View source for Toulouse

{{Short description|Prefecture and commune in France}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Toulouse
|native name        = {{native name|oc|Tolosa}}
|commune status     = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|city motto         = {{langnf|oc|Per Tolosa totjorn mai|For Toulouse, always more|break=yes}}
|image              = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 280
| image_style              = border:1;
| perrow                   = 2/2/2/2
 | image1 = Toulouse - vue du Vieux Toulouse depuis St Sernin 06.jpg{{!}}View of Old Toulouse
 | caption1 = View of Old Toulouse
 | image2 = Ariane 5 at Cite de l'Espace 5.jpg{{!}}Ariane 5 at Cite de l'Espace
 | caption2 = [[Ariane 5]] ([[Cité de l'espace]])
 | image3 = Toulouse - St-Sernin - Est.jpg{{!}}Basilica of Saint-Sernin
 | caption3 = [[Basilica of Saint-Sernin]]
 | image4 = Toulouse Capitole Night Wikimedia Commons.jpg{{!}}Capitole
 | caption4 = [[Place du Capitole]]
 | image5 = A380 Reveal 1.jpg{{!}}Airbus A380
 | caption5 = the first [[Airbus A380]]
 | image6 = Musée des Augustin, l'aile Darcy - Viollet-le-duc.jpg{{!}}Musée des Augustins
 | caption6 = [[Musée des Augustins]]
 | image7 = Toulouse - Assezat.jpg{{!}}Hôtel d'Assézat
 | caption7 = [[Hôtel d'Assézat]]
 | image8 = Les Jacobins depuis la Garonne - panoramio.jpg{{!}}The church of the Jacobins and the Garonne river
 | caption8 = [[Church of the Jacobins]]
}}
|coordinates        = {{coord|43.6045|1.444|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|arrondissement     = Toulouse
|canton             = (11 cantons) [[Canton of Toulouse-1|Toulouse-1]], [[Canton of Toulouse-2|2]], [[Canton of Toulouse-3|3]], [[Canton of Toulouse-4|4]], [[Canton of Toulouse-5|5]], [[Canton of Toulouse-6|6]], [[Canton of Toulouse-7|7]], [[Canton of Toulouse-8|8]], [[Canton of Toulouse-9|9]], [[Canton of Toulouse-10|10]] and [[Canton of Toulouse-11|11]]
|intercommunality   = [[Toulouse Métropole]]
|mayor              = [[Jean-Luc Moudenc]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=6 June 2023|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|area km2           = 118.3
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|INSEE              = 31555
|website            = {{URL|https://metropole.toulouse.fr}}
|image coat of arms = Armoiries de Toulouse.svg
|party              = [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
|population ranking = [[List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants|4th in France]]
|urban area km2     = 957.5
|urban area date    = 2025<ref name=compterr>{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=COM-31555+UU2020-00758+AAV2020-005 |title=Comparateur de territoires - Commune : Toulouse (31555), Unité urbaine 2020 de Toulouse (00758), Aire d'attraction des villes de Toulouse (005)|publisher=[[INSEE]] |access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref>
|urban pop          = 1,081,726
|urban pop date     = 2022<ref name=compterr/>
|metro area km2     = 6520.2
|metro area date    = 2025<ref name=compterr/>
|metro area pop     = 1,513,396
|metro area pop date= 2022<ref name=compterr/>
|population demonym = English: Toulousian<br>French: {{lang|fr|Toulousain(e)}}<br>Occitan: {{lang|oc|tolosenc(a)}}
|image flag=Flag of Midi-Pyrénées.svg
}}

'''Toulouse''' ({{IPAc-en|t|uː|ˈ|l|uː|z}}, {{respell|too|LOOZ}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/toulouse|title=Toulouse|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|tuluz|lang|Fr-Toulouse.ogg}}; {{langx|oc|Tolosa}} {{IPA|oc|tuˈluzɔ||Oc-Lnc-Tolosa.wav}}) is a city in [[Southern France]], the [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] of the [[Haute-Garonne]] department and of the [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitania]] region. The city is on the banks of the [[Garonne|River Garonne]], {{convert|150|km|0|abbr=off}} from the [[Mediterranean Sea]], {{convert|230|km|0|abbr=on}} from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and {{convert|680|km|abbr=on}} from [[Paris]]. It is the [[List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants|fourth-largest city]] in [[France]] after [[Paris]], [[Marseille]], and [[Lyon]], with 511,684 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries (2022);<ref name=pop2022>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/8290607/dep31.pdf |title=Populations de référence 2022: 31 Haute-Garonne|date=December 2024|publisher=[[INSEE]]}}</ref> its [[Functional area (France)|metropolitan area]] has a population of 1,513,396 inhabitants (2022).<ref name=compterr/> Toulouse is the central city of one of the 22 [[Métropole|metropolitan councils]] of France. Between the 2014 and 2020 censuses, its metropolitan area was the third fastest growing among metropolitan areas larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#c=indicator&i=pop_legales.popmun&i2=pop_legales.evol_popmun&s=2020&s2=2020&t=A01&t2=A01&view=map13 |title=Évol. annuelle moy. de la population 2014 - 2020 (en %) 2020 - Population municipale 2020 >> Carte|author=INSEE |author-link=INSEE |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref>

Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of [[Airbus]], the [[SPOT (satellites)|SPOT satellite system]], [[ATR (aircraft manufacturer)|ATR]] and the [[Aerospace Valley]]. It hosts the [[CNES]]'s [[Toulouse Space Centre]] (CST) which is the largest national space centre in Europe, but also, on the military side, the newly created NATO space centre of excellence and the French Space Command and Space Academy.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ademe.fr/midi-pyrenees/documents/a_3/cnes_dossier_presse.pdf| title=Ademe.fr| author=CNES| access-date=30 May 2007| author-link=CNES| language=fr| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629155229/http://www.ademe.fr/midi-pyrenees/documents/a_3/cnes_dossier_presse.pdf| archive-date=29 June 2007| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/security-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/news/article/defence-establishment-of-the-nato-space-centre-of-excellence-in-toulouse| title=Defence – Establishment of the NATO space centre of excellence in Toulouse| author=Ministry for the Armed Forces| access-date=5 February 2021| language=en}}</ref> [[Safran]], [[Thales Alenia Space]], [[Airbus Defence and Space]], [[Collins Aerospace]] and [[Liebherr Aerospace|Liebherr-Aerospace]] also have a significant presence in Toulouse.

