24 hours may seem a short time to discover all the wonders of Toulouse, but it’s still enough to get a good overview of its splendor. Strolls, museum visits, gastronomy, Toulouse Secret guides you to the best things to do in the pink city to discover in a day. Get ready to rediscover Toulouse through the eyes of a tourist and fall in love with the pink city all over again.
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9am-11am. Breakfast in front of the Capitol and tour of the site 📍 Location
To get the day off to a good start, before all the sightseeing that awaits you, we recommend a leisurely breakfast at the Grand Café Albert. Some would say it’s a tourist trap. Above all, it’s the ideal place to sip a good coffee while admiring the Capitol.
We take our time. Then we stroll around the Place du Capitole. A must-see, we stop for a moment to admire the sign of the zodiac that adorns the imposing Occitan cross facing the Capitol building (a quick photo is in order). Composed of 12 branches, it is also known as the Languedoc Cross.
It would be a shame to pass this landmark building in Toulouse without entering. From Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 7pm, and on Sundays and public holidays, 10am to 7pm, you can visit the historic rooms of this seat of municipal power, free of charge. Discover painted walls recounting great moments in Toulouse’s history, and the sublime Salle des Illustres.
📍Grand café Albert – 15 Pl. du Capitole, 31000 Toulouse
📍Capitole– Place du Capitole, 31000 Toulouse
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11am-1pm. A stroll around the Capitol and a tour of the grounds
After this instructive tour, we take a moment to ourselves and stroll through the surrounding streets. We take the opportunity to stop off at the Donjon, a sublime building that now houses the tourist office and stands just behind the Capitole building.
You can choose from a number of shopping streets brimming with boutiques, charming stores and other curiosities. These include quequetterie and its naughty waffles, and Iris Galerie, which turns your eyes into a work of art (the perfect gift).
📍La quequetterie – 24 Rue Charles de Rémusat, 31000 Toulouse, France
📍 IrisGalerie – 18 rue Saint-Rome, 31000 Toulouse
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1pm-3pm. For lunch, enjoy a delicious Cassoulet at Restaurant Émile
What would a visit to Toulouse be without a good cassoulet? Normally originating in Castelnaudary, this warm and friendly dish has now become inseparable from Toulouse. Here’s the best place to enjoy a delicious cassoulet.
Head for Restaurant Émile, where everyone agrees. Indeed, the comments are unanimous: “definitely the best cassoulet I’ve ever eaten”, “top welcome, service and gastronomy”, “a cassoulet worthy of the name”. If you haven’t already, stop everything and go taste it!
What’s so special about this address? It has a terrace on the pretty Place Saint-Georges, which we think is one of the prettiest in Toulouse!
📍Restaurant Émile – 13 Place Saint Georges – 31000 Toulouse
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3pm-7pm. Visit the Saint-Sernin basilica and stroll through the Japanese garden
We take advantage of being next door and of having gained strength for the day to go for a walk to the saint-Sernin basilica. You’ll see, a digestive stroll won’t go amiss. But first we stop off in front of the beautiful musée des Augustins – which is closed until 2024 due to renovation work, but which, even from the outside, is still very beautiful.
Like a lighthouse in the Pink City, the steeple of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin is an integral part of the cityscape. To get there, we suggest you choose a route that takes you past the saint-Etienne Cathedral (another architectural masterpiece).
We hope you have good shoes. The walk continues 15 minutes from the basilica. Head for the beautiful and secretive Japanese garden. Nestled within the Compans-Caffarelli gardens, north of the city center, you’ll be amazed by its magnificent lake and sublime tea pavilion, which have earned it a place among France’s remarkable gardens (and one of Toulouse’s most beautiful gardens in Toulouse).
📍Basilique Saint-Sernin – Pl. Saint-Sernin, 31000 Toulouse
📍Muséedes Augustins – 21 Rue de Metz, 31000 Toulouse, France
📍St. Stephen’s Cathedral – Pl. Saint-Étienne, 31000 Toulouse
📍Japanesegarden – Jardin Compans Caffarelli, Boulevard Lascrosses, 31000 Toulouse
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19h- until the end of the night. Aperitifs on the banks of the Garonne and an evening in one of Toulouse’s nightlife hotspots
To round off the day in style, we suggest you do a little shopping for food and drink. Armed with your victuals, head for the quays of the Garonne. Find the place that inspires you most and sit down with your picnic.
From here, you can admire the best of Toulouse. Pont-neuf, pont-de-pierre and the majestic dome of La Grave. A unique moment to enjoy a beautiful sunset in a timeless setting. And above all, to relax before the evening ahead.
And yes, if you’ve still got some strength left, we’d like to round off the day in style with a visit to two of Toulouse’s nightlife institutions. Located near the Garonne river, you can choose to enjoy a pastis at Tonton or party in the legendary Couleur de la Culotte (or both, since they’re side by side).
📍Chez Tonton – 16 Pl. Saint-Pierre, 31000 Toulouse
📍Couleurde la Culotte – 14, Place St-Pierre 31000 Toulouse