Toulouse

Toulouse is in the south of France, north of the department of Haute-Garonne, on the axis of communication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city, which is about 80 km/50 mi from the Pyrenees, borders with Andorra and Spain. from Toulouse (at a distance of around 80 kilometers, the mountains are visible in clear weather) Hydrography The city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne, the Canal du Midi, the Canal de Garonne and the rivers Garonne, Touch and Hers-Mort. in Toulouse Climate Toulouse has a four-season humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification). Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the Mediterranean climate zone. {{Weather box {{Weather box ==History==

that stretched from the Loire to Gibraltar. Early history The Garonne Valley was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age. The historical name of the city, Tolosa (Τολῶσσα in Greek, and of its inhabitants, the Tolosates, first recorded in the 2nd century BC), is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from Aquitanian or Iberian, but it has also been connected to the name of the Gaulish Volcae Tectosages, or to the same root as Irish tulach or Welsh twlch, (little hill). Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a Roman military outpost. After the conquest of Gaul, it was developed as a Roman city in Gallia Narbonensis. Under the reign of Emperor Augustus and thanks to the Pax Romana, the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it was an oppidum to the banks of the Garonne, which were more suitable for trade. In the second half of the 1st century, the emperor Domitian distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess Pallas Athena, so that the Latin poets Martial, Ausonius and Sidonius Apollinaris called the city Palladia Tolosa (Palladian Toulouse), a term that was still used in the Renaissance and even today when the city is presented as propitious to the arts and letters. Under Frankish rule In 721, Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeated an invading Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse. Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo's victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe, incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest (including the one that ended with Charles Martel's victory at the Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers). The Frankish conquest of Septimania followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent County of Toulouse emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century. The Battle of Toulouse of 844, pitting Charles the Bald against Pepin II of Aquitaine, was key in the Carolingian Civil War. In 1096, Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, left with his army at the call of the Pope Urban II to join the First Crusade, of which he was one of the main leaders. This exodus of its warriors and nobles, reinforced by the creation of the faraway County of Tripoli by Raymond IV at the beginning of the 12th century, weakened the city militarily as well as the ascendancy that its counts had over it. The Duke William IX of Aquitaine challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife Philippa (daughter of the previous count of Toulouse, whereas Raymond IV was only his brother). More than 50 years later his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine still claimed the inheritance in vain. • Also in 1229, the Council of Toulouse was held, which laid the foundations for the long period of Inquisition that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade. In 1335, Toulouse had between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants. The Black Death in 1348, then the Hundred Years' War caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century. In these hardships, the city was the key stronghold of the French defence in the south of France during the worst years of the Hundred Years' War, when the English troops from Aquitaine had taken Montauban and only Toulouse remained as an obstacle to their conquest of southern France. This military threat to the city and especially to the surrounding countryside was not conducive to its development, despite the strengthening of ties with the royalty that it entailed. In 1443 King Charles VII established the second parlement of France after that of Paris. Reinforcing its place as an administrative and judicial center, the city grew richer, participating in the trade of Bordeaux wine with England, as well as cereals and textiles. A major source of income was the production and export of pastel, a blue dye made from woad. Toulouse suffered several fires, but it was in 1463 that the Great Fire of Toulouse broke out, ravaging the city for fifteen days. After this dramatic event, Louis XI exempted the city from taxes for 100 years. The capitouls issued municipal decrees favouring the use of brick in buildings, rather than excessively flammable wood or cob. In 1562, the French Wars of Religion began and Toulouse became an ultra-Catholic stronghold in a predominantly Huguenot region. The era of economic prosperity came to an end, especially since all the capitouls of that year and a large proportion of the merchants were Huguenots and had to flee the city for several years. The governor