascade of corbelled roof lines with checker board banding which changes constantly as you move around the apse.
The main entrance to the church is on the south side through the Porte Miègeville. This remarkable doorway, in the truly Romanesque style of a triumphal arch, retains its original eleventh or early twelfth century sculpture and well repays a few minutes’ study. The tympanum of the doorway shows Christs ascension into heaven supported by angels. Beneath a small frieze shows the twelve apostles raising their eyes and hands to the scene in joy, flanked by two prophets. Two the left of the tympanum is a large sculpture of Saint James the Great, a reminder that this is a major pilgrimage church and one of the most important shrines on the southern route to Santiago de Compostela. On the right is Saint Peter, looking younger than usual but recognizable by his keys, who welcomes the visitor in the name of the papacy. As the first pope, Peter symbolizes Papal authority, an important point to note in the Languedoc.
The capitals below represent – from left to right – The Massacre of the Innocents and The Annunciation and the Visitation. The corbel supporting the lintel on the left hand side portrays King David and on the right hind side are two figures dominating lions – they seem to be shod on one foot only. The following capitals show the expulsion from Paradise and wild beasts.
The whole ensemble is reminiscent of Ste Trophime in Arles and the carvings are very similar to some which adorn the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela itself on the Puerta de las Platerías.
Interior
A small leaflet in English is available from an unmanned stand just inside the church where you are invited to contribute to the cost by putting money through a slot. There is also a bookstall nearby.
The magnificent interior is built principally of brick in a five-aisled plan. It is the beauty and homogeneity of the building that strikes the visitor immediately. Although the church is large, the plan and the narrow central nave make it an imtimate space that is very welcoming. There are magnificent sight lines throughout, but particularly down the outside aisles and the main nave from the area of the font at the west end of the church. The upper clerestory level is particularly fine.
The main details of the inetrior are located in the east end of the church which has specific opening times (10 -12 and 14 – 17). A €2 charge is made which also entitles you to a leaflet (in French only) describing the locations of the treasures.
In the north transept is a replica of the main altar to alow for a close examination of the sculpture.
In the ambulatory make time to examine the magnificent low relief sculptures on the retrochoir (exterior wall of the choir) especially that of Christ in majesty flanked by the symbols of the four evangelists.
In the crypt are a remarkable series of C16 and C17 chests in silver plated copper containing relics of various saints. There is also a display of a small chest of exquisite Limoges enamelled metal of the True Cross. Other relics include a spine from the crown of thorns.
The body of Saint Saturninus, first bishop of Toulouse who was martyred in the third century by being dragged behind a bull down the nearby street of Taur, is buried under the rococo high altar.
Opposite the west end of the church is the Archeological Museum, the Musée Saint-Raymond. Open every day from 10-18.
Couvent des Jacobins – the Jacobin Convent – open daily from 9-19h. Free
The order of preaching friars which we know as the Dominicans was founded in 1216 in Toulouse by Saint Dominic and confirmed later in the same year by the Lateran Council. The order has the somewhat surprising name of the ‘Jacobins’ in France. This is due to the fact that their early centre of operations was located in the rue Saint-Jacques in Toulouse. (This name was subsequently lent to the ‘Jacobins’ revolutionaries during the French Revolution who had made their headquarters in the Parisian convent of the Dominicans.)
This extraordinary brick church, built just after the Albigensian crusade in 1229 as a show of spiritual force, makes an interesting companion piece to the cathedral in Albi. It was bady damaged during the Revolution when it was used as a barracks and restoration tool over 100 years. The exterior is severe and imposing with little decoration.
Inside the building the visitor is struck immediately by the seven massive pillars of stone which march down the centre of the building dividing it neatly in two. These wonderful piers give the vaulting its unusual palm tree effect. However the form of construction does make the placement of the altar difficult and this has now been moved into a lateral position for ease of celebration of services. If the sun is shining the modern stained glass also has an immediate and dramatic effect on the interior, filling it with colour.
There are few details of great note in the church, its history and architecture providing most of the interest. However there is a small amount of early frescoing still visible and the high altar does contain the tomb of the great Franciscan, Saint Thomas Aquinas. His relics have been resident in the city since 1369, but only returned here from Saint-Sernin in 1974, where they were taken for safe keeping during the Revolution.
A Walk Along the Garonne
For those wishing to get a little exercise there are five kilometres of walking available along the river. Starting from the Pont St Michel, at the southern extremity of the ancient walled city, a path leads from the island of Tounis, over the Pont de Tounis and along the right bank of the river. Known as the Promenade Henri Martin it passes the Pont Neuf, the church of Notre Dame de la Daurade, the place de la Daurade, the Pont Saint Pierre and the Place Saint Pierre behind which is the rarely opened church of Saint-Pierre-des-Cuisines. From here the canal Saint Brienne joins the river to the canal du Midi and can be walked the entire mile of its length under the two hundred year old plane trees. At its end the Canal du Midi can also be followed; although the main ringroad joins it at this point and so renders it useless as a pleasant walk.
