Exploring Toulouse

We headed out this morning to see a bit more of Toulouse. Unfortunately, being a Monday, some monuments, museums, art galleries and churches were closed. Firstly, we found a lovely café to have some breakfast and, they made great coffee, which was a real bonus. We then headed down to the nearby Place De La Daurade, located next to the Garonne river and then wandered through the streets towards Place du Capitole.

Place du Capitole is a very large public square, with the Capitole building - the Toulouse city hall - located on one side. It was a fairly windy day and it was very gusty in the square, so much so that a couple of large umbrellas were blown over as we were walking past.

The Capitole building has gone through many changes through the centuries, with construction first beginning in 1190. It was a centre of contention during the 1562 Toulouse Riots with Huguenot forces holding it. The current facade, 135 m long and built of the characteristic pink Toulouse brick in Neoclassical style, dates from 1750 and was built according to the plans of Guillaume Cammas. Eugène Violet-le-Duc, who restored Château Comtal in Carcassonne, built a bell tower on top of the donjon (keep) of the building.

In the first half of the 19th century, the structures surrounding the vast Place du Capitole were redesigned but the current facade was not touched. Within the Toulouse City Hall there is a free exhibition of wonderful art which, luckily for us, was open.

As you head upstairs there are elaborate paintings and the staircase is made of marble. The first hall you enter is Gervais Hall, a former wedding hall. The Henri-Martin Room is the second room you enter. It is an historic room that regained its former splendour in the 20th Century thanks to the Toulouse painter Henri Martin (1860 - 1943). This room, built in 1605, is one of the oldest parts of the present Capitole. Until the Revolution it housed a gallery of portraits of the Capitouls (governing magistrates). The painter Henri Martin, who had made a name for himself in the Parisian salons was appointed in 1900 to decorate this newly restored room. His impressionist paintings were my favourite.

There is another large room, the Hall of Illustrious, which has amazing paintings on the ceiling. The paintings are very dramatic and over the top but still beautifully done.Read more