of Languedoc, Henri II de Montmorency, who had rebelled, was executed in 1632 in the Capitole in the presence of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu. A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of the time: in 1762 its powerful parlement sentenced Jean Calas to death. The philosopher Voltaire then accused the Parlement of Toulouse of religious intolerance (Calas was a Huguenot), gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parlement quashed by the King's Council, which did much damage to the reputation of the parlement. It was on this occasion that Voltaire published one of his major philosophical works: his famous Treatise on Tolerance. With the French Revolution of 1789 and the reform or suppression of all royal institutions, Toulouse lost much of its power and influence: until then the capital of the vast province of Languedoc, with a parlement ruling over an even larger territory, the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of Haute-Garonne. Unlike most large French cities, there was no real industrial revolution in 19th century Toulouse. The most important industries were the gunpowder factory, to meet military needs, and the tobacco factory. In 1856 the railway arrived in Toulouse and the city was modernised: the ramparts were replaced by large boulevards, and major avenues such as the ''rue d'Alsace-Lorraine and the rue de Metz'' opened up the historic centre. In 1875, a flood of the Garonne devastated more than 1,000 houses and killed 200 people. It also destroyed all the bridges in Toulouse, except the Pont-Neuf. 20th and 21st centuries has written some of the most beautiful pages in the history of aviation in Toulouse. World War I brought to Toulouse (geographically sheltered from enemy attacks) chemical industries as well as aviation workshops (Latécoère, Dewoitine), which launched the city's aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to the famous Aéropostale, a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse and whose epics were popularised by the novels of writers such as Joseph Kessel and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (himself an Aéropostale pilot). In the 1920s and 1930s the rise of the Toulouse population was increased by the arrival of Italians and Spaniards fleeing the fascist regimes of their country. Then, in the early 1960s, French repatriates from Algeria swelled the city's population. In 2016, a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional prefecture of Occitanie, the second largest region in metropolitan France, giving it a role commensurate with its past as a provincial capital among the most important in France. ==Population==

The population of the city proper (French: commune) was 511,684 as of January 2022, with 1,513,396 inhabitants in the metropolitan area, Thus, the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.63% per year between 2009 and 2021, the third-highest growth rate of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France, after Montpellier and Bordeaux, although it was slightly lower than the growth rate registered between the 1990 and 2009 censuses. Toulouse is the fourth most populated city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille. During the next census 2023 or 2024, the city of Toulouse should become the 3rd most populous city in France ahead of Lyon because its growth is stronger. Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, the Toulouse metropolitan area's population grew by 57.3% between the 1990 and 2020 censuses (within its 2020 borders), which means +1.52% per year on average during those 30 years, compared with a growth of 15.3% for metropolitan France between 1990 and 2020, i.e. +0.48% per year. This was the second-highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants (only the Montpellier metropolitan area grew more than Toulouse between 1990 and 2019). The Toulouse metropolitan area reached 1,513,396 inhabitants in January 2022, and stood as the 5th most populated metropolitan area in France, behind the metropolitan areas of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille, but ahead of the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, which the Toulouse metropolitan area passed in population in the 1990s. During the next census 2023, the metropolitan area of Toulouse will become the 4th most populous in France ahead of Lille because its growth is stronger. A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2,500 Jewish families in Toulouse. A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35,000 Muslims in town. Immigration ==Government and politics==

