With over 1.25 million residents, Toulouse is the fourth largest metropolitan area in France. Settled on the picturesque River Garonne, it is the capital of the Haute-Garonne department, and the capital of the Midi-Pyrenees region. The city is 580 kilometres to the south west of France making Toulouse campervan hire a perfect choice to see the wonderful sights.
One thing that makes Toulouse unique is the buildings which are made of pink terracotta bricks. This in turn gave the city its nickname la Ville Rose or the Pink City. The city also lays claim to two World Heritage listed sites the Basilica of St Sernin and the Canal Du Midi.
The key industry of Toulouse can be summed up in one word, aerospace. It is the world hub for aerospace and aeronautics. It is home to the former EADS Company, Airbus, and also includes ATR, Aerospace Valley, the SPOT satellite system and the Galileo positioning system.
It is also the home to Intel's European operations and the largest space centre in Europe, the CNES Toulouse Space Centre. Airbus Group's subsidiary companies Astrium Satellites and Thales Alenia Space also take up home in the city of Tolouse.
The University of Toulouse with over 119,000 students is the third largest university in France, and is one of the oldest in all of Europe, being established in 1229.
The city has twin sister agreements in place with Tripoli in Lebanon, Bologna in Italy, Bristol in the United Kingdom, Chongqing in China, Elche in Spain, Kiev in the Ukraine, Tel Aviv in Israel, Rosario in Argentina, Stavanger in Norway, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Grozny in Russia and Atlanta in the USA. It also has an adopted city, which is Campia Turzii in Romania.
asilique Saint Sernin, the Hotel d'Assezat, the Capitole de Tolouse, Place du Capitole, Pont-Neuf, Le Couvent des Jacobins, the city park at the Grand Rond, Les Augustins, Les Abattoirs Modern Arts museum, Georges Labit Museum, the Canal du Midi, Cite de l'space, Musee Saint Raymond, Notre-Dame de la Daurade, Galerie du Chateau d 'eau, the Chateau de Pibrac and Canal de Brienne.
The city is also home to three of the finest French restaurants in the world. If you get the chance splurge out and try either Restaurant Michel Sarran, La Gentymagre or Le Pyreneen. You will not be disappointed!
