France, Toulouse: description, attractions and reviews of tourists

In the south of France there is a modern rapidly developing cultural, scientific and industrial center of the country - the city of Toulouse.

Description of the city

The population of Toulouse (including the suburbs) is 425 thousand people. This indicator puts the city in fourth place in the country after Paris, Lyon and Marseille. G. Toulouse (France) is located on the banks of the Garonne River. It is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by 150 kilometers, and from the Atlantic Ocean - 250 kilometers.

In this area, besides the French language, the Occitan dialect is widespread. Street names are written in two languages. Tourists from all over the world have always been attracted to France. Toulouse in this sense is no exception. Thousands of travelers annually come to this city to see local attractions.

In the world, this settlement was called the "pink city", and all because of the color of the brick from which almost all of its buildings are built. The city of Toulouse (France) has several higher educational institutions - three state universities, a polytechnic institute, and a higher school of fine arts. Today, more than 110 thousand students are educated here.

In this French city, aviation enterprises (Airbus and Ariane) successfully operate, and the biochemical, electronic, and information technology industries are developing. In the early nineties of the last century, a subway appeared in Toulouse. In addition, citizens are proud of the municipal stadium, which is the main venue of the city football club.

Toulouse (France): attractions

This city holds many monuments of history, culture and architecture. All of them are of great interest to tourists, and, it must be said, not in vain. We will introduce you to some of them in this article.

Church of Saint Sernin

There are so many ancient cathedrals that France is rightly proud of. Toulouse has preserved one of the oldest temples of the city, which belonged to the Abbey of St. Saturninus. The basilica was consecrated in honor of this saint, who lived here in the third century. This was the first bishop of the city. He was counted among the saints after he refused to participate in the sacrifices, and as a result received a terrible, martyrdom. He was tied to a bull, which was driven through the city streets. The bishop was buried by members of the Christian community outside the walls of Toulouse. Much later, a small chapel was built over his grave. Near the grave, the first temple appeared at the beginning of the V century.

The construction of the basilica lasted throughout the XI-XII centuries. Next to it was built a room for pilgrims - a kind of inn. For this, pink brick was used, and white stone was used to finish the building.

The predominant style of the basilica is Romanesque, but at the same time you can see elements of the Baroque and Gothic in the interior. In 1096, Pope Urban II consecrated the temple, although it was still unfinished. At the beginning of the XII century, other structures of the abbey began to appear, and work in the western wing was stopped.

In the XIII century, Gothic elements appeared in the appearance of the temple, and after the restoration carried out in the XIX century, the building was so ruthlessly changed that in the next century it was necessary to recreate its original appearance.

The main features of this temple include stone carved decor of the portals of the southern facade. Biblical scenes carved from stone adorned the gates of Port Mierzheville. Unique frescoes dating back to the 12th century have been preserved in the northern part of the cathedral. They miraculously survived under a layer of plaster during an unsuccessful restoration carried out in the 19th century.

The bell tower of the basilica rises more than 110 meters, on it is a carillon, which is crowned by 18 bells.

Town Hall

Interestingly, the city administration building in this city is called not the city hall, and not the town hall, but the capitol. At the end of the XII century, a palace was erected on this site, in which members of the city magistrate, the chapters, met, and therefore the building itself was called the capitol.

This monumental building is located on the main square of the city, which is called the Capitol Square. The building in its present form was built in the 18th century from a pink-colored brick traditional for this city.

On the facade of the building (its length is 135 meters) there are eight columns - they corresponded to the number of city chapters. Their emblems were installed on the fences of the balconies of the building. Guillaume Camm directed the construction, and in the next century his work was continued by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who restored the building almost completely destroyed during the fire, and also supplemented it with a donjon and a bell tower.

France, Toulouse: Dominican Church

At the very beginning of the XIII century, Dominic Guzman founded the monastic order. His first temple was erected in Toulouse.

Today it is not an active temple, but it attracts the attention of citizens and visitors of the city with its unusual architecture. Concerts and cultural events are held here. For many parishioners it is very important that St. Thomas Aquinas is a medieval theologian and Dominican monk.

In addition to the church, several cloisters and buildings have been preserved in the monastery complex. The cloister is located in the historical center of Toulouse, very close to the capitol.

The architectural features of the church include the "Jacobin palms" - graceful columns whose height exceeds 20 meters; twenty two ribs diverge from them upwards, which form the arch structure. The colonnade of this church is considered one of the highest, while the height of the octagonal four-tier bell tower is only forty-five meters.

In the interior of the temple, for example, in the chapel of St. Antonin, you can admire wall paintings, and in the rose window you can see the unique stained glass window of modern work - it was created in the middle of the last century. The most spacious building of the church can be considered the refectory, which today is used as an exhibition gallery.

"Space town"

France is very attractive for many tourists today. The suburb (Toulouse has many attractions outside the city) beyond the eastern border has become famous for a theme park called the “Space Town”. It was opened in 1997. In the park, you can take a tour of the full-scale models of the Ariana 5 rocket, whose height is 55 meters, the Mir space station and the Soyuz modules. Interesting shows are held daily at the planetarium in the park. Here you can visit numerous exhibitions. For example, many will be interested in a simulation room where you can try to control a spaceship.

Paul Dupuis Museum

Undoubtedly, France has a huge number of cultural monuments. Toulouse can offer its guests a visit to this museum. He bears the name of his founder - collector and philanthropist Paul Dupuis. For his museum, he purchased the house of Besson, which belonged to the city prosecutor. The cultural institution received its first visitors in 1905.

The museum exposition is a large collection of objects of applied art, a collection of graphics and other exhibits. The oldest, by the way, were created during the Middle Ages, and the “youngest” acquisitions do not even last a hundred years. The collection is completed by exhibits created at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Quite a large part of the museum's exposition is devoted to crafts and the history of the Languedoc. Here you can see the restored interior of the pharmacy of the Middle Ages, which belonged to the Jesuit Order (beginning of the 17th century), dishes, furniture, and national costumes. The collection features works of art created by local glass and metal craftsmen.