Toulouse (pronounced [tuluz] (help·info) in standard French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in, and [tuˈluzə] (help·info) locally with Toulouse accent) (in Occitan Occitan is a Romance language spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain. It is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese . It is a co-official language in Catalonia, Spain (known as Aranese in Aran Valley). Modern Occitan is the closest relative of Catalan: Tolosa, pronounced [tuˈluzɔ], primarily Tholoza) is a city in southwest France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, on the banks of the River Garonne The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 575 km (357 miles), 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " and the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan.1 2006,[1] the Toulouse metropolitan area is the sixth-largest in France.

Toulouse is the home base of the European aerospace Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space. Aerospace is a very diverse field, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications industry, with the headquarters of Airbus Airbus SAS (English pronunciation: /ˈɛərbʌs/, French: [ɛʁbys] , German: [ˈɛːɐbʊs]) is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, near Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners, Galileo positioning system Galileo is a global navigation satellite system currently being built by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA). The €3.4 billion project is an alternative and complementary to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS. On 30 November 2007 the 27 EU transportation ministers involved reached an agreement, the SPOT satellite system SPOT is a high-resolution, optical imaging Earth observation satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image based in Toulouse, France. It was initiated by the CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales — the French space agency) in the 1970s and was developed in association with the SSTC (Belgian scientific, technical and cultural, and CNES The Centre National d'Études Spatiales is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it's placed under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research. It operates out of the Guiana Space's Toulouse Space Centre (CST), the largest space centre in Europe.[2] Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space is the company born after Thales had bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio, Europe's largest[citation needed] satellite In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon manufacturer, and EADS Astrium Satellites, EADS The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a large European aerospace corporation, formed by the merger on 10 July 2000 of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) of Germany, Aérospatiale-Matra of France, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain. The company develops and markets civil and military aircraft, as well as's satellite system subsidiary, also have a significant presence in Toulouse. Its world renowned university The University of Toulouse is a consortium of universities and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university. This article describes the institutions that have been called the University of Toulouse is one of the oldest in Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the (founded in 1229) and, with more than 97,000 students, is with Lille Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] ; Dutch: Rijsel) is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais the third-largest university campus of France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, after Paris The University of Paris was founded in the mid 11th century, and officially recognized as a university likely between 1160 and 1170 (or possibly as early as 1150). In 1970 it was reorganized as 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII). The university is often referred to as the Sorbonne or La Sorbonne after the collegiate and Lyon.[3]

Toulouse was the capital of the former province The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The change was an attempt to eradicate local loyalties based on feudal ownership of land and focus all loyalty on the central government in Paris of Languedoc Languedoc (English pronunciation: /ˌlɒŋɡəˈdɒk/; French: [lɑ̃ɡdɔk]; Occitan: Lengadòc [ˌleŋɡɔˈðɔ]) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from liberal political). It is now the Chef-lieu The capital of an Algerian Province is called a chef-lieu. The capital of a district, the next largest division, is also called a chef-lieu. While the capital of the lowest division, the municipalities, is called agglomeration de chef-lieu and is abbreviated as A.C.L of the Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (French: [midi piʁene] ; Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark region France is administratively divided into 26 regions , of which 21 are on mainland France, and four are overseas. Although Corsica is in fact a territorial collectivity it is considered a region in mainstream usage. Each mainland region and Corsica are further subdivided into 2 to 8 Departments, the largest region in metropolitan France. It is also the Chef-lieu The capital of an Algerian Province is called a chef-lieu. The capital of a district, the next largest division, is also called a chef-lieu. While the capital of the lowest division, the municipalities, is called agglomeration de chef-lieu and is abbreviated as A.C.L of the Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse department.

Contents

History

Main article: History of Toulouse

Toulouse is an old and ornate city in France with a long and rich history.