The air route between [[Toulouse–Blagnac Airport|Toulouse–Blagnac]] and the [[Paris Aéroport|Parisian airports]] is the busiest in France, transporting 3.2&nbsp;million passengers in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/bulletin_stat_trafic_aerien_2019.pdf|page=6/24|title=Bulletin Statistique du trafic aérien commercial - année 2019|publisher=[[Directorate General for Civil Aviation (France)|DGAC]]|access-date=13 October 2020|archive-date=8 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208111241/https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/bulletin_stat_trafic_aerien_2019.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the rankings of {{Lang|fr|[[L'Express]]}} and [[Challenges (magazine)|''Challenges'']], Toulouse is the most dynamic French city.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.lexpress.fr/region/palmares-des-villes-la-revanche-de-la-province_896459.html| title = Palmarès des villes les plus dynamiques : la revanche de la province| date = 11 June 2010}} ''L'Express''</ref><ref>[http://www.challenges.fr/economie/20120705.CHA8603/les-villes-les-plus-dynamiques-de-france.html Les villes les plus dynamiques de France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224304/http://www.challenges.fr/economie/20120705.CHA8603/les-villes-les-plus-dynamiques-de-france.html |date=23 September 2015 }} ''Challenges''</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2015/06/19/2127883-toulouse-metropole-la-plus-dynamique.html| title = Toulouse, métropole la plus dynamique}} ''La Dépêche du Midi''</ref>

Founded by the Romans, the city was the capital of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] in the 5th century and the capital of the [[provinces of France|province]] of [[Languedoc]] in the [[Late Middle Ages]] and [[early modern period]] (provinces were abolished during the [[French Revolution]]), making it the unofficial capital of the cultural region of [[Occitania]] (Southern France). It is now the capital of the [[regions of France|administrative region]] of [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitania]], the second largest region in [[Metropolitan France]].

The [[University of Toulouse]] is one of the oldest in Europe (founded in 1229). Toulouse is also the home of prestigious higher education schools, notably in the field of aerospace engineering. Together with the university, they have turned Toulouse into the fourth-largest student city in France, with a university population of nearly 140,000 students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classement 2019 des villes étudiantes les plus importantes en France |url=https://www.investirlmnp.fr/actualites/classement-2019-des-villes-etudiantes-les-plus-importantes-en-france-146 |access-date=8 April 2022 |publisher=www.investirlmnp.fr }}</ref>

Toulouse counts three [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s: the [[Canal du Midi]] (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the [[Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse|Basilica of St. Sernin]], the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://europeupclose.com/article/toulouses-saint-sernin-largest-romanesque-church-in-europe/| title = Toulouse's Saint Sernin, Largest Romanesque Church in Europe| date = June 2010}} ''Europe Close''</ref> designated in 1998 along with the former hospital Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques because of their significance to the [[World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France|Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route]]. The city's unique architecture made of pinkish [[terracotta]] bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname ''{{lang|fr|La Ville rose}}'' ("The Pink city").<ref>{{cite book |last1= Averbuck|first1= Alexis|last2= Williams|first2= Nicola|last3= Berry|first3= Oliver|last4= Carillet|first4= Jean-Bernard|last5= Christiani|first5= Kerry|last6= Clark|first6= Gregor|last7= Le Nevez|first7= Catherine|last8= Pitts|first8= Christopher|last9= Robinson|first9= Daniel|last10= Isalka|first10= Anita|last11= St Louis|first11= Regis|last12= McNaughtan|first12= Hugh|date= 2017|title= Lonely Planet France|trans-title= |url= |url-access= |format= |language= en|location= Franklin, Tennessee|publisher= Lonely Planet|isbn= 9781787010215|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://francetravelblog.com/why-toulouse-is-called-the-pink-city/| title=Why Toulouse Is Called The Pink City| author=France Travel Blog| date=25 March 2020| access-date=16 June 2022| language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
Toulouse is in the south of France, north of the department of Haute-Garonne, on the axis of communication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is about 80&nbsp;km from the Pyrenees and the borders with Andorra and Spain.
[[File:Toulouse - vue sur les Pyrénées.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2.1|View of the [[Pyrenees]] from Toulouse (at a distance of around 80 kilometers, the mountains are visible in clear weather)]]

===Hydrography===
The city is traversed by the [[Canal de Brienne]], the [[Canal du Midi]], the [[Canal de Garonne]] and the rivers [[Garonne]], [[Touch River|Touch]] and [[Hers-Mort]].
[[File:Garonne from Pont St Pierre in Toulouse.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2.1|View of the [[Garonne]] in Toulouse]]

===Climate===
Toulouse has a four-season [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]). Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the [[Mediterranean climate]] zone.