Toulouse Métropole The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (''Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse) was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with fewer powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent communes'', covering an area of , totalling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in. Since 2009, the Community of agglomeration has become an urban community (in French: communauté urbaine). This has become a métropole in 2015, spanning 37 communes with 806,503 inhabitants in 2020 census. Local politics , and the square of the same name with the Occitan cross designed by Raymond Moretti on the ground , mayor of Toulouse One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis, the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist UDF. First known as a journalist known for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, 36-year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.) Baudis tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasise the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the counts of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (Halle aux Grains) was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (Zénith, the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park ''Cité de l'Espace'' was founded, etc. To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Line A of the underground was opened in 1993, and line B opened in 2007. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the Green Party. In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%. He announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (''Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel'') in Paris, the French equivalent of the American FCC. Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001. In March 2004, he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. In March 2008, Moudenc was defeated by the Socialist Party's candidate Pierre Cohen. At the next elections in 2014 Moudenc defeated Cohen in a rematch to re-take the job with more than 52% of the votes, and he was re-elected with almost the same score in 2020. On March 22, 2026, Moudenc was re-elected for a third consecutive term with 53.87% of the vote. Mayors ==Sights and architecture==

Classified "City of Art and History", Toulouse has a very rich architectural heritage ranging from large Romanesque and Gothic churches to neo-classical facades such as that of the Capitole, to the prestigious mansions of the Renaissance. This ancient heritage is mainly enclosed within the 220 hectares of the city's inner boulevard (one of the largest protected urban areas in France). Almost all the buildings of the historical centre were made with the traditional building material of the region: the '''foraine brick' (French: brique foraine) that has earned the city the nickname of Ville rose (Pink city). Medieval heir to the Roman brick, the foraine'' brick is characterised by its large dimensions, its flat appearance and its colour ranging from orange/pink to red. White stone is also present in smaller quantities. As there were no stone quarries near Toulouse, it was transported from the Pyrenees via the Garonne river and was for a long time rare and therefore expensive, considered in Toulouse as a luxury material. However, it is enough to give Toulouse's architecture one of its characteristics: red/white polychromy. Romanesque architecture (11th-12th c.) The Romanesque architecture of Toulouse is largely dominated by the presence of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, one of the most important churches of its time in Europe, and fortunate enough to keep its Romanesque character virtually intact. Basilica of Saint-Sernin Basilica of Saint-Sernin, part of the Way of Saint James UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also in itself a major place of pilgrimage. It is one of the two largest surviving Romanesque churches in Europe. With more than two hundred relics (including that of Saint Saturnin who gave his name to the church), many of which were donated by Charlemagne to the shrine that preceded the present church, Saint-Sernin is the church with the most relics after Saint Peter of Rome. Conceived from the outset as a gigantic reliquary, the church was mainly built at the end of the 11th century and at the beginning of the 12th century to welcome the crowds of pilgrims, its double-sided aisles and the ambulatory surrounding the apse make it the archetype of the great pilgrimage church, where pilgrims could make the circuit around the church and were able to stop for meditation and prayer at the apsidal chapels of the transept and the radiating chapels of the choir. The church is also particularly noteworthy for the quality of its Romanesque sculptures, including numerous capitals and the historiated tympanum of the Miègeville gate, one of the first of its kind. File:Basilique_Saint-Sernin_de_Toulouse_-_exposition_ouest-1-.jpg|Basilica of Saint-Sernin File:Toulouse Saint Sernin (2012.08) 08.jpg|The east side is the oldest part. File:Tympan_de_la_porte_Miegeville.jpg|Romanesque tympanum of Miègeville gate (late 11th c. or early 12th c.) File:Console_aux_personnages_symmétiques.JPG|Romanesque sculptures File:Nef de la Basilique Saint-Sernin. - FRAC31555 18Fi019.jpg|The central nave of the church Gothic architecture (13th c.-early 16th c.) Southern French Gothic: a militant religious architecture At the beginning of the 13th century, the Catholic clergy of the South of France, seeing a growing number of the faithful turning to the Catharism which advocated a more pious austerity, showed the will to correct the defects of the Catholic Church which indulged in luxury. Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, Foulques, an austere and militant architectural style was born with the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Toulouse: the Southern French Gothic. Conceived according to an ideal of poverty and humility to bring the faithful together in a single, vast nave to facilitate preaching, this architectural style then developed during the 13th century in the grand mendicant convents of the city, before spreading in the 14th century to a large number of churches and cathedrals in the region. Several churches or convents in Toulouse belong to this architectural trend, but two of them are particularly symbolic and remarkable: • Cathedral of Saint-Étienne (Saint Stephen) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse. Its construction, which was mainly done at the beginning and then at the end of the 13th century, reflects the history of this decisive century which saw the city lose its independence to become a French city. The single nave is the first example of Southern French Gothic, at 19 metres wide it probably was at its completion the widest in Western Europe (1210-1220). The higher choir that adjoins it was built in the Gothic style of northern France shortly after the city became part of the Crown of France in 1271. Like all Southern French Gothic churches it has a deliberately austere exterior, but on the inside its alignment of cylindrical columns form one of the tallest colonnades ever erected in Gothic architecture (28 metres high). the remains of private mansions (called hôtels particuliers) from the Middle Ages and the early 16th century. Often hidden in courtyards, some of these towers are high enough to exceed their function of serving the floors and display the ambition of their owners. At a time when most of the houses in Toulouse were built in wood or cob, the brick construction of these towers and hôtels also testifies to their quality. File:Toulouse - Tour de Séguy 1477 01.jpg|Séguy tower, 1477 File:Toulouse - Tour de Boysson.jpg|Boysson tower, 1478 File:Delfau-sommet-2.jpg|Delfau tower, 1497 File:Lancefoc et Serta.jpg|Lancefoc tower (late 15th c.) and Serta tower (1529) File:Olmieres-tour.jpg|Olmières tower, 1503 File:Toulouse - Tour de Bernuy.jpg|Bernuy tower, 1504 File:Bruni-tour.jpg|Bruni tower, 1510 File:Tour de Berenguier Bonnefoy 1513.JPG|Beringuier Bonnefoy tower, 1513 File:2_rue_Saint-Rome_-_Tour_Serta.jpg|Serta tower, 1529 Renaissance architecture (16th c.-early 17th c.) In the 16th century, Toulouse experienced a golden age coinciding with the Renaissance in France. The woad trade (pastel) brought merchants of international stature to the city, and the Parlement of Toulouse made the city the judicial capital of a large part of the south of France. These wealthy elites had private mansions built, remarkable for their architecture inspired by architectural treatises such as those of Serlio, Alberti or Vitruvius, but also by the royal castles of the Loire Valley and the Île-de-France. Hotel_de_Caulet-Resseguier_(Toulouse).jpg|Hôtel de Caulet Hôtel Pierre Comère.jpg|Hôtel Comère (Toulouse) 24 Grande-rue Nazareth - Hôtel d'Avizard - Façade.jpg|Hôtel d'Avizard Hotel_st_Jean_3.jpg|Hôtel Saint-Jean (courtyard), former Grand Priory of Knights Hospitaller Toulouse-Capitole-Cour_Henri_IV_(2).jpg|Henri IV courtyard of the Capitole: brick and stone. Hôtel_d'Orbessan_(Toulouse)_-_Façade_rue_Mage_-_Le_portail.jpg|Portal of hôtel d'Orbessan Toulouse - Portail Desplats.jpg|Portal of hôtel Desplats (courtyard) 18th century architecture In the 18th century Toulouse made its living from its parlement and from the wheat and corn trade, which was boosted by the creation of the Canal du Midi at the end of the previous century. Among the major architectural achievements, the most notable were undoubtedly the construction of the quays of the Garonne and the new facade of the Capitole (1750-1760), designed by architect Guillaume Cammas. In the last third of the 18th century, the ever increasing influence of the Parisian model meant that red brick was no longer popular: the city facades were then whitewashed to imitate stone. This is why nowadays, even though the white paint has generally been removed, there are walls with deep grooves carved in brick to imitate ashlar architecture. File:Capitole-27.jpg|Capitole - city hall File:Hôtel_d'Espie.JPG|Hôtel d'Espie File:Hôtel_d'Espie_-_Portail_sur_la_rue_Mage_à_Toulouse.jpg|Portal of hôtel d'Espie File:Ancien_hôtel_de_Bonfontan_-_41_rue_Croix-Baragnon_Toulouse_-_MériméePA00094534_-_ferronneries_de_style_rocaille,_par_Bernard_Ortet.jpg|Hôtel de Bonfontan File:Toulouse_-_Basilique_de_la_Daurade_(1).jpg|Basilica of la Daurade 19th century architecture Toulouse's 19th century architecture can be divided into three periods, which sometimes overlapped. In the first half of the century, at the instigation of architect Jacques-Pascal Virebent, the main architecturally unified squares were created: the Place du Capitole and the Place Wilson (called place Villeneuve when it was built), whose uniform architecture was inspired by Rue de Rivoli in Paris. From 1830 onwards, Auguste Virebent and his brothers (sons of Jacques-Pascal) developed a factory of low-cost moulded decorations which met with great success and adorned Toulouse facades with numerous terracotta ornaments, far from the austere architecture of their father. Then, in the last third of the 19th century, large Haussmann-style avenues were opened in the town centre, such as the central Alsace-Lorraine street, built in yellow brick to imitate Parisian stone. File:Toulouse-Place du Capitole.jpg|Place du Capitole, the main square of Toulouse (19th c.) File:Café_Bibent.jpg|Place du Capitole (Café Bibent) File:Maison Lamothe (Toulouse).jpg|Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.) File:Immeuble_28_rue_des_Marchands.jpg|Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.) File:Toulouse - rue d'Alsace.jpg|Yellow brick of Alsace-Lorraine street (19th c.) 20th and 21st centuries architecture From the middle of the 19th century, the arrival of the railway in Toulouse facilitated the supply of stone and made it cheaper for construction, and architects did not hesitate to play on the old traditional Toulouse codes linked to the prestige of stone construction, even if these no longer had the economic justification of yesteryear. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, the main railway station was built entirely in white stone. Subsequently, concrete replaced the traditional materials, but brick and stone were still used for cladding, as shown recently by the work of prestigious architects such as Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown for the seat of the departmental council, or Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell for the Toulouse School of Economics building. File:Façade Art Nouveau, rue Gambetta.jpg|Art nouveau facade, Gambetta street (early 20th c.) File:Immeuble dit de La Dépêche du Midi, Toulouse.jpg|Art Deco facade, Alsace-Lorraine street () File:Bibliothèque rue Périgord.jpg|Toulouse municipal library, Art Deco facade (1935) File:Toulouse - Conseil départemental 31.jpg|Seat of the departmental council (1999), by the architect Robert Venturi, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991 File:Toulouse - TSE.jpg|Seat of the Toulouse School of Economics (2019), by Grafton Architects, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2020 Banks of the Garonne, Canal du Midi, parks The banks of the Garonne river offer an interesting urban panorama of the city. Red brick dykes from the 18th century enclose the river which was subject to destructive floods. The Pont-Neuf took almost a century to build as the project was so ambitious (1545-1632). It was a very modern bridge for its time, removing the housing on the deck and using techniques such as lowered arches, openings in the piers and stacked spouts to spread the water, making it the only bridge in Toulouse to withstand the violent floods of the past. Further downstream, the Bazacle is a ford across the Garonne river, in the 12th century the Bazacle Milling Company was the first recorded European joint-stock company. On the left bank of the river, historically a flood-prone bank, stand two former hospitals whose origins date back to the 12th century: the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques and the Hôpital de La Grave. Isolated on the left bank, victims of the plague and other sick people were thus kept away from the city by the width of the river. Built at the end of the 17th century, the Canal du Midi bypasses the city centre and has linked Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea ever since. Its 240 kilometres were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The Jardin des Plantes, the Grand Rond and the Jardin Royal form a set of adjacent parks that span several blocks and include the Museum of Natural History, cafés, children's activities and a botanical garden (18th-19th century). The Prairie des Filtres, the Raymond VI garden and the Japanese garden are other interesting parks that border the center of Toulouse. File:Le Pont-Neuf de Toulouse.jpg|Pont-Neuf (16th-17th c.) File:Garonne_5102.jpg|Red brick dykes from the 18th century File:Panorama Quais & Pont Neuf Toulouse.jpg|Quays of the Garonne and Pont-Neuf File:Hotel-dieu-02b(1).jpg|Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques former hospital (12th–19th c.) File:Hopital_de_la_Grave_-_Toulouse_-_2012-06-23.jpg|La Grave former hospital (12th–19th c.) and the copper dome of its chapel File:Le_Port_de_la_Daurade.jpg|Port de la Daurade, a former river port converted into a recreational area File:Toulouse rempart et dôme au jardin Raymond VI.jpg|Raymond VI garden, at the foot of the last remains of the old Toulouse ramparts on the left bank File:Canal du Midi Ramonville.jpg|Canal du Midi (17th c.) File:Grand_Rond_(jardin).jpg|Grand rond park File:Jardin_Japonais_de_Toulouse.jpg|Japanese garden File:Ancienne_porte_du_Capitole_(Toulouse).jpg|Renaissance portal in Jardin des plantes File:Toulouse - Prairie des Filtres et Pont Neuf.jpg|Prairie des Filtres park Museums and theme parks Toulouse has many museums, the most important of which are: • Musée des Augustins is the fine arts museum of Toulouse, it is located in the former Augustinian convent. • Bemberg Foundation, housed in the Hôtel d'Assézat, presents to the public one of the major private collections of art in Europe. • Musée Saint-Raymond is the archeological museum of Toulouse, located in a former college of the university it presents the ancient history of Toulouse and a very rich collection of Roman sculptures from the imperial Roman villa of Chiragan. • Musée Paul Dupuy is the museum of Decorative Arts and Graphic Arts, including a very rich collection of clocks and watches. • Musée Georges Labit is dedicated to artifacts from the Far-Eastern and Ancient Egyptian civilizations. • Muséum de Toulouse is one of the most important natural