Historical Population
Urban Area Metropolitan Area
1695 43,000
1750 48,000
1790 52,863
1801 50,171
1831 59,630
1851 95,277
1872 126,936
1911 149,000
1936 213,220
1946 264,411
1954 268,865
1962 329,044
1968 439,764 474,000
1975 509,939 585,000
1982 541,271 645,000
1990 650,336 797,373
1999 761,090 964,797
2006 850,873 1,102,882

Note:

Demographics

The population of the city proper (French: commune) was 437,715 at the Jan. 1, 2006 census, with 1,102,882 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine The aire urbaine is a statistical region created by the INSEE (National statistics bureau of France) that is comprised by a commuter belt (couronne périurbaine) surrounding a contiguous urban core (pôle urbain). As defined, it is similar (though not identical) to the more general term, "metropolitan area", used in English) at the Jan. 1, 2006 census, up from 964,797 at the March 1999 census, which means a record 1.98% population growth per year between 1999 and 2006 for the metropolitan area.[1]

Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris Paris ([paʁi] in French, pronounced /ˈpærɪs/ in English) is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (or Paris Region, French: Région parisienne). The city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated, Marseille Marseille , formerly known as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία), is the oldest city in France, and currently its second most-populous, behind Paris, with 852,395 residents as of 2007. It forms the third-largest urban area after those of Paris and Lyon with a population of 1,420,000 and the third-largest metropolitan area, also after those of and Lyon Lyon (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃] ; Arpitan: Liyon, IPA: [ʎjɔ̃]; English: /liːˈɒn/ or anglicized as Lyons /ˈlaɪ.ənz/), is a city in east-central France in the region Rhône-Alpes, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at 470 km (292 mi) from Paris, 320 km (199 mi) from Marseille, 160 km (99 mi) from Geneva, 280 km (174, and the fifth-largest metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] ; Dutch: Rijsel) is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais.

Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, population growth of 1.5% a year in the metropolitan area in the 1990s (compared with 0.37% for metropolitan France Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe, including Corsica. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica. By contrast, Overseas France (la France d'outre-mer, or l'Outre-mer, or colloquially les DOM-TOM) is the collective name for the French overseas departments (départements), and a record 1.98% a year in the 2000s (0.69% for metropolitan France), means the Toulouse metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2000 or 2001. Boasting the highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants, Toulouse is on its way to overtake Lille Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] ; Dutch: Rijsel) is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais as the fourth-largest metropolitan area of France (if the Belgian part of the Lille metropolitan area is not included).

Geography

Climate

Toulouse has a temperate climate In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as central North America the variations between summer and winter can be extreme. In regions traditionally that is usually classified as oceanic An oceanic climate is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia. Climates near the ocean have moderately cool summers and comparatively warm winters, they are generally characterized by a narrower annual range of temperatures than are encountered in (Cfb) under the Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger collaborated with Köppen on changes to the classification, falling just short of a humid subtropical climate A Humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and cool winters. This climate type covers a broad category of climates, and the term "subtropical" may be a misnomer for the winter climate (Cfa) classification. Toulouse is located at the junction with the Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. Worldwide, this is where the largest area of this climate type is found. Beyond the Mediterranean area, this climatic type prevails in much of California, in parts of Western and South Australia, in southwestern South Africa and in parts of central zone, but uniform precipitation prevents it from being classified this way.

Climate data for Toulouse
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 9.4 (48.9) 11.2 (52.2) 14.0 (57.2) 16.2 (61.2) 20.5 (68.9) 24.2 (75.6) 27.6 (81.7) 27.5 (81.5) 24.2 (75.6) 18.9 (66) 13.0 (55.4) 10.1 (50.2) 18.1 (64.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.8 (42.4) 7.2 (45) 9.3 (48.7) 11.4 (52.5) 15.4 (59.7) 18.8 (65.8) 21.7 (71.1) 21.7 (71.1) 18.6 (65.5) 14.3 (57.7) 9.1 (48.4) 6.7 (44.1) 13.3 (55.9)
Average low °C (°F) 2.2 (36) 3.2 (37.8) 4.5 (40.1) 6.5 (43.7) 10.3 (50.5) 13.3 (55.9) 15.7 (60.3) 15.9 (60.6) 12.9 (55.2) 9.6 (49.3) 5.2 (41.4) 3.3 (37.9) 8.6 (47.5)
Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is pulled down by gravity and deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel. It occurs when the atmosphere, a large gaseous solution, becomes saturated with water vapour and the water mm (inches) 51.7 (2.035) 51.3 (2.02) 53.8 (2.118) 66.8 (2.63) 77.2 (3.039) 64.4 (2.535) 45.4 (1.787) 50.5 (1.988) 52.2 (2.055) 52.3 (2.059) 50.7 (1.996) 52.2 (2.055) 668.5 (26.319)
Avg. precipitation days 9.6 9 9.5 10.2 10.2 7.6 5.3 5.8 6.7 8 8.7 8.5 99.1
Sunshine hours 104 119 182 184 217 207 245 238 195 138 96 84 2,009
Source #1: Météo France The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operations have been decentralised to Toulouse. Its budget of around €300 million is funded by state grants, aeronautic royalties and sale of commercial services [4]
Source #2: World Meteorological Organisation [5]

