Last afternoon and evening in Toulouse

After our sumptuous lunch we decided we needed to increase our steps. Nathalie, our Airbnb host, had suggested the area immediately behind our apartment to explore, telling us it was her favourite part of the city. As it turns out we, had been into the area (Les Carmes) as part of the wine bar tour, but everything looks different at night after a few wines!

We walked along the main street immediately behind our apartment, passing Notre-Dame de La Daurade, a basilica that was established in 410, when Emperor Honorius allowed the conversion of pagan temples to Christianity. The original building of Notre-Dame de La Daurade was a temple dedicated to Apollo.

As we meandered through the Les Carmes district we passed some lovely stores, restaurants and wine bars, but most were shut. There were a lot of hairdressers in this area - I spotted at least 5 or 6 within a couple of streets.

We saw Notre-Dame de La Dalbade, which has a very impressive Tympanum. A Tympanum is the area between the lintel over a doorway and the arch above. We also passed Hôtel d’Ulmo, a Renaissance Hôtel of the 16th century. It has been a listed historical monument since 1925. Another impressive building we passed was Hôtel de Pierre, a very fancy private home. It was impossible to tell if it is still a private home and if it was still inhabited.

At the end of the street we were in the Salin district. We then did a sharp left and walked back through the Les Carmes district, some of which we had seen the previous Saturday on our wine bar tour. We then headed back to the Main Street that runs across the Pont Neuf bridge, Rue de Metz. I had a hankering for an ice-cream, and we found a great place close by, Madame Bovary, Salon de Thé.

For our last dinner in Toulouse we went to the Brasserie Les Beaux-Arts, located very close to the Pont Neuf and our apartment. As we had had a very generous lunch, we decided to just have an entree and a dessert, with a bottle of Gaillac wine. It was delicious.Read more