history museums in France, housed in the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites. • Les Abattoirs is the museum of modern and contemporary art of the city, opened in a former municipal slaughterhouse. File:Augustins_-_Gargouilles_de_l'ancienne_église_des_Cordeliers.jpg|Musée des Augustins File:Augustins - Vierge à l'Enfant dite Notre-Dame de Grasse RA 788.jpg|Nostre Dame de Grasse at Musée des Augustins File:Bemberg Fondation Toulouse - Hercule à la cour d'Omphale - Lucas Cranach l'Ancien - 1537 Inv.1098.jpg|Painting of Lucas Cranach the Elder at Bemberg Foundation File:Toulouse - St Raymond.jpg|Musée Saint-Raymond File:Musée Georges Labit.jpg|Georges Labit Museum File:Grand carré MHNT.jpg|Muséum de Toulouse File:Les abattoirs - Musée d'art moderne de Toulouse.jpg|Les Abattoirs File:Toulouse - Abattoirs - Picasso.jpg|Picasso at Les Abattoirs Toulouse also has several theme parks, notably highlighting its aeronautical and space heritage: • ''Cité de l'espace'' is a scientific discovery centre focused on spaceflight. • Aeroscopia is an aeronautical theme park located near Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, dedicated to the preservation of aeronautical historical heritage (it hosts for example two Concorde airliners). • ''L'Envol des pionniers'' is a museum that traces the great adventure of l'Aéropostale, a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse which operated between France, Africa and South America from 1918 to 1933, and employed legendary pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean Mermoz or Henri Guillaumet... • Halle de La Machine is a vast hall that houses numerous small or giant animated machines, often inspired by the world of aeronautics, human or technological epics. File:Ariane 5 at Cite de l'Espace 1.jpg|''Cité de l'espace'' File:France Occitanie 31 Toulouse 04.jpg|''Cité de l'espace'' File:Tarmac Nord Aeroscopia.jpg|Aeroscopia File:Replica Salmson 2 A.2 at Envol des pionniers.jpg|Replica Salmson 2 A.2 at ''L'Envol des pionniers'' File:Piste des Géants et halle de la Machine.jpg|Halle de La Machine File:Minotaure 2.jpg|The giant Minotaur of the Halle de La Machine ==Economy==

Since 2003, Toulouse has been the French city with the fastest growing GDP per capita, a performance driven by growing high-tech industries. Toulouse economy can rely on three pillars: large industrial companies, research laboratories and a huge pool of students, engineers and scientists. Indeed, Toulouse is home to the second largest research and education centre in France, it has a high quality of education, first class engineering schools, powerful industries supported by world leaders, such as Airbus or Thales Alenia for aeronautics and space. This ecosystem fosters innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence, IOT, robotics, avionics, embedded systems, biotechnology, health etc. Toulouse can particularly be described as the 'capital' of the European aerospace industry: it hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus A320, A330, and A350. The A380 was also produced here (the last completed in 2021), as was the Concorde supersonic aircraft. Toulouse also hosts the headquarters of ATR, one of the two headquarters of Liebherr Aerospace and Groupe Latécoère. As for the space industry, with 12,000 jobs, 400 companies and 25% of the European workforce, Toulouse is the main European hub. ==Education==

Toulouse has the fourth-largest student population in France after Paris, Lyon and Lille with 103,000 students (2012). Colleges and universities entrance The University of Toulouse (Université de Toulouse) was established in 1229 (now split into three separate universities). Like the universities in Oxford and Paris, the University of Toulouse was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Arabs of Andalus and Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology—inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts—as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges were supported by the Church, in hopes of reconciling Greek philosophy and Christian theology. • Catholic University of Toulouse • Université Toulouse I, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse School of Management and Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse • University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès (Formerly University of Toulouse II – Le Mirail) • Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III) Toulouse is also the home of Toulouse Business School (TBS), Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), the Institut supérieur européen de gestion group (ISEG Group), the Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action (ISEFAC), E-Artsup and several engineering schools: • ICAM Toulouse (Institut catholique d'arts et métiers) • INSA Toulouse • ISAE SUPAERO (Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace) • ENAC (École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile) • INP ENSEEIHT (École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications) • ENSFEA (École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole) • INP ENSIACET (École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs en art chimique et technologique) • INP ENSAT (École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse) • INP ENM (École Nationale de la Météorologie) • EPITA (École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées) • EPITECH (École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies or European Institute of Information Technology) • IPSA (Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées) • EIPurpan (École d'ingénieurs de Purpan) Primary and secondary schools The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat and Lycée Saint-Sernin. International schools serving area expatriates are in nearby Colomiers: • International School of Toulouse • Deutsche Schule Toulouse (German school) ==Transport==