Hydrography

The town is traversed by the Canal de Garonne The Canal de Garonne, also known as Canal latéral à la Garonne, is a French canal dating from the 19th century which connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the trip to Bordeaux is passed on the Garonne River. It is the continuation of the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean with Toulouse. Together they and the, the Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi is a 240 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France (French: le Midi). The canal connects the Garonne River to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and along with the Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The canal runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Mediterranean port and the rivers Garonne The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 575 km (357 miles), Touch.

Government and politics

Community of the Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse

Main article: Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse

The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse) was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with less powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent communes, covering an area of 380 km² (147 sq. miles), totaling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in.

Local politics

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The fountain in "Wilson Square" shows the poet Pierre Goudouli
Musée des Augustins
The Capitole of Toulouse, and the square of the same name with the Occitan cross The Occitan cross — also cross of Occitania, cross of Languedoc, cross of Forcalquier and Toulouse cross,— is the symbol of Occitania. It was first used as such, probably, in the coat of arms of the counts of Forcalquier in Provence, and then by the counts of Toulouse in the traditional territory of Languedoc and later spread to the other designed by Raymond Moretti on the ground

One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis Dominique Baudis is a journalist, French politician and former Mayor of Toulouse. A former member of DL, he is now a member of the leading centre-right Union for a Popular Movement, the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist UDF The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's 1976 book, French Democracy. The UDF effectively. First known as a journalist famous for his coverage of the war in Lebanon Lebanon (pronounced /ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لُبْنَان‎ Lubnān; French: Liban), officially the Republic of Lebanon[nb 1] (Arabic: اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah; French: République libanaise), is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, 36 year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.) The Baudis dynasty succeeded in turning Toulouse into a center-right stronghold, whereas historically the city had been left-leaning since the 19th century. Dominique Baudis is also known as a writer who wrote historical novels about the ancient counts of Toulouse, their crusade in the Middle East, and the Albigensian Crusade.

During his time as mayor, Toulouse's economy and population boomed. He tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasise the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the counts of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (Halle aux Grains) was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (Zénith, the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park Cité de l'Espace was founded, etc.

To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Perhaps the one for which Baudis[weasel words] is most famous is the Toulouse Metro: line A of the underground was opened in 1993, and Baudis succeeded in having work started on line B (which opened in 2007), despite strong local opposition to the anticipated costs. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the Green Party.[citation needed]

Despite all these massive undertakings, the city's economy proved so strong that Dominique Baudis was able to announce, in 1999, that the city had finished repaying its debt, making it the only large city in France ever to achieve solvency. In Europe, typical per capita city debt for a city the size of Toulouse is around 1,200 euros. Achieving solvency was a long-standing goal for Baudis, who had said that he would extinguish city debt before leaving office. Local opposition, however, has criticised this achievement, saying that the task of governments is not to run zero-deficit, but to ensure the well-being of citizens, through social benefits, housing programs for poor people, etc.[citation needed]

In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%.[citation needed] He announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) in Paris, the French equivalent of the American FCC.

Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001.

In March 2004 he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. In March 2008, Moudenc was defeated by the Socialist Party's candidate Pierre Cohen.

Sights

Hôtel d'Assézat Hôtel de Bagis, also called Hôtel de Pierre The romanesque Saint-Sernin Basilica and its tower. Notre-Dame de la Dalbade church (15th-16th century)

Parks and Gardens

Museums

Religious buildings

Economy

The main Airbus factory in Blagnac, near Tolouse, lies next to Toulouse Airport

The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Toulouse hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus A320, A330, A340, and A380, the others (A318, A319, A321 and A380 interior furnishing) being in Hamburg, Germany. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, with A350 and A380 production going in the opposite direction as part of its Power8 organization plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff.[6] Airbus has its head office in Blagnac, near Toulouse.[7][8] Airbus's France division has its main office in Toulouse.[8]

According to Newsweek Toulouse ranked as the fifth most dynamic city in the world in 2006.[9]

Colleges and Universities

Toulouse has the third-largest student population in France after Lyon and Paris with 97,000 students.

