Beautiful Toulouse

Regals (25 rue de Taur)

This luxury confectioners is a must for those looking for the legendary fenêtra. Drop by around 11 o'clock and you'll find it fresh and straight from the oven, ready to be enjoyed with a coffee at a table in a nearby bistro. These little treasures are always beautifully presented: rose and violet petals and leaves, crystallised mint and verbena, chocolates with armagnac and fruit jellies…
 

Le Bon Vivre (15 bis place Wilson) is a fine, family-run establishment serving traditional dishes based on recipes handed down from mother to daughter (and here, in the Méliet family, this is not just a turn of phrase). Calf's head in a flavoured mayonnaise, duck hotpot, stuffed cabbage, Bigorre pork… only local produce here. Average dinner price is between €25 and €40, with a special children's menu.

At Père Louis (45, rue des Tourneurs), a listed building for its first-floor fresco, pre-dinner drinks are popular. They can be enjoyed surrounded by large barrels of bitter fortified wines (quinquina, grenache...) giving a feel of stepping back in time. In this place, somewhere between a local village cafe and fashionable venue, students rub shoulders with regulars and tourists, who immerse themselves in the soul of the city.

The Oenotilius (passerelles des Soupirs, bd Griffoul-Dorval) is a relaxing wine bar under the shade of trees on a moored barge on the Midi Canal, where the welcome is a warm one. Grilled meats, magrets, salads, evening meals 'like grandma used to make', foie gras or cooked meats. Simple but excellent fare, right down to the local bread, as tasty as cake. What about wine? A great selection of wines from the South West and Languedoc and, on Thursdays and Fridays (18:00PM), the oyster and wine aperitifs are not to be missed.

Tip: enjoy the Grand Rond and Royal Gardens while strolling with an ice cream

A popular venue for local gatherings (sports events, concerts or election evenings), this square becomes bustling with people and is transformed into a lively arena. It is at its finest when empty, though, when you can discover its arcades and wonderful facades. Make sure you visit one of the many cafés or ice cream sellers in these arcades.

A very fine example of monastic architecture, the Jacobin Monastery was founded in 1230 by the mendicant order of brothers, following the Dominican order. It offers all the features of Southern Gothic art: imposing brick architecture on the exterior, but light and airy inside, a single nave, harmonious volumes and, of course, the bell tower with little bays topped with mitred arches. Inside the church, you can admire the famous 'palm tree' near the choir stall, an architectural feat comprising criss-crossed diagonal ogives and twenty-two ribs.

(place des Jacobins, rue Lakanal)

Attached to the hoof of a bull and dragged through the streets until death for having 'disturbed' a pagan ceremony, Saturnin (in the language of Oc: Sernin) was, in 250, the first Christian martyr from Toulouse. Having grown in popularity in the 11th century, this monumental church was commissioned in his honour, and became a key stage of the pilgrimage to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. It is now the largest Roman construction in France.

The northern facade that greets you as you arrive from Rue de Metz provides the curious sight of two distinct buildings juxtaposed side-by-side. Saint-Étienne is actually the result of three successive cathedral designs, connected through necessity: to the west is Southern Gothic, to the east, Northern Gothic – from the period when the cathedral had to compete with its sisters in the North and Île-de-France regions. Finally, traces of Roman remains can be found under the bell tower.

Tip: Stop at the Arbre en Pot (12 rue Tolosane) to discover a garden of Japanese bonsai.