The Toulouse Museum of Fine Arts, traditionally known as the "Augustinian Museum" ("Musée des Augustines"), is based within the city's former Augustinian convent.

Since the Revolution, it has housed collections of paintings and sculptures ranging from the early Middle Ages to the 1940s, including an exceptional collection of Romanesque sculptures that mostly come from the Daurade Monastery, the Collegiate Church of St. Sernin and the Cathedral of St. Stephen.

This convent, together with the church, the chapter rooms, the cloister and its garden, which are worth a visit in themselves, is a remarkable testimony to the Languedoc Gothic style.

The 4,000 pieces in its collections are arranged chronologically and particular care has been taken over their display. Thus, the Gothic sculptures in the Gothic rooms overlooking the cloister, religious paintings (Perugino, Rubens, etc.) in the church, and paintings from the 19th century (Corot, Courbet, Ingres, Delacroix) in the Red Room are among the many works of art that you can admire during your visit.

Themed tours and organ concerts are regularly held by the museum.

On Place d'Assézat in Toulouse stands the Assézat Mansion, a Renaissance gem that was entirely renovated in 1995 to house the Bemberg Foundation, created by an Argentinian patron.

The Assézat Mansion has been a listed Historic Monument since 1914, and offers a visitor trail about art in the West, from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, displayed in this three-storey architectural gem inspired by the Louvre's square courtyard.

The first floor has a display of old works of art, paintings, furniture, bronze statues, art objects, and the main European schools of painting, with works by Cranach, Clouet, Le Tintoret, etc. showcased in a bourgeois house in the Renaissance style, as the Assézat Mansion was initially designed to be.

On the second floor are modern, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, by Manet, Picasso, Dufy, Vlaminck, etc. A whole room is dedicated to 35 paintings by Bonnard, and another is devoted to the Fauves.

The basement has a 200 m² space where public and private events are held.

To make the most of the inner courtyard, don't hesitate to stop by the tea room-restaurant open from April to October, which has a terrace beneath the loggia.

Nature-lovers, don't miss a chance to visit the Museum of Toulouse, a natural history and ethnology museum in the Jardin des Plantes park, near the Canal du Midi and the districts of Le Busca and Les Demoiselles.

Do you want to know all about the history of humanity and understand how our planet works? Welcome to the museum of the "pink city", France's second biggest museum about these themes after the Natural History Museum in Paris.

Here, on premises covering 6,000 m², you'll find over 2 million exhibits, and your first encounter won't leave you indifferent: in the hall, near the plant-covered wall, you'll be greeted by the gigantic skeleton of Quetzalcoatlus, the second biggest flying animal in Prehistory!

Next, there's a step-by-step display about humankind's increasing knowledge of the world, based on five themes: Planet Earth, living beings, the concept of time, Humankind and the Future.

For families, there are special activities arranged all year round: exhibitions, multimedia libraries, workshops (registration required), histories of objects, greenhouse and exhibition tours, a visitor outreach table, etc. as well as programmes more specifically aimed at children aged 7 to 14: learning labs called "the Croq'Labo" and "the Expert Labo", and "Sciences in question" games.

When it comes to gardens, visitors have access to the 7 hectares of the Jardin des Plantes, established in 1794 by the naturalist Lapeyrousse on the site of the Carmelite convent. An ideal place for a family walk, with 1,300 species to see. For younger visitors, there's a pond with ducks, swans and geese, as well as a play area, fairground rides and pony rides. Lovers of plants and the vegetal world will be delighted to visit the Henri Gaussens botanical garden.

Situated in the heart of south-west France, Toulouse is very aptly known as the “Pink City”. The pinkish colour of the bricks of its buildings and houses gives the city a unique charm.

Renowned for its atmosphere of good living, Toulouse is also a City of Art and History with an important architectural and artistic heritage, which has been stunningly well protected over the last centuries. It is delightful to discover its historic centre, which abounds in mansions from the Renaissance period. A jewel! This privilege makes of Toulouse the richest city in France for Renaissance mansions. These prestigious residences built in the 16th century by rich pastel traders are a reminder of the city's prosperity in the days of the pastel trade. This dye-producing plant used to be grown in the plains around the Lauragais. Among the most beautiful Renaissance buildings of the city are : the Assézat mansion, which is today home to the Bemberg foundation, a private museum hosting a collection of paintings; the Bernuy mansion flanked with an octagonal tower; The Vieux-Raisin mansion; the Clary mansion or Pierre mansion.

An essential place to see is the Place du Capitol, the heart of the city. This very bustling square is surrounded by beautiful buildings such as the Capitol, a prestigious, 8-columned 16th-century building housing the town hall and theatre. Behind it is a 16th-century keep, the former Archives tower, which is today the main tourist office.

Next to be visited are the remarkable religious monuments of the old town: the Saint-Sernin basilica and its octagonal bell tower, a masterpiece of Romanesque art; the Jacobins cloister, a gem of Languedoc Gothic art, with its beautiful brick-built church and its main cloister building.

The pretty banks of the Garonne river, especially the Henri Martin walkway and the Daurade district, are lovely places to stroll along and relax in the sun.

The full-of-life streets in the historic centre are lined with a large number of cafés and shops. Ideal for shopping or to sip a drink on one of the numerous café terraces. Toulouse is also nightlife heaven with numerous restaurants, theatres, shows, bars, pubs and nightclubs. Furthermore, the buildings, monuments and houses in the old town are beautifully lit once night falls. Which makes Toulouse's heritage fantastic to see by night.

