10 Things to Do in Toulouse

Toulouse doesn’t try too hard to impress you, and that’s exactly its charm. The Pink City rewards slow visits: wandering without a fixed plan, lingering on a terrace, letting the Garonne set the pace. Here are the 10 Things to Do in Toulouse worth building your visit around, whatever time of year you come.

1. Wander Place du Capitole

The main square is the obvious starting point, and for good reason. Come early for a quiet coffee at one of the terraces with a view over the square, before the crowds arrive, or in the evening when the Capitole building is lit up and the square turns into an open-air living room.

2. Visit the Basilique Saint-Sernin

One of the largest Romanesque churches still standing in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this basilica has been welcoming pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago for almost a thousand years. The building itself is free to visit, with a small fee to see the crypt.

3. Step into the Couvent des Jacobins

A 13th-century Dominican convent famous for its “palm tree” column, a single pillar that fans out into 22 ribs across the ceiling. Go in the early afternoon if you can, when the light through the stained glass is at its best.

4. Follow the Garonne on foot

The riverside promenade is where Toulouse actually lives day to day: runners in the morning, picnics at lunch, guinguettes and long drinks at sunset. It’s also the easiest way to link most of the historic centre together on foot.

5. Get lost in the Carmes and Saint-Étienne neighbourhoods

Leave the main squares behind for these two authentic pockets of the city centre. Carmes has a village feel with its own market and independent shops, while the streets around the Saint-Étienne cathedral are quieter and full of charm, all pink brick facades and hidden courtyards, and well worth a slow wander with no particular destination in mind.

6. Browse Marché Victor Hugo or Marché des Carmes

Marché Victor Hugo is the best-known food market in the city, and a good window into how Toulousains actually eat: local cheese, charcuterie, and produce from the wider Occitanie region, with several stalls upstairs serving lunch. Marché des Carmes is smaller and more neighbourhood in feel, a good alternative if you’d rather browse without the crowds.

7. Take in some art at Les Abattoirs or Fondation Bemberg

Toulouse punches above its weight for art. Les Abattoirs, a former slaughterhouse turned contemporary art museum, is the more unexpected of the two; Fondation Bemberg, in a Renaissance mansion, leans classical.

8. Walk or cycle along the Canal du Midi

A UNESCO-listed canal that once linked the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The stretch through Toulouse is shaded, flat, and easy to reach by bike, a good option if you want to slow down even further.

9. Shop the local addresses for proper south-west produce

Toulouse sits at the heart of south-west France’s food culture, and the city is full of small producers and shops selling the real thing: foie gras, Armagnac, saucisse de Toulouse, cassoulet ingredients, local cheese. Seeking out a handful of these addresses, rather than the tourist-facing options, is one of the best ways to bring a bit of the region home with you.

10. Sit on a terrace and do absolutely nothing

This one isn’t a site, it’s a mindset. Toulouse in any season, but especially in the warmer months, is built around unhurried time on a terrace with a drink in hand. Budget for it in your itinerary; it’s not wasted time, it’s the point.