The train station,
gare
Matabiau , and
gare routière
(tel 05.61.61.67.67), stand side
by side in boulevard Pierre-Sémard
on the bank of the tree-lined and
imaginatively planted Canal du
Midi. This is where you'll find
yourself if you arrive by train,
bus or air, for the
airport
shuttle (every 20min; 20min
journey; 23F/3.36) puts you down
at the bus station (with stops
also in allées Jean-Jaurès and
at place Jeanne-d'Arc). It is also
the best spot to aim for if you
are in a car: leave the
boulevard
périphérique at exit 15.
To reach the city centre from
the train station takes just five
minutes by métro to stop
Capitole (8F/1.22, covering one
hour's transport by métro and
Semvat city buses within the city
centre), or twenty minutes on
foot. Turn left out of the
station, cross the canal and head
straight down allées Jean-Jaurès,
through place Wilson and on into
place du Capitole, the city's main
square. Just before it lie the
shady and much-frequented gardens
of the square Charles-de-Gaulle,
where the main tourist office
(May-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun
10am-1pm & 2-6.30pm; rest of
year Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat
9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm, Sun
10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm; tel
05.61.11.02.22, www.Mairie-Toulouse.fr
) is housed in a sixteenth-century
tower that has been restored to
look like a castle keep; the
Capitole métro stop is right
outside.
The best guide to what's on
in and around the city - and
usually there is a lot, from opera
to cinema - is the weekly listings
magazines Toulouse Hebdo
(3F/0.46) and Flash
(6F/0.92). More highbrow interests
are covered in the free monthly Toulouse
Culture , available from the
tourist office, among other
places.