The University of Toulouse (Université de Toulouse), established in 1229, is located here (now split into three separate universities). Like the universities in Oxford and Paris, the University of Toulouse was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Arabs of Andalus and Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology - inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts - as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges were supported by the Church in hopes to reconcile Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology.

and its engineering schools :

The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycée Pierre de Fermat and Lycée Saint-Sernin.

Transport

In addition to an extensive bus system, the Toulouse Metro is a VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tired trains. Line A runs for 12.5 km from Balma-Gramont in the north-east to Basso Cambo in the south-west. Line B, which opened in June 2007, serves 20 stations north to south and intersects line A at Jean Jaurès. Line E (tramway) will be finished in December 2010, and will run from Beauzelle to Toulouse passing through Blagnac. Line C has existed since line A was completed. It is not VAL but an urban railway line operated by SNCF. It connects to line A at Arènes. Similarly, Line D runs south from Toulouse Matabiau to Muret. All urban bus, metro and tram services are operated by Tisséo.

In 2007, a city-wide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced, with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.

Airports include:

Railway stations include:

Communications

Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a 61-metre high lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission[10]. In 2001 a large (100 km) optical fiber (symmetric 360Gb/s) network named Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications has been deployed around the city and suburbs.[11]

Culture

A typical "Pink City" street at sunset 16th century Hôtel Dahus

Toulouse, known as the Ville Rose ("Pink City") for its distinctive brick architecture[citation needed], is host to a rich and diverse culture. It has a thriving scene of unusually beautiful graffiti, with the painter Miss Van at its forefront.

It is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrénées région.

The city's gastronomic specialties include Saucisses de Toulouse, a type of herb sausage, cassoulet Toulousain, a bean and pork stew, and garbure, a cabbage soup with poultry. Also, foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, is a delicacy mainly made in the Midi-Pyrénées.

Sport

In sports, Toulouse boasts a highly respected rugby union team, Stade Toulousain, which has been a five-time finalist, four-time winner in Europe's top club competition in the sport, the Heineken Cup and 17 times French champions. Toulouse hosted games at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The city also has a professional football team Toulouse FC who play in ligue 1, the top level of football in France.

Toulouse Olympique represents the city in Rugby League, they play in the Co-operative Championship.

Toulouse players in a Championship match against Gateshead (June 2009).

The city also hosted games during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the EuroBasket 1999.

Notable births and deaths in Toulouse

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns — Sister cities

Toulouse is twinned with:

Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Bologna, Italy
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Chongqing, China
Elche, Spain
Kiev, Ukraine
Tel Aviv, Israel
Rosario, Argentina

Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:

Bydgoszcz, Poland
Düsseldorf, Germany
Hanoi, Vietnam
N'Djamena, Chad
Saint-Louis, Senegal, Senegal
São José dos Campos, Brazil
Zaragoza, Spain

In addition, Toulouse has an adoption city:

Câmpia Turzii, Romania

See also

France portal

References

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e (French) INSEE. "Recensement de 2006 - Population et évolution, soldes naturels et migratoires apparents par commune". http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?reg_id=99&ref_id=rpmig06. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  2. ^ (French) CNES. "Ademe.fr" (PDF). http://www.ademe.fr/midi-pyrenees/documents/a_3/cnes_dossier_presse.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  3. ^ Atlas 2005-2006 de l'éducation nationale, [pdf] Consulté le 11/09/2007
  4. ^ "Prévisions météo de Météo-France - Climat en France". Météo France. http://france.meteofrance.com/france/climat_france?CLIMAT_PORTLET.path=climatstationn%2F31069001. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  5. ^ "World Weather Information Service - Toulouse". http://www.worldweather.org/062/c01058.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  6. ^ "Airbus to base A320 production in Hamburg, 350s and 380s in Toulouse - report." Forbes. 15 January 2007.
  7. ^ "Airbus A380 lands after making aviation history." USA Today. 27 April 2005. Updated 28 April 2005. Retrieved on 12 February 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Contacts." Airbus. Retrieved on 12 February 2010.
  9. ^ Newsweek.com
  10. ^ Bonhoure Transmission Tower at Structurae
  11. ^ Garonne-networks.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toulouse
Préfectures of départements of France

Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) · Laon (Aisne) · Moulins (Allier) · Digne-les-Bains (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) · Gap (Hautes-Alpes) · Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) · Privas (Ardèche) · Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) · Foix (Ariège) · Troyes (Aube) · Carcassonne (Aude) · Rodez (Aveyron) · Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) · Caen (Calvados) · Aurillac (Cantal) · Angoulême (Charente) · La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) · Bourges (Cher) · Tulle (Corrèze) · Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud) · Bastia (Haute-Corse) · Dijon (Côte-d'Or) · Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) · Guéret (Creuse) · Périgueux (Dordogne) · Besançon (Doubs) · Valence (Drôme) · Évreux (Eure) · Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) · Quimper (Finistère) · Nîmes (Gard) · Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) · Auch (Gers) · Bordeaux (Gironde) · Montpellier (Hérault) · Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) · Châteauroux (Indre) · Tours (Indre-et-Loire) · Grenoble (Isère) · Lons-le-Saunier (Jura) · Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) · Blois (Loir-et-Cher) · Saint-Étienne (Loire) · Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) · Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) · Orléans (Loiret) · Cahors (Lot) · Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) · Mende (Lozère) · Angers (Maine-et-Loire) · Saint-Lô (Manche) · Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne) · Chaumont (Haute-Marne) · Laval (Mayenne) · Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) · Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) · Vannes (Morbihan) · Metz (Moselle) · Nevers (Nièvre) · Lille (Nord) · Beauvais (Oise) · Alençon (Orne) · Arras (Pas-de-Calais) · Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) · Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) · Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) · Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) · Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) · Colmar (Haut-Rhin) · Lyon (Rhône) · Vesoul (Haute-Saône) · Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire) · Le Mans (Sarthe) · Chambéry (Savoie) · Annecy (Haute-Savoie) · Paris (Paris) · Rouen (Seine-Maritime) · Melun (Seine-et-Marne) · Versailles (Yvelines) · Niort (Deux-Sèvres) · Amiens (Somme) · Albi (Tarn) · Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) · Toulon (Var) · Avignon (Vaucluse) · La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) · Poitiers (Vienne) · Limoges (Haute-Vienne) · Épinal (Vosges) · Auxerre (Yonne) · Belfort (Territoire de Belfort) · Évry (Essonne) · Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) · Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) · Créteil (Val-de-Marne) · Cergy (Val-d'Oise)
Overseas departments

Cayenne (French Guiana) · Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) · Fort-de-France (Martinique) · Saint-Denis (Réunion)
Préfectures of régions of France
Metropolitan France

Strasbourg (Alsace) · Bordeaux (Aquitaine) · Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne) · Dijon (Burgundy) · Rennes (Brittany) · Orléans (Centre) · Châlons-en-Champagne (Champagne-Ardenne) · Ajaccio (Corsica) · Besançon (Franche-Comté) · Paris (Île-de-France) · Montpellier (Languedoc-Roussillon) · Limoges (Limousin) · Metz (Lorraine) · Toulouse (Midi-Pyrénées) · Lille (Nord-Pas de Calais) · Caen (Lower Normandy) · Rouen (Upper Normandy) · Nantes (Pays de la Loire) · Amiens (Picardy) · Poitiers (Poitou-Charentes) · Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) · Lyon (Rhône-Alpes)
Overseas regions

