Facts On Toulouse France

With the current population topping one million and continually growing in leaps and bounds, Toulouse and its vast history dating back to ancient times is a city of southern France nestled on the banks of the Garonne River and southeast of Bordeaux. Being a principal rail junction and a major canal port, this is France’s fastest growing region and one of its greatest cultural and commercial centers. Toulouse is also the center of Europe’s aerospace industry with research, production, and training facilities. Furthermore, hydropower from the Pyrenees and natural gas from Lacq helped it become a well-known manufacturing and high technology center. Toulouse is, therefore, the fourth largest city in France after Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and the fifth largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille.

Toulouse was taken from its original Celtic inhabitants by the Romans in the 1st century BC and became a major metropolis of Western Europe. After AD 778 it became the seat of the feudal Countship of Toulouse, and an artistic and literary European center. Having been predominantly Episcopalian, Protestants were massacred there in droves during the 16th-century Wars of Religion. In 1814 it was the scene of the British victory over the French in the last battle of the Peninsular War.

The University of Toulouse, one of the oldest universities in the world, was established in 1229 and is now the second largest in France after Paris and has been split into three separate universities: Universite Toulouse I, Universite de Toulouse-Le Mirail (Toulouse II) and Universite Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III). There are currently more than 120,000 students attending the three universities. This university, like several others in Europe, was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology as society began seeing itself in a new light, inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts. In an effort and hope to reconcile Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology, the Church was the strongest and most significant supporter of the University of Toulouse.

Attracted by the highly acclaimed University and the recently acquired thriving metropolis status, Toulouse also hosts the Industrial Economics Institute (Institut D’Economie Industrielle, IDEI) that has become one of the best European research centers in economics, as well as its associated graduate school, MPSE - Midi Pyrénées Sciences Economiques, that recruits the most promising students from countries in the European Union and from around the world at large.

Many historic structures including a Gothic cathedral, a Romanesque basilica, and the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas still stand with prominent pride in Toulouse, and are grand sights to behold for its local residents as well as visitors from all around the world.

Toulouse is known as the Ville Rose (”Pink City”) for its unique brick architecture and takes pride in its rich and diverse culture by displaying unusually beautiful wall murals throughout the city.

The city’s gastronomic specialties that will delight your palate include Saucisses de Toulouse, a type of herb sausage; cassoulet Toulousain, a bean and pork stew; garbure, a cabbage soup with poultry; and foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose. Bon appétit!

When visiting Toulouse for the first time one cannot help but gaze with wonderment and awe at the enormous contrast between its historic quaintness and its ultramodern metropolitan skyline. Toulouse offers its visitors the opportunity to witness the past living in harmony with the present and looking forward to a promising future.

Posted in France Vacation Guide