Train The main railway station, with regional and national services, is Toulouse-Matabiau station. In addition, there are several smaller stations in the city: Toulouse-Saint-Agne, Gallieni-Cancéropôle, Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes, Le TOEC, Lardenne, Saint-Martin-du-Touch, Les Ramassiers, Montaudran and Lacourtensourt. The stations of Lalande-L'Église and Route-de-Launaguet were served until 2016. Metro All urban bus, metro and tram services are operated by Tisséo. In addition to an extensive bus system (145 lines), the Toulouse Metro is a VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tyred trains: • Line A runs for from Balma-Gramont in the north-east to Basso Cambo in the south-west. • Line B, which opened in June 2007, serves 20 stations north to south and intersects line A at Jean Jaurès. Line C is under construction for an opening in 2028 with 21 stations over 27 km. It will cross line B at 2 stations (La Vache and François Verdier) and will cross line A at Matabiau Gares (central train station). Actual Line C has existed since line A was completed. It is not VAL but an urban railway line operated by SNCF. It connects to line A at Arènes. Two other stations located in Toulouse are also served by line C. Lardenne, formerly named "Gare des Capelles", changed its name in September 2003 when line C opened. Le TOEC station opened on 1 September 2003 with the creation of line C, allowing an urban train service in Toulouse and close western suburbs. Similarly, Line D runs south from Toulouse Matabiau to Muret. Tramway The Toulouse conurbation has two tram lines: • The tramway line T1, with 25 stations and 14.8 km long, has been in service since December 2010. It links Toulouse to the new MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre in Beauzelle, via Blagnac. • The tramway line T2, which connects Toulouse-Blagnac airport, is a branch of the first line. It is currently stopped to transform it into an airport express tram which will be connected to metro line C in 2028. Cable car Since 13 May 2022, the city of Toulouse has had a new mode of public transportation called Téléo. This is a cable car that links Paul-Sabatier University to Rangueil Hospital and the Oncopole (a major cancer research centre). It allows to fly over the Garonne and the hill of Pech David and, with its 3 kilometres, it is the longest urban cable car in France. It is presented as the first link in a public transport belt that is not radial and oriented towards the city centre, but designed to encircle the south of Toulouse. Bicycle In 2007, a citywide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced, with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription. Airports Airports include: • Toulouse Blagnac: the principal local airport • Toulouse Francazal: former principal airport, then former military airfield, its activity is nowadays reduced • Toulouse Lasbordes: this airfield is dedicated to leisure aviation and flying clubs Canal The Canal du Midi begins in Toulouse and runs up to Sète. Toulouse public transportation statistics The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Toulouse on a weekday is 44 minutes. 9.1% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 9 minutes, while 10.4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 8% travel for over in a single direction. ==Communications==

Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission. In 2001 a optical fiber (symmetric 360 Gbit/s) network named Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications was deployed around the city and suburbs. ==Culture==

The Théâtre du Capitole is the home of opera and ballet; there has been a theatre on the site since 1736. The Orchestre National du Capitole, long associated with Michel Plasson, plays at the Halle aux Grains. On 31 October 2023, Toulouse was named UNESCO City of Music. Le Château d'Eau, an old 19th-century water-tower, was converted as a gallery in 1974 by Jean Dieuzaide, a French photographer from Toulouse and is now one of the oldest public places dedicated to photography in the world. Toulouse's art museums include the Musée des Augustins, the Musée des Abattoirs, the Musée Georges Labit, and the Fondation Bemberg in the Hôtel d'Assézat. The Musée Saint-Raymond is devoted to Antiquity and the Muséum de Toulouse to natural history. Toulouse is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Cross of Toulouse (from Provence, under the name of cross of Provence), emblem of the County of Toulouse and commonly widespread around all of Occitania during the Middle Ages is the symbol of the city and of the newly founded Midi-Pyrénées région, as well as a popular Occitan symbol. The city's gastronomic specialties include the Saucisse de Toulouse, a type of sausage, cassoulet Toulousain, a bean and pork stew, and garbure, a cabbage soup with poultry. Also, foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, is a delicacy commonly made in the Midi-Pyrénées. ==Sport==

