Toulouse - The Violet Capital

Capital of the French Department of the Haute Garonne and administrative center of the region of the Midi-Pyrenees, Toulouse is one of the largest and most important cities in France. It's ancient name is Tolosa in the Occitan language.

Toulouse is also known in France as "la ville rose" (the pink town), due to the color of the principal material of construction, pink brick.

Being centrally located in south-west France means that Toulouse is subject to both Mediterranean and Oceanic climates, thus giving it a temperate climate, hot and dry in summer and relatively mild in autumn and winter.

There are three important winds which blow across the city: firstly there is the west wind, which brings with it a lot of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean. Then there is the wind known as the "Autan" which blows from the south-east. This wind is hot and dry. Finally there is the wind coming from the north, blowing much less frequently, but it is cold and dry. The Autan is often called by the locals "the maddening wind" or "the devil's wind", since it affects everything in its path, apparently affecting the normal calmness of the inhabitants, both human and animal, making them much less calm!

However, Toulouse isn't just a major tourist destination, it's also a thriving hub of technology, serving any technologically advanced industries including medical, telecoms and aerospace. In fact Toulouse is known internationally as center of the European aerospace industry. But never a city to "let the grass grow under its feet", Toulouse is always at the forefront of research, and soon plans to become a world center in cancer research, with a major area to be given over to cancer research. Not surprisingly, Toulouse is also a major university town, second only to Paris.

Two key features of the city are the Pont-Neuf and the Canal du Midi which were completed in 1632 and 1682 respectively. Then there is the Capitole, constructed in the eighteenth century. In the 1920s, Toulouse was the pioneering center of the aviation industry, with the key Aerospatiale company being established in 1927, with such notable names such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Jean Mermoz.

The national center for weather prediction in France was established in Toulouse in 1982, which is responsible for forecasting the weather for the whole of the country.

Toulouse and violets - the two words are almost synonymous, since Toulouse is home to the violet, with the little flower and all its sweet and fragrant derivatives being spotted throughout the city, whether in the form of flowers, confectionery or perfume.

A city boasting a rich heritage, a major French center of culture with many museums and festivals, known throughout France and indeed the whole of Europe, Toulouse is today a major tourist destination. In Toulouse, it's impossible to avoid contact with cultural centers, such as the Congress Center, the Mediatheque Jose Cabanis, the Zenith, The Abattoirs museum of modern art, the "Cite de l'Espace" and the National Theatre. The Capitole museum with its superb "Salle des Illustres" is a necessary visit!

A particular mention is worth making of the Cite de l'Espace - a huge area just on the periphery of the city which opens up quite literally a whole universe of space, stars and space travel, by means of some creative animations and reconstructions. Take a look inside the Russian space station, Mir, or an Arianne rocket. Then go and view space in the impressive IMAX 3D cinema, not forgetting of course the planetarium, an incredible simulation of the universe.

The "Theatre du Capitole" provides an unforgettable encounter with the "Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse", which has an international reputation in the domain of classical music, and has become one of the foremost orchestras in the world under the direction of the conductor Michel Plasson. It is now under the artistic direction of Tugan Sokhiev.

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