Toulouse falls well. And he does it effortlessly, that's why he gets it. It is what is expected of it: brasseries, good heritage, respect for culture and fashion and lots of butter. It is also what is not expected (so much) from a medium-sized French city: a very friendly character that reminds us of our streets.
In addition to its proximity (it is on the other side of the Pyrenees), Toulouse was the capital of the republican exile after the Spanish Civil War to and the liberation of France and welcomed more than 150,000 Spaniards. This fact has left a strong mark on the city: 10% of its inhabitants speak Spanish. This also translates into street life, full terraces even if it rains and a certain self-confidence in its streets and among its people. It does not want to shock or be aristocratic or monumental, although he has plenty of artistic heritage and pedigree. That's why we like it.
Backstage Vintage Store.
BROCANTE DES ALLES
Also, the 'Pink City', as it is called because of its brick buildings, It is one of the best places in the south of France to visit flea markets or bric-a-brac and antique dealers. It does not have the fame of Provence and luckily, since this means fewer people, best prices and the possibility of discovering authentic jewels. Almost every day there is a market in one place or another, although they are concentrated on weekends.
Some are better than others: the first Friday of each month and the weekend that follows opens the Brocante les Allées, which has been held since June 1989 and today it is the most important in south-eastern France. The creators of Almacén Alquián Hoptimo are well acquainted with it and express it clearly: “It is one of those events that always makes us happy”.
One of the stalls.
They know how to get around this gathering of over a hundred vendors where you can discover antiques from the 18th century to the middle of the 20th century, industrial furniture, orientalisms, popular art, trinkets from the 19th and 20th centuries, glass and an etcetera as long as the boulevard de François Verdier, where this market is located. On any given Friday and in a walk of a few meters they meet, for example, original Dior Ads From The 60s, a dance card from 1910, a lot of glass between the 70s and 80s, the original poster Zazie dans le Metro and Christophle cutlery . It was bad, what would I say. Over there.
The Alquians, as they are known in the antiques and rarities industry, know their way around Toulouse: “A quick coffee and a croissant at the bar Authorized (one of the oldest in the city) and directly to the market, where there is a lot to do.
Vide grenier, in rue de la Concorde.
We recommend going first thing in the morning and on Friday, when the stalls have just been set up and everything is to choose from. They acknowledge: “We can posters, paintings and unusual objects. Some stands with well-selected vintage furniture always wink at us”.
And they give us more expert tricks: “Toulousains always find a church around which to display their treasures and now they do so around Saint Aubin (Only in the morning). A perfect chaos from dawn to lunchtime. The earliest come with flashlight so as not to miss anything." Let's pay attention to them.
These visits alone will have made the trip to Toulouse worthwhile, but we want more, as always. Since we are with the trained eye let's go from bouquinistes or market for old and second-hand books. In the St Etienne square, the one with the cathedral, and in the Saint Pierre square, next to the river, in the morning, we can satisfy our curiosity and take some rarity under our arms.
Or let's go, if it's Sunday and the weather permits, to Place de la Daurade, where a collective of local artists called The Garonne Expo shows your work. A French square is always a good idea.
Bouquiniste in rue du Taur.
AMONG VASES, CHOCOLATES AND OYSTERS
We got up early to visit the brocantes and markets of Toulouse and now we want some calm. Let's leave the ephemeral places to go rue Fermat, home to some of the city's best antique dealers, with a high level and good prices.
We will look at Azmentis or Patrick Martin and fantasize about investing in a Lalique vase. Sooner or later we will make a stop at Creole, also in the cathedral square, everything is close here. This is one of those chocolate shops that can only be found in France and where we will order a chocolate with five spices or coriander and lemon, although it may shock us and we will confirm that only in this country do they treat chocolate in such a creative and majestic way.
Victor Hugo Market.
We have mentioned chocolate and gastric juices have been revolutionized. People always come to France to eat well. In Toulouse we will do it and we will go to another market, that of Victor Hugo, one of the social centers of the city and where we will trade the seventies furniture for oysters and charcuterie.
Its surroundings are wonderful for an aperitif (in Betty), have lunch (at La Gourmandine) or buy a souvenir, which is always in Xavier, one of the best cheese refiners in the world. If you have not been in this store letting you advise and trying some piece of deliciously smelly (or good-smelling) cheese You haven't been to Toulouse.
Cheeseboard.
SOCLO MAISON
We have been distracted looking for vases and eating brie and we have not talked about the hotel. And the hotel we chose for this brisk getaway deserves at least one paragraph. the foot it's a delicious place that has stirred up the city's hotel scene by proposing something that was not there: a small hotel, decorated with a vintage aftertaste à la Soho House and in which everything works.
El Soclo, located near the university and the river, hides a secret: a garden with a terrace and, surprise, a charming swimming pool that no one senses from the street. If it weren't for the fact that the city calls us, we would spend the afternoon sunbathing and taking a dip. Maybe we will: in a good trip must have time for everything.
One of the rooms.
Two steps from the Soclo is the Écluse de Saint Pierre, one of the essential visits today. Their owners they have rehabilitated the Maison Éclusière de Saint-Pierre and its lock, from the 17th century and they have turned it into a new space that brings together a bar, restaurant and concert hall. Here it is worth remembering that Toulouse has the energy of a powerful university community (students, teachers and researchers) and that fills places like this.
Next to the Écluse is the Toulouse School of Economics building, signed by Grafton Architects. The architects of this studio, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, deserved the Pritzker in 2020. There is never an excess of a Pritzker on a trip.
The secret pool.
PASTRIES AND STATIONERS
If we have some time left in this escapade we can anger La Bonbonierre to ask for the pomponette, to which we have already awarded the title of one of the best Swiss rolls in the world; happiness can cost only €2.5. or go to Emily, a patisserie which only sells six cakes per seasons. These French people...
We can also get lost in La Mucca, a stationery store where you can find dozens of different notebooks and in Ombres Blanches, a labyrinthine bookstore where you literally get lost. A weekend that looks askance at the past demands that we visit the Drugstore Taverne, a kind of Ali Baba cave that has been standing since 1892. Those are many years. Why not shop for souvenirs at a historic drugstore?
The weekend is over. We have visited some of the best markets in Toulouse and we have a bit of excess weight in our suitcase. We will return: this city is nice, open, pleasant. Toulouse likes travelers and we like Toulouse.
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