Stade Toulousain of the Top 14 is the most successful rugby union club in Europe, having been crowned European champions a record six times and French champions a record twenty-four times, most recently in 2024 and 2025 respectively. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the France national rugby union team and its youth academy is one of the best in the world. The club's home ground is the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Toulouse Olympique represents the city in rugby league. The club has been playing in the British rugby league system since 2016. After gaining promotion to the Super League for the first time in 2021, they suffered relegation in their debut season, but were promoted to the top tier again in 2025. The club has had historical success in the French rugby league system, having won the French championship six times. The city also has a professional football team, Toulouse FC, which plays in Ligue 1, the highest level of football in France. Toulouse FC won the Coupe de France in 2023, defeating FC Nantes in the final. The club plays at the Stadium de Toulouse, which was a venue during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup, and has hosted several Rugby League World Cup matches and important club rugby games. Toulouse was also a host city in EuroBasket 1999. File:Stadium-Lory.jpg|Stadium de Toulouse (capacity: 33,150) File:Stade Ernest Wallon.jpg|Stade Ernest Wallon (capacity: 19,500) File:Stade toulousain vs RC Toulon - 2012-09-29 - 48.jpg|Rugby union: Stade Toulousain. File:Offensive toulousaine, Toulouse, 6 mai 2018 (TFC - LOSC).jpg|Football: Toulouse Football Club. File:TOteam.jpg|Rugby league: Toulouse Olympique. File:TMB-2018-2019-Toulouse.jpg|Women's basketball: Toulouse Métropole Basket. File:Fenix_Toulouse_20140831_-_Finale_Challenge_Marrane.jpg|Handball: Fenix Toulouse Handball. File:Volley_Ball_-_2012-03-20_-_Spacers_Toulouse_vs_Rennes-13.jpg|Volleyball: Spacer's Toulouse Volley. ==Notable people==

in the Capitole de Toulouse Several notable Toulousains have been scientists, such as Jean Dausset (1916–2009), 1980 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; 17th-century mathematician Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665), who spent his life in Toulouse, where he wrote Fermat's Last Theorem and was a lawyer in the city's parlement; Paul Sabatier (1854–1941), 1912 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Albert Fert (b. 1938), 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics who grew up in Toulouse where he attended the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat and Jean Tirole (b. 1953), owner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, chairman and founder of the Toulouse School of Economics along with Jean-Jacques Laffont. Musically, Toulouse is one of the two controversial, disputed birthplaces of Carlos Gardel (1890–1935) (the other being Tacuarembo, Uruguay), probably the most prominent figure in the history of the tango. The city's most renowned songwriter is Claude Nougaro (1929-2004). The composer and organist Georges Guiraud (1868–1928) and songwriter Jain (b. 1992) were born in Toulouse. Concerning arts, Toulouse is the birthplace of Impressionist painter Henri Martin (1860–1943) as well as sculptors Alexandre Falguière (1831–1900), Antonin Mercié (1845–1916) and illustrator Edmund Dulac (1882–1953). Moreover, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) and Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929) were trained at the Toulouse fine arts school. Post Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's (1864–1901) father was Count Alphonse Charles de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa (1838–1913) and was part of an aristocratic family of Counts of Toulouse, Odet de Foix, Vimcomte de Lautrec and the Viscounts of Montfa. Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (–1105), one of the leaders of the First Crusade, was born in Toulouse. Aviation pioneer Clément Ader (1841–1925), acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870) who gave his name to the leotard, and psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (1772–1840) were also natives. French football legend Just Fontaine (1933–2023), record holder for the most goals in a single FIFA World Cup (thirteen in six games in 1958), lived in Toulouse for the last 60 years of his life. Léon Marchand (b. 2002), swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalist grew up in Toulouse where he attended Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University. ==International relations==

Twin towns and sister cities Toulouse is twinned with: • Atlanta, United States, since 1975 • Bologna, Italy, since 1981 • Elche, Spain, since 1981 • Chongqing, China, since 1981 • Kyiv, Ukraine, since 1975 • Tel Aviv, Israel, since 1962 Other cooperations Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns: • Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain • N'Djamena, Chad • Hanoi, Vietnam • Saint-Louis, Senegal • Düsseldorf, Germany • Kfardebian, Lebanon ==See also==