Toulouse: in the pink
Stunning architecture, culture and fine dining in the French southern city
TOULOUSE: in the pink
WITH A STUNNING ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND A MODERN ATMOSPHERE, THE FRENCH SOUTHERN CITY KNOWN AS LA VILLE ROSE IS A CULTURAL GEM
words: philip faiers
PEOPLE who haven’t yet visited Toulouse imagine the European capital of the aerospace industry to be just that: an industrial centre. But it has a cultural heart that beats even stronger. The city has inspired countless artists, writers and historians. From Salvador Dali and several of the Impressionist painters, writers such as Voltaire, this vibrant southern city has shaped the minds of influencers throughout the ages.
Sitting outside one of the many bars opposite the Capitolium in the symbolic center of Toulouse you would never imagine that on the city’s outskirts there are hordes of skilled workers busy building the next generation of passenger aircraft. With a glass of pastis and a bowl of olives at hand, it’s easy to romanticise about towns and cities the world over that have been immortalised in the words of poems or songs. If Chicago will always remain Sinatra’s kinda town, so Toulouse will always belong in song to local hero Claude Nougaro. Born there in 1929, the singer-poet crooned praises about the city for decades. You can’t pass by a record shop without seeing one of his many albums promoted in one window display or another.
Nougaro’s beloved hometown is known throughout France as la ville rose. The ‘pink town’ epithet is thanks to the Romans who taught locals the skill of baking clay into bricks and roof tiles. During the 13th century, France’s second university was established in Toulouse and the Church increased its power with Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites joining the Dominican order that was founded in the city. The churches, convents and colleges now form part of Toulouse’s main monuments – and they’re all made of brick.
But Toulouse wasn’t always a ville rose. To allow more light onto the narrow streets, it became compulsory during the 18th century to paint the bricks with white plaster. Manufacturers became adept at producing special bricks which, when covered in this way, looked like stone. To see a fine example wander along the rue du Sénéchal and look up at the window surrounds – the building opposite number 20 still has its white plaster rendering.
Walking through the narrow streets of Toulouse is the best way to discover some of the glories of this ancient and remarkably preserved city. Push doors and explore courtyards, notice how brick towers punctuate the city’s roofscape. Most importantly, look up.
With so many medieval buildings and streets to admire, not to mention the wealth of world-class monumental churches, the short-break visitor needs to be selective. A good starting point, missed by many first-time visitors, is the ‘mother house’ of the Dominican order – the church and cloisters of les Jacobins. Finished in 1299 and built entirely in moulded brick, the huge volume of space is simply, even primitively decorated. Seven central columns, which were originally gaudily painted in reds, yellows and greens, support the intricately ribbed roof. The last column flares into 22 ribs and is often likened to a palm tree. But, oops – the builders started the column in the wrong place and had to move it. A black outline shows where the original base was begun.
Standing beneath the column, art historians may recognise the inspiration for the pattern used by Salvador Dali in his painting Santiago el Grande, a powerful and well-loved image now housed in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Canada. The seven pillars of les Jacobins have a magical quality to them on certain days when, for about 10 minutes, sunlight spills through the stained-glass windows, turning them into kaleidoscopes of colour. There are still two original 14th-century rose windows. Despite 600 years, Napoléon’s billeted army and an explosion in 2001 that damaged much of the city’s modern glass, they remain intact; a testament to the skill of the medieval glass-makers. Finally, before passing through to the cloisters, be aware that under the altar is the tomb of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The pope decided that the most important Dominican theologian should be buried in the most beautiful Dominican church, which is why he ended up in Toulouse despite never having visited the city.
After a morning of architectural adventure there can only be one reward: lunch. Off the tourist trail is the oldest bar in Toulouse; try an appetiser here. Stand at le zinc in Le Père Louis and ask for a glass of quinquina (pronounced ‘can-keener’). This bijou bar on rue des Tourneurs specialises in sweet wines and apéritifs; each has its own style of glass. For a light lunch, sample the excellent charcuterie: the ham on the bone is a delight. A word of warning – the bar is tiny and incredibly popular, so it’s best to arrive just as the midday bells chime.
For a more substantial lunch, leave the tourists behind by heading for the marché Victor-Hugo. There’s a corridor of restaurants on the first floor above the market stalls. These no-reservations, lunchtime-only eateries have gained a reputation among Toulousains for good food at modest prices. You may need to queue for a table, but it’s worth it for the three-course lunches at around €12. Downstairs the market is sectioned; the duck stalls, cheese stalls, foie gras sellers, charcuterie and fish stalls are grouped around the fruit and vegetable area. The restaurants upstairs reflect the theme, each specialising in a different produce, with all the raw ingredients being supplied by the stallholders below.
Toulouse is halfway along the Canal du Midi, a waterway that joins the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Before the advent of the railway as many as 1,600 boats arrived in the city each day. Today, the Canal du Midi is plied by pleasure boats and the barges at the town’s moorings have been converted into houseboats. At one converted barge, near the station, you can dip into the city’s past. The pale green and lilac shades of La Maison de la Violette are unmistakable. Cross the gangplank and explore the on-board shop. Inside it’s part history lesson, part olfactory onslaught and wall-to-wall violets, for here, Hélène Vié has turned her péniche into a celebration of this hardy little winter flower that has long been the city’s floral emblem. Violet petal jam, violet honey, violet tea, candles or soap – you name it, she sells it.
Before dinner, wander to the Garonne. It’s easy to find your way: just look at the old octagonal street signs. If they are yellow, the street runs parallel to the river, if white, the street leads to the river – this aid was invented when literacy was low.
As the shadows lengthen their way along le Pont Neuf with its seven unequal arches – this is the oldest surviving bridge in the city – the townscape starts to change. Pink at 6pm, deepening to purple at 8pm as the bricks triumph in the setting sun, Toulouse is surely a city of colour.
But it’s not just about history and the past. With a population of 400,000, of which one in four is a student, the city has a strong youth culture. Whether you are at a pavement table on Place Wilson, strolling along the banks of the Garonne or soaking up the atmosphere in front of the Capitolium, you can’t help sensing how happy everyone is. Maybe it’s the southern air, the Midi temperament or just the balmy climate, but everyone seems to be in the pink.
Philip Faiers was editor of France Magazine for 15 years before moving to south-west France.