{{Weather box
|location = Toulouse ([[Toulouse–Blagnac Airport|TLS]]), elevation: {{convert|151|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1947–present
|collapsed =
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = 21.2
|Feb record high C = 24.1
|Mar record high C = 27.1
|Apr record high C = 30.0
|May record high C = 34.4
|Jun record high C = 40.2
|Jul record high C = 40.2
|Aug record high C = 42.4
|Sep record high C = 35.3
|Oct record high C = 31.8
|Nov record high C = 24.3
|Dec record high C = 21.1
|year record high C = 42.4
|Jan high C = 9.7
|Feb high C = 11.2
|Mar high C = 15.0
|Apr high C = 17.6
|May high C = 21.4
|Jun high C = 25.7
|Jul high C = 28.2
|Aug high C = 28.5
|Sep high C = 24.8
|Oct high C = 19.7
|Nov high C = 13.5
|Dec high C = 10.4
|year high C = 18.8
|Jan mean C = 6.3
|Feb mean C = 7.1
|Mar mean C = 10.3
|Apr mean C = 12.7
|May mean C = 16.4
|Jun mean C = 20.3
|Jul mean C = 22.6
|Aug mean C = 22.8
|Sep mean C = 19.3
|Oct mean C = 15.3
|Nov mean C = 9.9
|Dec mean C = 7.0
|year mean C = 14.2
|Jan low C = 2.9
|Feb low C = 3.1
|Mar low C = 5.5
|Apr low C = 7.9
|May low C = 11.4
|Jun low C = 15.0
|Jul low C = 17.0
|Aug low C = 17.1
|Sep low C = 13.9
|Oct low C = 10.9
|Nov low C = 6.3
|Dec low C = 3.6
|year low C = 9.6
|Jan record low C = -18.6
|Feb record low C = -19.2
|Mar record low C = -8.4
|Apr record low C = -3.0
|May record low C = -0.8
|Jun record low C = 4.0
|Jul record low C = 7.6
|Aug record low C = 5.5
|Sep record low C = 1.9
|Oct record low C = -3.0
|Nov record low C = -7.5
|Dec record low C = -12.0
|year record low C = -19.2
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 52.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 37.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 45.3
|Apr precipitation mm = 65.2
|May precipitation mm = 73.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 64.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 40.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 44.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 45.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 54.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 55.0
|Dec precipitation mm = 49.3
|year precipitation mm = 627.0
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 9.2
|Feb precipitation days = 7.8
|Mar precipitation days = 8.2
|Apr precipitation days = 9.3
|May precipitation days = 9.9
|Jun precipitation days = 7.1
|Jul precipitation days = 5.7
|Aug precipitation days = 5.9
|Sep precipitation days = 6.6
|Oct precipitation days = 7.5
|Nov precipitation days = 10.0
|Dec precipitation days = 8.7
|year precipitation days = 95.8
|Jan snow days = 1.8
|Feb snow days = 2.0
|Mar snow days = 0.5
|Apr snow days = 0.3
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.5
|Dec snow days = 1.2
|year snow days = 6.1
|Jan humidity = 87
|Feb humidity = 82
|Mar humidity = 77
|Apr humidity = 76
|May humidity = 76
|Jun humidity = 72
|Jul humidity = 68
|Aug humidity = 71
|Sep humidity = 74
|Oct humidity = 81
|Nov humidity = 85
|Dec humidity = 88
|Jan sun = 89.1
|Feb sun = 118.2
|Mar sun = 175.3
|Apr sun = 188.5
|May sun = 212.3
|Jun sun = 231.8
|Jul sun = 258.6
|Aug sun = 246.4
|Sep sun = 210.1
|Oct sun = 155.2
|Nov sun = 99.9
|Dec sun = 89.7
|year sun = 2075.1
|source 1 = [[Meteo France]]<ref>
{{cite web
| url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_31069001.pdf
| title = TOULOUSE–BLAGNAC (31)
| work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 14 July 2022}}</ref>
| source 2 = Infoclimat.fr (relative humidity 1961–1990)<ref name=Infoclimat>{{cite web
| url = http://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie-07630-toulouse-blagnac.html
| title = Normes et records 1961–1990: Toulouse-Blagnac (31) – altitude 151m
| language = fr
| publisher = Infoclimat
| access-date = 7 August 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092516/http://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie-07630-toulouse-blagnac.html
| archive-date = 4 March 2016}}</ref>
}}
{{Weather box
|location = Toulouse–Francazal, elevation: {{convert|164|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1922–present
|collapsed = Y
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = 23.3
|Feb record high C = 24.8
|Mar record high C = 28.3
|Apr record high C = 29.9
|May record high C = 33.9
|Jun record high C = 39.6
|Jul record high C = 40.2
|Aug record high C = 44.0
|Sep record high C = 36.0
|Oct record high C = 35.4
|Nov record high C = 27.0
|Dec record high C = 26.9
|year record high C = 44.0
|Jan high C = 9.9
|Feb high C = 11.3
|Mar high C = 15.0
|Apr high C = 17.6
|May high C = 21.3
|Jun high C = 25.5
|Jul high C = 28.1
|Aug high C = 28.6
|Sep high C = 24.8
|Oct high C = 19.8
|Nov high C = 13.7
|Dec high C = 10.7
|year high C = 18.9
|Jan mean C = 6.5
|Feb mean C = 7.3
|Mar mean C = 10.3
|Apr mean C = 12.8
|May mean C = 16.5
|Jun mean C = 20.3
|Jul mean C = 22.6
|Aug mean C = 22.8
|Sep mean C = 19.4
|Oct mean C = 15.4
|Nov mean C = 10.0
|Dec mean C = 7.2
|year mean C = 14.3
|Jan low C = 3.1
|Feb low C = 3.2
|Mar low C = 5.7
|Apr low C = 8.0
|May low C = 11.6
|Jun low C = 15.1
|Jul low C = 17.0
|Aug low C = 17.1
|Sep low C = 13.9
|Oct low C = 11.0
|Nov low C = 6.4
|Dec low C = 3.8
|year low C = 9.7
|Jan record low C = -19.0
|Feb record low C = -16.7
|Mar record low C = -7.4
|Apr record low C = -4.1
|May record low C = 0.1
|Jun record low C = 4.5
|Jul record low C = 7.0
|Aug record low C = 7.3
|Sep record low C = 0.0
|Oct record low C = -2.6
|Nov record low C = -8.5
|Dec record low C = -13.4
|year record low C = -19.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 56.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 38.8
|Mar precipitation mm = 43.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 65.2
|May precipitation mm = 74.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 59.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 42.5
|Aug precipitation mm = 42.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 50.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 52.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 58.2
|Dec precipitation mm = 51.5
|year precipitation mm = 635.7
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 8.8
|Feb precipitation days = 7.6
|Mar precipitation days = 8.1
|Apr precipitation days = 9.5
|May precipitation days = 9.5
|Jun precipitation days = 7.1
|Jul precipitation days = 5.6
|Aug precipitation days = 6.0
|Sep precipitation days = 6.4
|Oct precipitation days = 7.7
|Nov precipitation days = 9.6
|Dec precipitation days = 9.0
|year precipitation days = 94.8
|Jan sun = 93.1
|Feb sun = 116.6
|Mar sun = 173.6
|Apr sun = 186.7
|May sun = 207.5
|Jun sun = 224.8
|Jul sun = 246.8
|Aug sun = 234.9
|Sep sun = 202.5
|Oct sun = 147.9
|Nov sun = 94.9
|Dec sun = 85.4
|year sun = 2014.5
|source 1 = [[Meteo France]] (sun 1991–2010)<ref>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220319090426/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_31157001.pdf
| archive-date = 19 March 2022
| url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_31157001.pdf
| title = TOULOUSE–FRANCAZAL (31)
| work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 14 July 2022}}</ref>
}}

==History==
{{Main|History of Toulouse|Timeline of Toulouse}}
[[File:Enceinte_gallo-romaine_-_Toulouse_-_PA00094679.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The remains of the Roman wall in Toulouse illustrate the early use of brick and stone in construction.]]
[[File:Liénard de Lachieze Missel romain copié en 1492 - Martyre de saint Saturnin de Toulouse - Détail.jpg|thumb|The martyrdom of Saint Saturnin]]
[[File:Reino de los visigodos-en.svg|thumb|In the 5th century, Toulouse was the capital of a vast [[Visigothic Kingdom#Kingdom of Toulouse|Visigothic Kingdom]] that stretched from [[Loire Valley|the Loire]] to [[Gibraltar]].]]

===Early history===
The Garonne Valley was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the [[European Iron Age|Iron Age]]. The historical name of the city, ''Tolosa'' (Τολῶσσα in [[Greek language|Greek]], and of its inhabitants, the ''Tolosates'', first recorded in the 2nd century BC), is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from [[Aquitanian language|Aquitanian]] or [[Iberian language|Iberian]],<ref>[[Albert Dauzat]] et [[Charles Rostaing]], ''Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France'', 2nd ed., Librairie Guénégaud 1978.</ref> but it has also been connected to the name of the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] [[Volcae Tectosages]],<ref>''Le Nom de Toulouse'' de Pierre Moret, 1996, Université Toulouse le Mirail – Toulouse II, p. 11; ''Histoire de Toulouse'', 1974, p. 11.</ref> or to the [[wikt:Toulouse|same root]] as Irish ''[https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/sengoidelc/duil-belrai/lorg.php?facal=tulach&tairg=Old-Irish+headword&seorsa=Gaidhlig tulach]'' or Welsh ''[https://glosbe.com/cy/en/twlch twlch]'', (little hill).

====Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne====
Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] military outpost. After the conquest of [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], it was developed as a Roman city in [[Gallia Narbonensis]]. Under the reign of Emperor [[Augustus]] and thanks to the [[Pax Romana]], the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it was an ''[[oppidum]]'' to the banks of the Garonne, which were more suitable for trade.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019">Collective work directed by Jean-Marc Olivier and Rémy Pech: "''Histoire de Toulouse et de la métropole''". Éditions Privat, 2019.</ref>

In the second half of the 1st century, the emperor [[Domitian]] distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess [[Athena|Pallas Athena]], so that the Latin poets [[Martial]], [[Ausonius]] and [[Sidonius Apollinaris]] called the city ''Palladia Tolosa'' (Palladian Toulouse), a term that was still used in the Renaissance and even today when the city is presented as propitious to the arts and letters.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

Around the year 250, Toulouse was marked by the martyrdom of [[Saturnin]], the first bishop of Toulouse. This episode illustrates the difficult beginnings of Christianity in Roman Gaul.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

====Capital of the Visigothic Kingdom====
In the 5th century, Toulouse fell to the [[Visigothic kingdom]] and became one of its major cities, even serving as its [[Visigothic Kingdom#Kingdom of Toulouse|capital]], before it fell to the [[Francia|Franks]] under [[Clovis I|Clovis]] in 507 during the [[Battle of Vouillé]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/> From that time, Toulouse was the capital of [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] within the Frankish realm.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mAgDwx4pS0QC&pg=PA59| title=The Capetians: Kings of France 987-1328| page=59| isbn=9780826435149| last1=Bradbury| first1=Jim| date=27 February 2007| publisher=Bloomsbury}}</ref>

====Under Frankish rule====
In 721, [[Odo the Great|Duke Odo]] of [[Aquitaine]] defeated an invading [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] [[Muslim]] army at the [[Battle of Toulouse (721)|Battle of Toulouse]]. Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo's victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into [[Christendom|Christian Europe]], incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest (including the one that ended with [[Charles Martel]]'s victory at the [[Battle of Tours]], also called the Battle of Poitiers).<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k415420b/f39. |title=Recueil de l'Académie des jeux floraux |year=1842}}</ref>

The Frankish conquest of [[Septimania]] followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent [[County of Toulouse]] emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century. The [[Battle of Toulouse (844)|Battle of Toulouse of 844]], pitting [[Charles the Bald]] against [[Pepin II of Aquitaine]], was key in the [[Carolingian Civil War]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

===County of Toulouse===
{{further|County of Toulouse}}
[[File:Raymond IV of Toulouse.jpg|thumb|[[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]] was a leader of the [[First Crusade]].]]
[[File:La_chambre_de_Saint_Dominique_(maison_Seilhan)_-_panoramio.jpg|thumb|St Dominic's room at [[Maison Seilhan]] is considered the birthplace of the [[Dominican Order]].]]
[[File:Couvent des Jacobins de Toulouse - Autel de St Thomas d'Aquin.jpg|thumb|Burial of [[Thomas Aquinas|Saint Thomas Aquinas]] in the [[church of the Jacobins]] in Toulouse]]
[[File:Détail_Annales_1413.jpg|thumb|Over nearly 5 centuries the [[capitoul]]s (the municipal consuls) held an exceptional collection of their portraits in the [[Handwritten Annals of the City of Toulouse|municipal annals]].]]
[[File:Salle des illustres 12.JPG|thumb|Painting representing the first session of the poetry contest of the ''[[Consistori del Gay Saber]]'' (later known as the Academy of the Floral Games), the oldest literary society in Europe]]
[[File:Parliaments and Sovereign Councils of the Kingdom of France in 1789 (fr).png|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Parlement of Toulouse]] was the second most important and oldest in the kingdom after that of Paris, making Toulouse the judicial capital of a large part of southern France.]]
[[File:Pastel pigment cocagnes et feuilles - Muséum du pastel.jpg|thumb|The woad trade, which was the only source of blue dye at the time in Europe, made the fortune of the merchants of Toulouse during the Renaissance.]]
[[File:1650 - Toulouse, ville capitale du Languedoc, archevesché, parlement et université.jpg|thumb|1650 - Toulouse, capital of [[Languedoc]]]]
[[File:Capitole Toulouse - Salle des Illustres.jpg|thumb|The vast Hall of the Illustrious (''Salle des Illustres'') in the [[Capitole de Toulouse|Capitole]] presents numerous paintings and sculptures illustrating the history of Toulouse.]]

Charlemagne had created the county of Toulouse in 778 to guard the border of Muslim Spain, but the disintegration of the kingdom of Aquitaine and the weakness of royal power in the following centuries led to the ''de facto'' independence of the county of Toulouse and many provinces.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, southern France was still steeped in Latin culture. Unlike the north of France, justice followed written Roman law and the nobles were highly educated. This was the time of the [[troubadours]] who wrote their poetry in [[Occitania|Occitan]] (called "Provençal" at the time), then one of the most sophisticated languages in Europe. Like the other great lords of the [[Southern France|Midi]], the counts of Toulouse maintained and favoured these poets, this is how Count [[Raymond V, Count of Toulouse|Raymond V]] employed for some time the famous [[Bernart de Ventadorn|Bernard de Ventadour]], expert in singing [[courtly love]].<ref name="Guide_Michelin">''Pyrénées Toulouse Gers'', Le Guide Vert Michelin, 2016.</ref>

In 1096, [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]], left with his army at the call of the [[Pope Urban II]] to join the [[First Crusade]], of which he was one of the main leaders.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Jotischky|first=Andrew|title=Crusading and the Crusader States|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-582-41851-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rTUlDwAAQBAJ}}</ref> This exodus of its warriors and nobles, reinforced by the creation of the faraway [[County of Tripoli]] by Raymond IV at the beginning of the 12th century, weakened the city militarily as well as the ascendancy that its counts had over it. The Duke [[William IX of Aquitaine]] challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife [[Philippa, Countess of Toulouse|Philippa]] (daughter of the [[William IV, Count of Toulouse|previous count of Toulouse]], whereas Raymond IV was only his brother). More than 50 years later his granddaughter [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] still claimed the inheritance in vain.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In the 12th century the city left its Roman limits and a new district developed around the [[Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse|church of Saint-Sernin]]: the ''Bourg''. The church of Saint-Sernin was famous and revered for its many relics, and the chapter of its canons, which had possessions as far away as Spain, was powerful enough to free itself from the control of the bishop of Toulouse. This dissent had important local political repercussions, making the ''Bourg'' in practice a separate district from the city. In 1152, the notables of Toulouse took advantage of a weakening of the county power to obtain for their city a great autonomy, they created a municipal body of consuls, called [[capitoul]]s in Toulouse, to lead the city. The ''Bourg'', which had only a quarter of the inhabitants of Toulouse, obtained as many capitouls as the rest of the city.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/> Economically, Toulouse, which was at the center of a large cereal-growing plain, was distinguished by its numerous mills that took advantage of the force of the Garonne, among which the [[Bazacle Milling Company]] was the first recorded European joint-stock company.