City of Art and History, Toulouse is also a future-orientated hub of innovation with its aeronautics and space industries. Certain aspects of these two vast fields are accessible to the public: for example the Cité de l'Espace space museum, which offers interactive exhibitions and shows, and the Airbus site, which puts on guided tours, including of the new Airbus A380.

Everyone dreams of exploring the cosmos. La Cité de l'Espace space museum in Toulouse makes it possible to fulfil this age-old aspiration of humanity, without even leaving the ground. It offers visitors unique new experiences that transport them beyond the limits of the Earth.

Inside, you can discover and understand space by looking at the displays and handling objects in the exhibition halls. You can touch a genuine piece of moon rock, and walk on the moon in a simulator. Contemplate the wonders of the cosmos in the new generation planetarium, relive the conquest of space in front of the Imax cinema's giant screen, and meet a forecaster from the Météo-France meteorological service, who will tell you all about weather and satellites.

Outside, other spectacular surprises await astronomy buffs. In the 4 hectares of gardens, admire life-size replicas of spacecraft, including the Ariane 5 rocket, standing 53 metres tall. You can enter the Mir space station or the Soyuz spacecraft. Experience the sensations that astronauts feel in the gyro-extreme, or gaze at the heavenly vault through the big telescope.

There are special areas for children, such as the Stellarium, where they can discover the solar system and have fun learning how to recognise the planets and find their way by following the stars. Or they can put on a spacesuit and sleep standing up in the little astronauts' square.

Monday: 10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
Sunday: 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM

In Tarn, at the heart of Pays de Cocagne, the Pastel Museum is unique in France. Based in Magrin Castle, it tells the story of the blue dye known as pastel. Extracted from woad leaves, it was very popular in the Renaissance, in France and the rest of Europe. Arranged on four floors, the museum rests on top of vaulted medieval halls. During your visit, you will be able to admire the very last woad mill in the region. Its huge granite wheel is impressive, and it also has an authentic rack where the balls of woad (known as cocagnes) were left to dry. You will also see collections of manuscripts about pastel, fabrics and old dyed clothes.

Inside the medieval halls, an exhibition about the Visigoth Empire in 5th-century Toulouse awaits you, while the garden contains various woad and indigo plants.

A remarkable edifice built in the 12th, 16th and 18th centuries, Magrin Castle is part of the Historic Pastel Route and offers an admirable view from its hilltop over the Montagne Noire, Lauragais and Albigeois!

The capital of Tarn-et-Garonne, the town of Art and History of Montauban is both welcoming and lively, and is popular for its pleasant way of life. Founded in 1144 by the Count of Toulouse, Alphonse Jourdain, it offers residents and visitors a rich heritage, in terms of both culture and buildings.

The historic heart of the fortified town, the superb Place Nationale, a square where a little market takes place every day, is surrounded by both a double row of arcades and elegant brick facades. Around the square, pleasant pedestrian streets invite fans of shopping and city walks to take a stroll around. Take a walk in Old Montauban and you'll also discover some beautiful monuments, like the Church of St. James and its splendid Toulouse-style octagonal bell tower, the 14th-century Old Bridge and its seven ogival arches over the waters of the Tarn, the Lefranc de Pompignan Mansion and its entrance door, the monument to the dead by the sculptor Bourdelle, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in the classical style.

Near the Old Bridge, the Ingres Bourdelle Museum based in the old 17th-century Episcopal Palace simply must be seen. Dedicated to the works of the two famous artists born in Montauban, this prestigious establishment contains remarkable collections of paintings and drawings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, as well as sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle. The museum also offers lapidary and archaeological collections, and regularly hosts temporary exhibitions.

Not many people know it, but the former Bishop's Palace in Montauban, now the Ingres Museum, was used as a hiding place for many works of art from the Louvre Museum during the Second World War, including the world-famous Mona Lisa.

Today, the museum overlooking the Pont Vieux bridge is mainly dedicated to two famous sons of Tarn-et-Garonne's capital, the painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and the sculptor Édouard Bourdelle.

Archaeological collections from Gallo-Roman times occupy the "Black Prince" room in the basement, a reminder of the castle erected by the English during the Hundred Years War.

On the first floor, six rooms are solely devoted to the painter born in Montauban. Over 4,500 drawings and thirty or so paintings provide an insight into Ingres' artistic career, from the works of his youth in David's studio to the influence of Antiquity and Raphael on his works, inspired by memories of his time spent in Rome and Florence.

Two museums in the Ingres room are devoted to French and foreign ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Built in the 14th century, Revel is a typical medieval fortified town situated in the heart of the Pays de Cocagne, the . Lined with galleries and with old houses, the main square of Revel possesses a beautiful covered market hall topped by a bell tower at its centre.

Saturdays mornings are lively with the magnificent traditional market taking place under the hall. This market rich in local products is among the hundred most beautiful markets in France. This should not be missed! In winter, duck and goose fairs (Foires au Gras) will delight fans of food products from south-west France.

Formerly a Protestant stronghold and capital of the Viscounty of Fezensaguet, the small town of Mauvezin, the home of Joan of Albret, mother of the future King Henry IV, has kept a splendid covered market hall surrounded by old arcade houses in its main square. Resting on stone pillars, the old 14th-century hall boasts a superb wooden framework. Near to the market stands the house of Henry IV, a beautiful 16th-century Gascon residence, which is now used as a post office.

Also worth a look is the Church of St. Michael, crowned with an octagonal gothic bell, and the castle walk, based on the remains of the old viscounts' castle. Its terraces have been converted into an educational park.

The weekly market in Mauvezin takes place every Monday morning on Place de la Libération.