Fly from Nice to Toulouse

European capital of aeronautics and space industries, a respected centre of medical research, life and computer sciences, the City of Violets knows how to get down to work. Except that here they know how to make peace between the ant and the grasshopper, mix effort and comfort, and alternate between work and fun!
Bring your friends along and see for yourself: Toulouse knows how to have a good time! Lead by their infamous rugby players - who prefer the after party to the match - and populated by more than 100,000 students, Occitania goes to bed much later than the sun and knows how to make the most of a weekend.
But that doesn’t mean that only night owls can enjoy a holiday in Toulouse! The city knows how to be angelic and serious as well, making it great for teaching kids - or pitchouns as they're called on the banks of the Garonne - about the world while making sure they have a great time. Starting with the Cité de l'Espace (Space) Museum, you’ll see culture here is alive and well and just the thing to share with your family, for a holiday that lets you set out to discover both the Earth and the stars!

• Take the pulse of the city by heading to the Place du Capitole, the most beautiful in Toulouse. It owes its name to the Capitole, its 400 year old city hall. Under its arches you’ll find numerous café terraces, including the oldest: Florida. Over 140 years old!
• Admire the bell tower of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin. See anything odd? It’s last two levels are Gothic, while the first, like the rest of the building, make this church one of the best representations of Roman art in France.
• Go shopping on Rue du Taur and Rue Saint-Rome, the most famous streets in the historical centre. Here, timeless brick and timber-framed houses play host to chic and trendy shops.
• Discover the secrets of the Blue Planet by visiting the Toulouse Museum of Natural History, one of the best in the country. Renovated and modernised in 2007, it has dozens of exhibitions and displays to teach you about our living planet of yesteryear and today.
• Go in search of the cosmos at the Cité de l'Espace Museum. On the program are exact replicas of Ariane 5, the Mir space station and the Apollo module, a high-tech planetarium, and many interactive experiences to share as a family.
• Make your holiday take off by mixing Aéroscopia with Airbus. The first is a renowned aeronautic museum which houses the Concorde, fighter jets, and private planes. The second opens the doors of its factory to show you how the A380 is made.
• Stroll under the shade of the trees along the Canal du Midi, the brain-child of Louis-Paul Riquet. It has connected the City of Roses to the Mediterranean since 1681. While merchant ships are now a distant memory, thousands of tour boats continue to sail along it.
• Pick a side: classic or modern. Classic? Head for Augustins, former convent that is today the Augustins Museum of Fine Arts. Modern? Make for Les Abattoirs, dedicated to Contemporary Art.
• Take a trip to Asia as you wander the Japanese gardens of the Compans-Cafarelli district, or by visiting the Georges Labit Museum, dedicated to civilisations of the Far East for more than a century.
• Stock up on local specialities at the stalls of the Carmes or Victor Hugo markets. The whole of the South-West of France is a food lover’s paradise, and here it’s taken to the extreme - with excellent results. Don’t miss the Nocturne de Victor Hugo every Thursday, when the stalls stay open late.