==== The fight against Catharism and its various aspects ====
At the beginning of the thirteenth century the County of Toulouse was caught up in [[Albigensian Crusade|another crusade]] that would last twenty years (1209-1229), of which it was the target this time. The reason for this was the development of [[Catharism]] in the south of France, which the [[Pope Innocent III]] wanted to eradicate by all possible means.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

After an initial victory of the crusaders led by [[Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] who defeated the combined forces of Count [[Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse|Raymond VI of Toulouse]] and King [[Peter II of Aragon]] at the [[Battle of Muret]], the following years saw the fate of the county of Toulouse swing alternately in favour of one party or the other. Finally, a late intervention by King [[Louis VIII of France]] in 1226 tipped the balance in favour of the crusaders, resulting in the submission of Count [[Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse|Raymond VII]] to the French Crown and the end of the independence of the County of Toulouse.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

But beyond the military crusade, this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse:
* The [[Dominican Order]] was founded in Toulouse by [[Saint Dominic]] in 1215. Spanish priest Dominic de Guzmán wanted to convert the Cathars to Catholicism peacefully, by preaching and by living a poor and exemplary life. After years of criss-crossing the [[Lauraguais]] countryside between Carcassonne and Toulouse, he changed his method and decided to preach in town. In 1215 he settled in Toulouse and founded a [[mendicant order]] which, within a few decades, would cover Europe with hundreds of convents: The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, [[Folquet de Marselha|Foulques]], an original and austere architectural style was born in Toulouse, designed to break with the display of luxury of the Catholic church which drove the faithful towards the Cathars: the [[Southern French Gothic]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* In the [[Treaty of Paris (1229)|Treaty of Paris of 1229]], Toulouse formally submitted to the crown of France. The county's sole heiress [[Joan, Countess of Toulouse|Joan]] was engaged to [[Alphonse, Count of Poitiers]], a younger brother of [[Louis IX of France]]. The marriage became legal in 1241, but it remained childless and so after Joan's death, the county fell to the [[Crown of France]] by inheritance.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* Another consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the creation of the [[University of Toulouse]], established on the [[University of Paris|Parisian model]], strongly sponsored by the pope and intended as a means to dissolve the heretic movement.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>{{cite book |last1= Blackburn|first1= William Maxwell|date= 1879|title= History of the Christian Church from Its Origin to the Present Time|language= en|location= |publisher= Cranston and Stowe|page= 309}}</ref>
* Also in 1229, the [[Council of Toulouse]] was held, which laid the foundations for the long period of [[Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition]] that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

===Kingdom of France===
In 1271, Joan of Toulouse and her husband Alphonse of Poitiers died without heirs. Toulouse, which since the treaty of 1229 had been subordinate to the [[kingdom of France]], no longer had a count and was annexed to [[Crown lands of France#Reign of Philip III|the royal domain]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/> The installation of numerous royal officers and the development of trade and crafts, which favoured the social ascension of merchants, renewed the city's elites. In 1298, [[Philip IV of France|King Philip the Fair]] greatly facilitated the possibility of ennobling the capitouls, whose council, renewed every year, was increasingly made up of rich merchants.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

The first half of the 14th century was a prosperous period, despite the dismemberment in 1317 of the very large bishopric of Toulouse (which lost two thirds of its area and a large part of its income, a loss only partially compensated by its elevation to the rank of archbishopric), and the episode of the [[Shepherds' Crusade (1320)|Shepherds' Crusade]] which brought a [[pogrom]] against Toulouse's Jewish population in 1320.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/is-it-time-for-the-jews-to-leave-europe/386279/." |title=Goldberg, Jeffrey. "Is it Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?" The Atlantic. April 2015. |website=[[The Atlantic]] |date=16 March 2015 |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref> In 1335, Toulouse had between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In 1323, the ''[[Consistori del Gay Saber]]'' was created in Toulouse to preserve the [[Lyric poetry|lyric art]] of the [[troubadour]]s by organizing a poetry contest; and Toulouse became the centre of [[Occitania|Occitan]] literary culture for the following centuries. The ''Consistori'' is considered to be the oldest literary society in Europe, at the origin of one of the most sophisticated [[Leys d'amor|treatise]] on grammar and rhetoric of the Middle Ages, and in 1694 it was transformed into the Royal Academy of the [[Floral Games]] (''Académie des Jeux Floraux''), still active today, by king [[Louis XIV]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

The 14th century also saw a significant increase in the influence of the University of Toulouse, particularly following the move of the papacy from Rome to Avignon. Many law graduates from the University of Toulouse had brilliant careers in the [[Avignon Papacy|Avignon curia]], several became cardinals and three became popes: [[Pope John XXII|John XXII]], [[Pope Innocent VI|Innocent VI]] and [[Pope Urban V|Urban V]]. These powerful prelates financed the establishment of colleges in the university towns of southern France, not only Toulouse but also Montpellier, Cahors and Avignon.<ref name="Cyril Eugene Smith">Cyril Eugene Smith: "University of Toulouse in the middle ages, its origins and growth to 1500 AD." Ed. The Marquette university press, 1958.</ref>

The [[Black Death]] in 1348, then the [[Hundred Years' War]] caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/> Despite strong immigration, the population lost more than 10,000 inhabitants in 70 years. By 1405 Toulouse had only 19,000 people.<ref>Biraben, Jean-Noël. ''La Population de Toulouse au XIVe et au XVe siècles [Pierre Wolff, Les Estimes toulousaines du XIVe et XVe siècles]''. Journal des savants, 1964, p. 300.</ref> In these hardships, the city was the key stronghold of the French defence in the south of France during the worst years of the Hundred Years' War, when the English troops from Aquitaine had taken Montauban and only Toulouse remained as an obstacle to their conquest of southern France. This military threat to the city and especially to the surrounding countryside was not conducive to its development, despite the strengthening of ties with the royalty that it entailed.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In 1369, pope [[Urban V]] attributed to the Dominican church of the [[Church of the Jacobins|Jacobins of Toulouse]] the bones of the Dominican theologian [[Thomas Aquinas|Saint Thomas Aquinas]], perhaps to honor the city that had been the cradle of the Dominican order at the beginning of the previous century.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

The political and economic situation improved by the middle of the 15th century.<ref>Brumont, Francis. ''La commercialisation du pastel toulousain (1350–1600)''. Privat presse, 1994, p. 27.</ref> In 1443 King [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] established the second [[Parlement of Toulouse|parlement]] of France after that of Paris. Reinforcing its place as an administrative and judicial center, the city grew richer, participating in the trade of [[Bordeaux wine]] with England, as well as cereals and textiles. A major source of income was the production and export of ''pastel'', a blue dye made from [[Isatis tinctoria|woad]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.terredepastel.com/le-pastel// |title=terredepastel.com |publisher=terredepastel.com |access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>

