My romantic weekend in Toulouse

“It is only those who do not know who wander the paths. A blind eye and a stout heart create a true wanderer. Those who seek the paths do so in vain; only those who can see deep might hope to wander.”

― Mary-Jean Harris, Wrestling with Gods

I needed a weekend escape, Berlin is being freezing with constant minus degrees. The winter is being cheerily sunny, but dreadrily cold. And just perfectly, Ryanair has a €9,99 flight to Toulouse! So off we went for a weekend.

I've always been in love with France, the idea of the country. Being a romantic wanderer, France just fits in so perfectly with the idea of romance on the roads. After all, France & romance go together like champagne and oysters, café and croissants, jambon and beurre..Okay, that phrase is for Paris, but I maintain that the entire country is just drunk on romance. Look at the countryside, theCote d'Azur with that little dreamy seaside village of Èze, the stretching forever lavender field of Provence... and okay, how on earth would the most passionate of kisses be called the French kiss? (By the way, in France, it’s called a tongue or soul kiss.) French is also the language of love - is that why my soul just shuddering at the breathless whispering of je t'aime, je t'aime from a French lover in the depth of a long, long ago mad night... Oh la France!

Anyway, a romantic weekend away in Toulouse is what I went all in for this time. After all, it's la Ville Rose, the Pink City-- known for its unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks-- but just too often overlooked by tourists (which, in my opinion, is actually a plus point).

Toulouse is a city of contrasts with an exceptional heritage that offers the visitor plenty of pleasant surprises such as mansions from the Renaissance period which was the golden age of the town.  The city also hosts an amazing blend of brick and stone buildings and a rich collection of museums built within historical monuments or on former industrial sites. From place to place, along streets and monuments, “la ville rose” meets history and reveals all its charms.  At night, the city enlightens and Toulouse takes on a new face: the facades, the monuments and the river become the main characters of Toulouse’s magical evenings.

First of all, all roads lead to the heart of Toulouse, Place du Capitole!

The Capitole complex from the 16th Century and its façade from the 18th Century hosts the City Hall and the National Theatre of Toulouse. The building is disctinctive for its 8 pink marble classical columns symbolising the Capitouls, its Henry IV courtyard, the place where the Duke of Montmorency was killed, and the “Salle des Illustres” inspired by the Farnese Gallery in Rome where the golden mouldings compete with the beauty of the paintings in the cartouches. Also see the rooms Jean-Paul Laurens, Henri Martin, Paul Gervais (toulouse-visit)

Next, getting lost in its old town is to get lost in a photogenic tangle of winding lanes and part-medieval streets.

I of course ended up wandering in the narrow cobbled streets to gawk at the numerous amazing boutique shops just as tantalizing as in Paris (!!)

The city also has several impressive churches to explore that count among France’s finest examples of Romanesque architecture. One notable example is the Basilique St-Sernin, built between 1080 and 1120 with a distinctively elegant spire and octagonal tower. The basilica contains the bones of St-Sernin himself and was once an important stop on the medieval era’s most important pilgrimage route.

My favourite photostop spot in Toulouse is actually the amazing Carousel at Place Wilson (at the end of Jean Jaures which links the Canal du Midi with the city centre). This oh-so-pretty artifact was actually completely manufactured and painted by hands!

And of course one can't miss Le Pont Neuf, one of the most famous and the oldest bridge in Toulouse who has survived so much history and so many floods, now connecting the old town to the newer neighborhoods.

All in all, Toulouse perfectly lives up to my idea of a French romantic weekend getaway. The squares, the many green parks such as the Prairie des Filtres, and shuttered buildings are all so pretty; a walk along the banks of the beautiful Garonne river, together with Toulouse's hearty Southern France cuisine, all in all make the Pink City such a real mini-break gem in Southern France!