France, Toulouse: descriptions, travel information, reviews

In the south of France is the 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 figure leads the city to the fourth place in the country after Paris, Lyon and Marseille. G. Toulouse (France) is located on the banks of the river Garonne. From the Mediterranean Sea it is 150 kilometers apart, and 250 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean.

In this locality, except the French language, the Occitan is widely spoken. The names of the streets 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 come to this city every year to see local attractions.

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

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

Toulouse (France): attractions

This city stores many monuments of history, culture and architecture. All of them cause a great interest of tourists, and, I must say, not in vain. We will introduce you to some of them in this article.

Church of Saint-Sernin

There are a lot of ancient cathedrals, which are rightfully proud of France. Toulouse preserved one of the oldest temples of the city, which belonged to the abbey of Saint Saturninus. The basilica was consecrated in honor of this saint, who lived here in the third century. It 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 took a terrible, martyr's death. He was tied to a bull, which they drove 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 burial. Near the grave, the first temple appeared at the beginning of the 5th century.

The construction of the basilica lasted throughout the 11th-12th centuries. Next to it was built a room for pilgrims - a kind of inn. For this, pink brick was used, and for the decoration of the building a white stone was used.

The prevailing style of the basilica is Romanesque, but in the interior one can see elements of baroque and Gothic. 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 works in the western wing were stopped.

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

The main features of this temple include the stone carved decor of the portals of the southern facade. Scenes carved from stone, representing biblical subjects, adorned the gates of Port-Muejeville. In the northern part of the cathedral are preserved unique frescoes, which belong to the XII century. They miraculously survived under the layer of plaster during the unsuccessful restoration, carried out in the XIX century.

The belfry of the basilica rises more than 110 meters, on it there is a carillon, which is crowned with 18 bells.

Town Hall

It is interesting that the city administration building in this city is called not the mayoralty, and not the town hall, but the capitol. At the end of the 12th century a palace was erected on this place, in which the members of the city magistrate-the chapter capitals-were sitting, so the building itself was called the capitol.

This monumental building is located on the main square of the city, which is called the square of the Capitol. The building in its current form was built in the XVIII century from the traditional brick for this city of pink shade.

On the facade of the building (its length is 135 meters) there are eight columns - they correspond to the number of city chapters. Their arms were installed on the fences of the balconies of the building. Construction was led by Guillaume Camm, and in the following century, his business was continued by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who restored the building that had been almost completely destroyed during the fire, and also supplemented it with a tower-donjon and bell tower.

France, Toulouse: Dominican Church

At the very beginning of the XIII century Dominik Guzman founded a 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 a Dominican monk.

In addition to the church, in the complex of the monastery there are still a few rooms and buildings. The monastery is in the historic center of Toulouse, very close to the capitol.

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

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

"Space Town"

For many tourists, France is very attractive today. The suburbs (Toulouse has many attractions outside the city) beyond the eastern border has become famous for the theme park, called "Space Town". It was opened in 1997. In the park you can make a tour of the full-scale models of the Ariana 5 rocket, which is 55 meters high, Mir space station and Soyuz modules. Interesting show programs are daily held in the planetarium in the park. Here you can visit numerous exhibitions. For example, many will be interested in a simulator room where you can try to control a spacecraft.

Paul Dupuis Museum

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

The exposition of the museum is a large collection of applied art objects, a collection of graphics and other exhibits. The oldest, by the way, were created during the Middle Ages, and the most "young" acquisitions do not last a hundred years. The collection is completed by exhibits created at the beginning of the 20th century.

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

It is impossible not to mention the unique collection of watches, which has more than 130 mechanisms, and jewelry, brought from China.

Impressions of the trip

Today many of our compatriots know Toulouse (France). Sights, reviews about which travelers leave, make an indelible impression. According to travelers, this is an amazing pink city, in which there is something to see. Many tourists liked the sightseeing train, which takes visitors to the city in memorable places. The duration of such a trip is 35 minutes, the cost is 5 euros. The engine makes stops, and you can exit at any place you like and continue the inspection yourself.

Many say that before the trip did not know that Toulouse is famous for its violets and perfume from these flowers. In addition, here you can buy violet jam and even liquor. Every year in February a festival of violets takes place here. According to tourists, this is an amazing sight.