Toulouse suffered several fires, but it was in 1463 that the Great Fire of Toulouse broke out, ravaging the city for fifteen days. After this dramatic event, King Louis XIII exempted the city from taxes for 100 years. The capitouls issued municipal decrees favouring the use of brick in buildings, rather than excessively flammable wood or cob.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In the 16th century, and until 1562, the economy of Toulouse experienced a golden age: its parlement made it the judicial capital of a large part of southern France, and the city became the first European centre for the trade in woad, the only blue dye then known in Europe which was very much in demand in the textile industry at the time. Its humanist milieu developed thanks to its university and parlement, which trained and attracted intellectual elites. The wealth generated by this culturally and economically dynamic environment is the source of the superb [[Renaissance architecture of Toulouse|Renaissance mansions]] in Toulouse. In 1550 the population of the city made it the second or third largest city in France. It was estimated to have 50,000 inhabitants, a figure it would not regain until the 18th century.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref name="Toulouse-renaissance">Collective work directed by Pascal Julien, «catalogue de l'exposition Toulouse Renaissance» ("Toulouse Renaissance exhibition catalogue"), Somogy éditions d'art, 2018.</ref>

In 1562, the [[French Wars of Religion]] began and Toulouse became an ultra-Catholic stronghold in a predominantly [[Huguenots|Huguenot]] region, the era of economic prosperity came to an end. The governor of Languedoc, [[Henri II de Montmorency]], who had rebelled, was executed in 1632 in the [[Capitole de Toulouse|Capitole]] in the presence of King [[Louis XIII]] and [[Cardinal Richelieu]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In 1666, [[Pierre-Paul Riquet]] started the construction of the [[Canal du Midi]] which links Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea, and is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century. Completed in 1681, the canal stimulated the economy of Toulouse by promoting the export of cereals and the import of olive oil, wine and other goods from the Mediterranean regions.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

In the 18th century, Toulouse was a provincial capital that prided itself on its royal academies (the only city in France, along with Paris, to have three royal academies), but sometimes seemed far removed from the debates of ideas that agitated the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>Michel Taillefer, "''Toulouse au temps des Lumières : L'Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres de Toulouse au XVIIIe siècle''".</ref> A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of the time: in 1762 its powerful parlement sentenced [[Jean Calas]] to death. The philosopher [[Voltaire]] then accused the Parlement of Toulouse of religious intolerance (Calas was a Huguenot), gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parlement quashed by the King's Council, which did much damage to the reputation of the parlement. It was on this occasion that Voltaire published one of his major philosophical works: his famous ''[[Treatise on Tolerance]]''.

With the [[French Revolution]] of 1789 and the reform or suppression of all royal institutions, Toulouse lost much of its power and influence: until then the capital of the vast province of Languedoc, with a parlement ruling over an even larger territory, the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of [[Haute-Garonne]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

===19th century===
On 10 April 1814, four days after [[Napoleon]]'s surrender of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] to the nations of the [[Sixth Coalition]] (a fact that the two armies involved were not yet aware of), the [[Battle of Toulouse (1814)|Battle of Toulouse]] pitted the Hispanic-British troops of Field Marshal [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]] against the French troops of Napoleonic Marshal [[Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult|Soult]], who, although they managed to resist, were forced to withdraw. Toulouse was thus the scene of the last Franco-British battle on French territory.<ref>Anne Le Stang, ''Histoire de Toulouse illustrée'', {{p.|150}}.</ref>

Unlike most large French cities, there was no real industrial revolution in 19th century Toulouse.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The most important industries were the gunpowder factory, to meet military needs, and the tobacco factory. In 1856 the railway arrived in Toulouse and the city was modernised: the ramparts were replaced by large boulevards, and major avenues such as the ''rue d'Alsace-Lorraine'' and the ''rue de Metz'' opened up the historic centre.

In 1875, a flood of the Garonne devastated more than 1,000 houses and killed 200 people. It also destroyed all the bridges in Toulouse, except the [[Pont Neuf, Toulouse|Pont-Neuf]].<ref>Spécial météo à Toulouse, ''L'Express'', nº 2948, semaine du 3 au 9 janvier 2008, ''Les crues les plus dévastatrices'', p. II.</ref>

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Lignes_Aeriennes_Latécoére_(Latécoére-Toulouse).jpg|thumb|The epic of l'[[Aéropostale (aviation)|Aéropostale]] has written some of the most beautiful pages in the history of aviation in Toulouse.]]
[[World War I]] brought to Toulouse (geographically sheltered from enemy attacks) chemical industries as well as aviation workshops ([[Pierre-Georges Latécoère|Latécoère]], [[Dewoitine]]), which launched the city's aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to the famous ''[[Aéropostale (aviation)|Aéropostale]]'', a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse and whose epics were popularised by the novels of writers such as [[Joseph Kessel]] and [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]] (himself an ''Aéropostale'' pilot).<ref>Benoît Heimermann and Olivier Margot: ''L'aéropostale: la fabuleuse épopée de Mermoz, Saint-Exupéry, Guillaumet'', Arthaud editor, 1994.</ref><ref name="PetiteHistoireDeToulouse">Jean-Marie Pailler, Annick Thomas and Jack Thomas: ''Petite Histoire de Toulouse'', Éditions Cairn, 2017.</ref>

In the 1920s and 1930s the rise of the Toulouse population was increased by the arrival of Italians and Spaniards fleeing the fascist regimes of their country. Then, in the early 1960s, [[Pieds-noirs|French repatriates]] from [[Algerian War|Algeria]] swelled the city's population.<ref name="PetiteHistoireDeToulouse"/>

In 1963, Toulouse was chosen to become one of the country's eight "balancing Metropolis", regaining a position among the country's major cities that it had always had, but lost in the 19th century. The French state then encouraged the city's specialisation in aeronautics and space activities, sectors that had experienced strong growth in recent decades, fueling economic and population growth.<ref name="PetiteHistoireDeToulouse"/>

On 21 September 2001, an [[Toulouse chemical factory explosion|explosion]] occurred at the AZF fertiliser factory, causing 31 deaths, about 30 seriously wounded and 2,500 light casualties. The blast measured 3.4 on the [[Richter scale]] and the explosion was heard {{convert|80|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} away.<ref name="PetiteHistoireDeToulouse"/><ref>{{Citation | first = Pascal | last = Barbier | title = Urban Growth Analysis Within a High Technological Risk Area: Case of AZF Factory Explosion in Tolouse (France) | year = 2003 | publisher = Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques | url = http://www.adpc.net/casita/Case_studies/Technological%20hazard%20and%20risk%20assessment/AZF_CASE_STUDY_REPORT_v2.doc | access-date = 9 March 2022 | archive-date = 3 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200803092848/http://www.adpc.net/casita/Case_studies/Technological | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 2016, a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] of [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitanie]], the second largest region in metropolitan France, giving it a role commensurate with its past as a provincial capital among the most important in France.<ref name="PetiteHistoireDeToulouse"/>