Cayenne (French Guiana) · Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) · Fort-de-France (Martinique) · Saint-Denis (Réunion)
Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
Agassac · Aignes · Aigrefeuille · Alan · Albiac · Ambax · Anan · Antichan-de-Frontignes · Antignac · Arbas · Arbon · Ardiège · Arguenos · Argut-Dessous · Arlos · Arnaud-Guilhem · Artigue · Aspet · Aspret-Sarrat · Aucamville · Aulon · Auragne · Aureville · Auriac-sur-Vendinelle · Auribail · Aurignac · Aurin · Ausseing · Ausson · Aussonne · Auterive · Auzas · Auzeville-Tolosane · Auzielle · Avignonet-Lauragais · Ayguesvives · Azas · Bachas · Bachos · Bagiry · Bagnères-de-Luchon · Balesta · Balma · Barbazan · Baren · Bax · Baziège · Bazus · Beauchalot · Beaufort · Beaumont-sur-Lèze · Beaupuy · Beauteville · Beauville · Beauzelle · Belberaud · Belbèze-de-Lauragais · Belbèze-en-Comminges · Bélesta-en-Lauragais · Bellegarde-Sainte-Marie · Bellesserre · Benque · Benque-Dessous-et-Dessus · Bérat · Bessières · Bezins-Garraux · Billière · Binos · Blagnac · Blajan · Bois-de-la-Pierre · Boissède · Bondigoux · Bonrepos-Riquet · Bonrepos-sur-Aussonnelle · Bordes-de-Rivière · Le Born · Boudrac · Bouloc · Boulogne-sur-Gesse · Bourg-d'Oueil · Bourg-Saint-Bernard · Boussan · Boussens · Boutx · Bouzin · Bragayrac · Brax · Bretx · Brignemont · Bruguières · Burgalays · Le Burgaud · Buzet-sur-Tarn · Cabanac-Cazaux · Cabanac-Séguenville · Le Cabanial · Cadours · Caignac · Calmont · Cambernard · Cambiac · Canens · Capens · Caragoudes · Caraman · Carbonne · Cardeilhac · Cassagnabère-Tournas · Cassagne · Castagnac · Castagnède · Castanet-Tolosan · Castelbiague · Castelgaillard · Castelginest · Castelmaurou · Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds · Castelnau-Picampeau · Le Castéra · Castéra-Vignoles · Casties-Labrande · Castillon-de-Larboust · Castillon-de-Saint-Martory · Cathervielle · Caubiac · Caubous · Caujac · Cazac · Cazaril-Laspènes · Cazaril-Tambourès · Cazaunous · Cazaux-Layrisse · Cazeaux-de-Larboust · Cazeneuve-Montaut · Cazères · Cépet · Cessales · Charlas · Chaum · Chein-Dessus · Ciadoux · Cier-de-Luchon · Cier-de-Rivière · Cierp-Gaud · Cintegabelle · Cirès · Clarac · Clermont-le-Fort · Colomiers · Cornebarrieu · Corronsac · Coueilles · Couladère · Couret · Cox · Cugnaux · Cuguron · Le Cuing · Daux · Deyme · Donneville · Drémil-Lafage · Drudas · Eaunes · Empeaux · Encausse-les-Thermes · Eoux · Escalquens · Escanecrabe · Escoulis · Espanès · Esparron · Esperce · Estadens · Estancarbon · Esténos · Eup · Fabas · Le Faget · Falga · Le Fauga · Fenouillet · Figarol · Flourens · Folcarde · Fonbeauzard · Fonsorbes · Fontenilles · Forgues · Fos · Fougaron · Fourquevaux · Le Fousseret · Francarville · Francazal · Francon · Franquevielle · Le Fréchet · Fronsac · Frontignan-de-Comminges · Frontignan-Savès · Fronton · Frouzins · Fustignac · Gagnac-sur-Garonne · Gaillac-Toulza · Galié · Ganties · Garac · Gardouch · Gargas · Garidech · Garin · Gauré · Gémil · Génos · Gensac-de-Boulogne · Gensac-sur-Garonne · Gibel · Gouaux-de-Larboust · Gouaux-de-Luchon · Goudex · Gourdan-Polignan · Goutevernisse · Gouzens · Goyrans · Gragnague · Gratens · Gratentour · Grazac · Grenade · Grépiac · Guran · Herran · His · Huos · L'Isle-en-Dodon · Le Grès · Issus · Izaut-de-l'Hôtel · Jurvielle · Juzes · Juzet-d'Izaut · Juzet-de-Luchon · Labarthe-Inard · Labarthe-Rivière · Labarthe-sur-Lèze · Labastide-Beauvoir · Labastide-Clermont · Labastide-Paumès · Labastide-Saint-Sernin · Labastidette · Labège · Labroquère · Labruyère-Dorsa · Lacaugne · Lacroix-Falgarde · Laffite-Toupière · Lafitte-Vigordane · Lagarde · Lagardelle-sur-Lèze · Lagrâce-Dieu · Lagraulet-Saint-Nicolas · Lahage · Lahitère · Lalouret-Laffiteau · Lamasquère · Landorthe · Lanta · Lapeyrère · Lapeyrouse-Fossat · Larcan · Laréole · Larra · Larroque · Lasserre · Latoue · Latour · Latrape · Launac · Launaguet · Lautignac · Lauzerville · Lavalette · Lavelanet-de-Comminges · Lavernose-Lacasse · Layrac-sur-Tarn · Lécussan · Lège · Léguevin · Lescuns · Lespinasse · Lespiteau · Lespugue · Lestelle-de-Saint-Martory · Lévignac · Lez · Lherm · Lieoux · Lilhac · Lodes · Longages · Loubens-Lauragais · Loudet · Lourde · Lunax · Luscan · Lussan-Adeilhac · Lux · La Magdelaine-sur-Tarn · Mailholas · Malvezie · Mancioux · Mane · Marignac · Marignac-Lasclares · Marignac-Laspeyres · Marliac · Marquefave · Marsoulas · Martisserre · Martres-de-Rivière · Martres-Tolosane · Mascarville · Massabrac · Mauran · Mauremont · Maurens · Mauressac · Maureville · Mauvaisin · Mauvezin · Mauzac · Mayrègne · Mazères-sur-Salat · Melles · Menville · Mérenvielle · Mervilla · Merville · Milhas · Mirambeau · Miramont-de-Comminges · Miremont · Mirepoix-sur-Tarn · Molas · Moncaup · Mondavezan · Mondilhan · Mondonville · Mondouzil · Monès · Monestrol · Mons · Mont-de-Galié · Montaigut-sur-Save · Montastruc-de-Salies · Montastruc-la-Conseillère · Montastruc-Savès · Montauban-de-Luchon · Montaut · Montberaud · Montbernard · Montberon · Montbrun-Bocage · Montbrun-Lauragais · Montclar-de-Comminges · Montclar-Lauragais · Montégut-Bourjac · Montégut-Lauragais · Montespan · Montesquieu-Guittaut · Montesquieu-Lauragais · Montesquieu-Volvestre · Montgaillard-de-Salies · Montgaillard-Lauragais · Montgaillard-sur-Save · Montgazin · Montgeard · Montgiscard · Montgras · Montjoire · Montlaur · Montmaurin · Montoulieu-Saint-Bernard · Montoussin · Montpitol · Montrabé · Montréjeau · Montsaunès · Mourvilles-Basses · Mourvilles-Hautes · Moustajon · Muret · Nailloux · Nénigan · Nizan-Gesse · Noé · Nogaret · Noueilles · Odars · Ondes · Oô · Ore · Palaminy · Paulhac · Payssous · Péchabou · Pechbonnieu · Pechbusque · Péguilhan · Pelleport · Peyrissas · Peyrouzet · Peyssies · Pibrac · Pin-Balma · Le Pin-Murelet · Pins-Justaret · Pinsaguel · Plagne · Plagnole · Plaisance-du-Touch · Le Plan · Pointis-de-Rivière · Pointis-Inard · Polastron · Pompertuzat · Ponlat-Taillebourg · Portet-d'Aspet · Portet-de-Luchon · Portet-sur-Garonne · Poubeau · Poucharramet · Pouy-de-Touges · Pouze · Pradère-les-Bourguets · Préserville · Proupiary · Prunet · Puydaniel · Puymaurin · Puysségur · Quint-Fonsegrives · Ramonville-Saint-Agne · Razecueillé · Rebigue · Régades · Renneville · Revel · Rieucazé · Rieumajou · Rieumes · Rieux-Volvestre · Riolas · Roquefort-sur-Garonne · Roques · Roquesérière · Roquettes · Rouède · Rouffiac-Tolosan · Roumens · Sabonnères · Saccourvielle · Saiguède · Saint-Alban · Saint-André · Saint-Araille · Saint-Aventin · Saint-Béat · Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges · Saint-Cézert · Saint-Christaud · Saint-Clar-de-Rivière · Sainte-Foy-d'Aigrefeuille · Sainte-Foy-de-Peyrolières · Sainte-Livrade · Saint-Élix-le-Château · Saint-Élix-Séglan · Saint-Félix-Lauragais · Saint-Ferréol-de-Comminges · Saint-Frajou · Saint-Gaudens · Saint-Geniès-Bellevue · Saint-Germier · Saint-Hilaire · Saint-Ignan · Saint-Jean · Saint-Jean-Lherm · Saint-Jory · Saint-Julia · Saint-Julien-sur-Garonne · Saint-Lary-Boujean · Saint-Laurent · Saint-Léon · Saint-Loup-Cammas · Saint-Loup-en-Comminges · Saint-Lys · Saint-Mamet · Saint-Marcel-Paulel · Saint-Marcet · Saint-Martory · Saint-Médard · Saint-Michel · Saint-Orens-de-Gameville · Saint-Paul-d'Oueil · Saint-Paul-sur-Save · Saint-Pé-d'Ardet · Saint-Pé-Delbosc · Saint-Pierre · Saint-Pierre-de-Lages · Saint-Plancard · Saint-Rome · Saint-Rustice · Saint-Sauveur · Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze · Saint-Thomas · Saint-Vincent · Sajas · Saleich · Salerm · Salies-du-Salat · Salles-et-Pratviel · Salles-sur-Garonne · La Salvetat-Lauragais · La Salvetat-Saint-Gilles · Saman · Samouillan · Sana · Sarrecave · Sarremezan · Saubens · Saussens · Sauveterre-de-Comminges · Saux-et-Pomarède · Savarthès · Savères · Sédeilhac · Ségreville · Seilh · Seilhan · Sénarens · Sengouagnet · Sepx · Seyre · Seysses · Signac · Sode · Soueich · Tarabel · Terrebasse · Thil · Touille · Toulouse · Tournefeuille · Les Tourreilles · Toutens · Trébons-de-Luchon · Trébons-sur-la-Grasse · L'Union · Urau · Vacquiers · Valcabrère · Valentine · Vallègue · Vallesvilles · Varennes · Vaudreuille · Vaux · Vendine · Venerque · Verfeil · Vernet · Vieille-Toulouse · Vieillevigne · Vignaux · Vigoulet-Auzil · Villariès · Villate · Villaudric · Villefranche-de-Lauragais · Villematier · Villemur-sur-Tarn · Villeneuve-de-Rivière · Villeneuve-Lécussan · Villeneuve-lès-Bouloc · Villeneuve-Tolosane · Villenouvelle

