I’M not the type of person to take a picture of a sunset — or post it to Instagram.
But as I sat by the River Garonne in Toulouse along with hundreds of others, I have to admit I got sucked in.
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It’s known as La Ville Rose, or the Pink City, because of the terracotta tilesCredit: Getty
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The ibis Styles Toulouse Centre Capitole was comfortable and modern in an ideal locationCredit: Ibis
It’s hard not to in La Ville Rose, or “the Pink City”, so-called because of the colour of the terracotta tiles that adorn the roofs of many of its buildings.
I’d been coming to France on holidays since I was a child, but had never visited Toulouse — which sits not far from the Spanish border.
I’d booked a stay at the ibis Toulouse Capitole Centre, which is just a few yards from the city’s main square.
It’s lined on one side with cafes and brasseries, ideal for a late night drink or an early morning coffee.
Meanwhile, on the other side is The Capitole itself — one of the city’s most impressive historical buildings, which still serves as the centre of local politics — and the opera house.
My room was modern and comfortable with lovely views over the courtyard below and came with a tasty breakfast buffet each morning.
No matter where you are in France, the opportunity to tuck into delicious food is never far away and that was top of my activities list.
But even then, I’d never normally consider a food tour as the way to experience the city. Not because I don’t like eating — the scales suggest otherwise — but I just always feared they would be full of people who call themselves “foodies”.
But like many things in life, it’s better to try first before making a judgment — just like food, funnily enough.
So I found myself with Toulouse Gourmet Tours, led by Alejandro, a former chef who decided to switch to tourism to escape the stresses of the kitchen.
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There was a mix of nationalities in the group — Americans, Canadians, Germans. And thankfully nobody declared themselves a “foodie” when we introduced ourselves to the group.
While I expected to tuck into some sumptuous French food, the tour was still full of surprises.
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Toulouse is a spectacular city with a sparkling river that runs through the middleCredit: Getty
We walked around eight different spots with historical significance, where company founder Alejandro regaled us with stories from the region’s past and then served up some local cuisine. I learned that the city is the birthplace of the pain au chocolat — but don’t let the locals hear you call it that, they prefer chocolatine.
In fact, some bakeries go so far as to charge you more if you order the former!
It’s also where the Inquisition originated, though there’s a bit less to shout about in that regard.
From chocolatines to goat’s cheese that was just a few days old — at famous shop Fromagerie Betty — the tour packed a lot in terms of flavour.
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Alejandro’s food tours were informative and had delicious grubCredit: Supplied
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The Capitole is a spectacular building and the centrepiece of the cityCredit: Alamy
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Basilique Saint-Sernin was one of the stops on the tourCredit: Supplied
And with stops at the Capitole Square, the Victor Hugo Market, and the Basilique Saint-Sernin — we packed in a lot of sights too.
Of course, unlike other days out, I didn’t need to worry about when I was going to have time to grab lunch.
GO TOULOUSE
GETTING THERE: Ryanair offers direct flights to Toulouse from Edinburgh this summer. For prices see ryanair.com
.STAYING THERE: For the best rates at the ibis Toulouse Capitole Centre see all.accor.com.
MORE INFO: For more info on visiting the city see toulouse-tourisme.com/en/
It was a good start to a trip where my stomach was the biggest winner, in a city proud of its food.
From the city’s famous duck cassoulet to cordon bleu, I ate like a King — and was glad my shorts had elasticated waists!
As well as its cuisine, Toulouse is also known for being Europe’s aviation capital, being the headquarters of Airbus.
We’d even been told on the tour that it was harder to avoid aviation workers in most bars than it was to bump into them.
But this relationship with air travel goes back much further, I learned, with the city being a key site of aviation innovation more than 100 ago.
My simple pleasures include looking at fighter planes and imagining I’m piloting them, like an overgrown child.
So there was no chance I wasn’t visiting Aeroscopia, the city’s incredible museum of flight.
Among the exhibits I found were two Concordes, a Gulf War fighter jet and a massive Airbus Guppy, used to transport other planes and even space rockets.
Despite pretences at maturity and adulthood, it was difficult for the seven-year-old boy inside not to emerge at this point. I was given a tour by a British guide, whose enthusiasm for the exhibits outstripped even mine.
But if one museum of flight isn’t enough, there’s also the Cité de l’Espace.
Here visitors can explore the history of space travel by wandering through space stations, incredible exhibits and experience walking on the surface of the moon.
By far the highlight was the lunar landing simulator — it’s more like an amusement park ride, replicating the exact G-force astronauts feel when they take off from earth and land on the moon. But, like the rest of France, if there’s one thing you can guarantee it’s that wherever you find delicious food, good wine won’t be far behind.
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One of the amazing planes on display at the museum of flightCredit: SCOTTISH SUN
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Cité de l’Espace is one of the city’s top museumsCredit: supplied
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The lunar landing simulator is a highlight of le cite d’espaceCredit: SCOTTISH SUN
Buoyed by the success of my food tour, I booked up for the Toulouse Wine Bar tour.
Led by American expat Jessica, myself and a group of her holidaying compatriots visited some of the city’s finest wine bars.
These included Au Pere Louis, a rustic bar and restaurant which has been open since 1889, and Le 5 Winebar where you can sample bottles that ordinarily would be well out of my reach in terms of price.
By the end I was feeling suitably at home and decided to follow the locals down to the River Garronne to watch the sunset.
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Swallowing down my usual cynicism alongside a couple of freshly-purchased beers I sat among hundreds to watch the orange glow settle in over the famous pink roofs.
It may not be as well-known as Paris or Bordeaux, but this picture-perfect city is well worth a trip — what have you got Tou-louse?
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Hundreds congregate by the River Garonne to watch the sunsetsCredit: SCOTTISH SUN
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The river is stunning at nightCredit: SCOTTISH SUN
Dining and Cooking