==Population==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:240px; font-size:90%; margin-right:10px; margin:10px"
|- style="background:#020;"
! colspan="5"| Historical population<ref name="pop_UU">{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=UU2020-00758#ancre-POP_T1 |title=Unité urbaine 2020 de Toulouse (00758)|publisher=INSEE |access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="pop_AAV">{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=AAV2020-005#ancre-POP_T1 |title=Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Toulouse (005)|publisher=INSEE |access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref><ref name=compterr/>
|- style="background:#efefef;"
|
| style="text-align:center;"| '''[[Unité urbaine|Urban Area]]'''
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[functional area (France)|Metropolitan<br/>Area]]'''
|-
| 1695|| align=center | 43,000 ||
|-
| 1750|| align=center | 48,000 ||
|-
| 1790|| align=center | 52,863 ||
|-
| 1801|| align=center | 50,171 ||
|-
| 1831|| align=center | 59,630 ||
|-
| 1851|| align=center | 95,277 ||
|-
| 1872|| align=center | 126,936 ||
|-
| 1911|| align=center | 149,000 ||
|-
| 1936 || align=center | 213,220 ||
|-
| 1946 || align=center | 264,411 ||
|-
| 1954 || align=center | 268,865 ||
|-
| 1962 || align=center | 329,044 ||
|-
| 1968 || align=center | 489,293 || align=center | 687,804
|-
| 1975 || align=center | 570,217 || align=center | 776,960
|-
| 1982 || align=center | 601,576 || align=center | 827,714
|-
| 1990 || align=center | 683,436 || align=center | 935,009
|-
| 1999 || align=center | 782,296 || align=center | 1,062,974
|-
| 2007 || align=center | 888,479 || align=center | 1,235,746
|-
| 2012 || align=center | 940,016 || align=center | 1,322,271
|-
| 2017 || align=center | 1,004,747 || align=center | 1,414,936
|-
| 2022 || align="center" | 1,081,726 || align="center" | 1,513,396
|}

The population of the city proper (French: ''[[Commune of France|commune]]'') was 511,684 as of January 2022, with 1,513,396 inhabitants in the [[functional area (France)|metropolitan area]],<ref name=compterr/> up from 1,268,438 at the January 2009 census.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2008&selcodgeo=005&view=map13 |title=Statistiques locales - Toulouse : Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)|author=INSEE |author-link=INSEE |access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref> Thus, the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.63% per year between 2009 and 2021, the third-highest growth rate of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France, after [[Montpellier]] and [[Bordeaux]], although it was slightly lower than the growth rate registered between the 1990 and 2009 censuses. Toulouse is the fourth most populated city in France, after [[Paris]], [[Marseille]] and [[Lyon]], and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and [[Lille]]. During the next census 2023 or 2024, the city of Toulouse should become the 3rd most populous city in France ahead of Lyon because its growth is stronger.

{{Historical populations
| align = left
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|37818|Toulouse}}</ref> and INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-31555#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref><ref name=pop2022/>
| graph-pos = bottom
| title= Historical population of the commune of Toulouse
|1793 | 52612
|1800 | 50171
|1806 | 51689
|1821 | 52328
|1831 | 59639
|1836.29 | 77372
|1841.29 | 90368
|1846.37 | 94227
|1851.37 | 96564
|1856.13 | 103144
|1861.2 | 113714
|1866.2 | 126936
|1872.2 | 124852
|1876.71 | 131642
|1881.87 | 140289
|1886.410959 | 147617
|1891.278452 | 149791
|1896.241096 | 149963
|1901.227397 | 149841
|1906.172603 | 149438
|1911.180822 | 149576
|1921.180822 | 175434
|1926.180822 | 180771
|1931.180822 | 194564
|1936.180822 | 213220
|1946.180822 | 264411
|1954.356164 | 268863
|1962.180822 | 323724
|1968.180822 | 370796
|1975.139726 | 373796
|1982.180822 | 347995
|1990.180822 | 358688
|1999.180822 | 390350
|2007 |439453
|2012 |453317
|2017 |479553
|2022 |511684
}}

Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, the Toulouse metropolitan area's population grew by 57.3% between the 1990 and 2020 censuses (within its 2020 borders), which means +1.52% per year on average during those 30 years, compared with a growth of 15.3% for [[metropolitan France]] between 1990 and 2020, i.e. +0.48% per year. This was the second-highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants (only the [[Montpellier]] metropolitan area grew more than Toulouse between 1990 and 2019).

The Toulouse metropolitan area reached 1,513,396 inhabitants in January 2022, and stood as the 5th most populated metropolitan area in France, behind the metropolitan areas of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille, but ahead of the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, which the Toulouse metropolitan area passed in population in the 1990s. During the next census 2023, the metropolitan area of Toulouse will become the 4th most populous in France ahead of Lille because its growth is stronger.

A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2,500 Jewish families in Toulouse.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 2012 |title=Killings sour good life for high-flying Toulouse |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/france-shootings-toulouse-idUSL6E8EK81420120320 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref> A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35,000 Muslims in town.<ref>{{cite news|last=Irish |first=John |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-shootings-toulouse-idUSBRE82J17C20120320 |title=Killings sour good life for high-flying Toulouse |date=20 March 2012 |agency=Reuters.com |access-date=1 October 2013}}</ref>

===Immigration===

{|class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Foreign-born population in Toulouse by country of birth<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8202125?sommaire=8202145&geo=COM-31555 | title=IMG1B - Population immigrée par sexe, âge et pays de naissance en2021 − Recensement de la population – Résultats pour toutes les communes, départements, régions, intercommunalités... −Étrangers - Immigrés en 2021 &#124; Insee }}</ref>
|-
! Country of birth||Population (2020)
|-
|{{flagu|Algeria}} ||14,152
|-
|{{flagu|Morocco}} ||11,887
|-
|{{flagu|Spain}} ||5,542
|-
|{{flagu|Tunisia}} ||3,943
|-
|{{flagu|Portugal}} ||2,983
|-
|{{flagu|Italy}} ||2,386
|-
|{{flagu|Romania}} ||1,415
|-
|{{flagu|Vietnam}} ||1,348
|-
|{{flagu|Madagascar}} ||1,346
|-
|{{flagu|Ivory Coast}} ||1,198
|}

==Government and politics==

===Toulouse Métropole===
[[File:Capitole Toulouse - Le donjon.jpg|thumb|Former tower of the city archives and meeting place of the capitouls, 1525-1530]]
{{Main|Toulouse Métropole}}
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 fewer powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent ''communes'', covering an area of {{convert|380|km²|0|abbr=on}}, totalling 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. Since 2009, the Community of agglomeration has become an urban community (in French: communauté urbaine). This has become a [[métropole]] in 2015, spanning 37 communes with 806,503 inhabitants in 2020 census.<ref name=decret>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000029497463|title=Décret n° 2014-1078 du 22 septembre 2014 portant création de la métropole dénommée " Toulouse Métropole " &#124; Legifrance|access-date=30 June 2017}}</ref>