Categories: Toulouse | Cities in France | Midi-Pyrénées | Communes of Haute-Garonne

 

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'Toulouse' News
Women's basketball recruiting: Nike Nationals set to wrap puzzling summer - ESPN
sports.espn.go.com
Women's basketball recruiting: Nike Nationals set to wrap puzzling summer - ESPN
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:00:23 GMT+00:00
espn ... absence of 12 of the nation's top prospects, who just on Sunday claimed the gold medal at the FIBA U17 World Championships in Toulouse , France. ...
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Wed Jul 28 19:24:51 2010
'Toulouse' Images
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avec ta tete mais moi j <3 trop parce que t es mon ptit Chouw Tkt pas qu ensemble on ira a la peche aux emo a Paris et a Toulouse d ailleurs sa me tarde trop et on ira skouater les sk8 park aussi hein XD ton sweet j veux trop le meme il est trop jouli et a part ca y a des gens qui me soulent grave en ce

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Mon Jul 19 07:39:53 2010
'Toulouse' Blogs
Cycling in Toulouse
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Cycling in Toulouse

Newfred

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:48:00 GM

As it turns out, here in . Toulouse. there is a bike hire system called Velo . Toulouse. that ensures you can cycle everywhere you want -- and not just in the city centre, but far out into the suburbs. (A colleague from Ireland told me today ...

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Sat Jul 17 07:57:30 2010
'Toulouse' Answers
What is the reason for the use of pink/red bricks in Toulouse?
Q. Toulouse is named <> because of the pinkish/reddish hues of its buildings, but why were these colors used in the first place?
Asked by Jacquie - Tue Mar 30 22:36:12 2010 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments

A. It is because the clay used to make the bricks was local and the soil in that area is ferruginous (it contains a certain amount of iron) therefore giving a reddish hue to the final baked product. The same applied to the tiles that were put on roofs. The soil in the Valley of the Garonne is clay. Exploiting quarried stone to build was incredibly expensive and it had to be brought a long distance from the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, which was difficult to do in the early days of the city and therefore very costly too. The technique of brick making by baking clay was brought to the area by the Romans who were experts at using it, and "Toulouse la rose" grew from there.
Answered by WISE OWL - Wed Mar 31 03:54:48 2010

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Sat Jul 17 07:57:31 2010
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