===Local politics===
[[File:Capitole et croix occitane.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Toulouse's city hall, the [[Capitole de Toulouse]], and the square of the same name with the [[Occitan cross]] designed by [[Raymond Moretti]] on the ground]]
[[File:31 - Toulouse - Les armes de la ville de Toulouse – Théophile Barrau.jpg|thumb|Coats of arms of Toulouse: Saint-Sernin church and Comtal castle frame a paschal lamb bearing the [[Occitan cross|Toulouse cross]]]]
[[File:Jean-Luc Moudenc, maire (LR) de Toulouse.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Luc Moudenc]], mayor of Toulouse]]

One of the major political figures in Toulouse was [[Dominique Baudis]], the [[Mayor (France)|mayor]] of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist [[Union for French Democracy|UDF]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Laval |first=Gilbert |title=Toulouse, un legs difficile pour Douste-Blazy. Baudis adoube le chef des députés UDF pour sa succession municipale en 2001. |url=https://www.liberation.fr/france/2000/01/28/toulouse-un-legs-difficile-pour-douste-blazy-baudis-adoube-le-chef-des-deputes-udf-pour-sa-successio_313183/ |access-date=2 February 2023 |website=Libération |language=fr}}</ref> First known as a journalist known for his coverage of the war in [[Lebanon]], 36-year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father [[Pierre Baudis]] in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.)

Baudis 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 [[History of Toulouse|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 [[Bronze sculpture|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. Line A of the [[Rapid transit|underground]] was opened in 1993, and line B opened in 2007. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the [[The Greens (France)|Green Party]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bonjourlafrance.com/france-city/toulouse-france/toulouse-politics.htm |title=Toulouse politics information |publisher=Bonjourlafrance.com |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-date=28 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828091616/http://www.bonjourlafrance.com/france-city/toulouse-france/toulouse-politics.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} 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 [[Union for French Democracy|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 [[Federal Communications Commission|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 (factory)|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]].

At the next elections in 2014 Moudenc defeated Cohen in a rematch to re-take the job with more than 52% of the votes, and he was re-elected with almost the same score in 2020.

===Mayors===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Mayor (France)|Mayor]]
! Term start
! Term end
! class=unsortable|&nbsp;
! Party
|-
|Raymond Badiou
|align=center|1944
|align=center|September 1958
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|French Section of the Workers' International}}" |
|[[French Section of the Workers' International|SFIO]]
|-
|G. Carrère
|align=center|September 1958
|align=center|16 October 1958
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|French Section of the Workers' International}}" |
|[[French Section of the Workers' International|SFIO]]
|-
|[[Louis Bazerque]]
|align=center|16 October 1958
|align=center|1971
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|French Section of the Workers' International}}" |
|[[French Section of the Workers' International|SFIO]]
|-
|[[Pierre Baudis]]
|align=center|March 1971
|align=center|March 1983
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for French Democracy (alliance)}}" |
|[[Union for French Democracy|UDF]]
|-
|[[Dominique Baudis]]
|align=center|March 1983
|align=center|23 January 2001
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for French Democracy (alliance)}}" |
|[[Union for French Democracy|UDF]]
|-
|Guy Hersant
|align=center|23 January 2001
|align=center|23 March 2001
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for French Democracy (alliance)}}" |
|[[Union for French Democracy|UDF]]
|-
|[[Philippe Douste-Blazy]]
|align=center|23 March 2001
|align=center|30 April 2004
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for French Democracy (alliance)}}" |
|[[Union for French Democracy|UDF]]
|-
|[[Françoise de Veyrinas]]
|align=center|30 April 2004
|align=center|6 May 2004
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for a Popular Movement}}" |
|[[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
|-
|[[Jean-Luc Moudenc]]
|align=center|6 May 2004
|align=center|17 March 2008
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for a Popular Movement}}" |
|[[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
|-
|[[Pierre Cohen]]
|align=center|17 March 2008
|align=center|4 April 2014
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Socialist Party (France)}}" |
|[[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
|-
|[[Jean-Luc Moudenc]]
|align=center|4 April 2014
|align=center|''incumbent''
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Union for a Popular Movement}}" |
|[[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
|-
|}
{{clear}}

==Sights and architecture==
[[File:Foraine brick en.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Format differences between a "foraine" brick and a standard brick]]

Classified "City of Art and History", Toulouse has a very rich architectural heritage ranging from large Romanesque and Gothic churches to neo-classical facades such as that of the Capitole, to the prestigious mansions of the Renaissance. This ancient heritage is mainly enclosed within the 220 hectares of the city's inner boulevard (one of the largest protected urban areas in France).{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Almost all the buildings of the historical centre were made with the traditional building material of the region: the "foraine" brick that has earned the city the nickname of ''Ville rose'' (Pink city). Medieval heir to the [[Roman brick]], the "foraine" brick is characterised by its large dimensions, its flat appearance and its colour ranging from orange/pink to red.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1241184281 |title=A cultural history of color |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4742-7373-2 |editor-last=Wharton |editor-first=David |location=London, UK; New York, NY, USA |oclc=on1241184281 |editor-last2=Biggam |editor-first2=C. P. |editor-last3=Wolf |editor-first3=Kirsten |editor-last4=Buono |editor-first4=Amy |editor-last5=Dupré |editor-first5=Sven |editor-last6=Loske |editor-first6=Alexandra |editor-last7=Steinvall |editor-first7=Anders |editor-last8=Street |editor-first8=Sarah}}</ref>

White stone is also present in smaller quantities. As there were no stone quarries near Toulouse, it was transported from the [[Pyrenees]] via the Garonne river and was for a long time rare and therefore expensive, considered in Toulouse as a luxury material.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} However, it is enough to give Toulouse's architecture one of its characteristics: red/white polychromy.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

===Romanesque architecture (11th-12th c.)===
[[File:Mur roman.jpg|thumb|Remains of a Romanesque brick wall in the ''Jardin des Plantes'']]

The Romanesque architecture of Toulouse is largely dominated by the presence of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, one of the most important churches of its time in Europe, and fortunate enough to keep its Romanesque character virtually intact.

====Basilica of Saint-Sernin====
[[Saint-Sernin Basilica|Basilica of Saint-Sernin]], part of the [[Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France|Way of Saint James]] [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]], was also in itself a major place of pilgrimage. It is one of the two largest surviving [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] churches in Europe.<ref group="note">[[Speyer cathedral]] is slightly larger, but unlike Saint-Sernin this church has been largely destroyed and rebuilt in its history, so the question of which is the largest remaining Romanesque church depends on the criteria chosen as to Romanesque character.</ref> With more than two hundred relics (including that of [[Saturnin|Saint Saturnin]] who gave his name to the church), many of which were donated by [[Charlemagne]] to the shrine that preceded the present church, Saint-Sernin is the church with the most relics after Saint Peter of Rome.<ref name="PatrimoineRevele">Jean-Claude Jaffé, "''Toulouse, le patrimoine révélé''". Éditions Privat, 2013.</ref>

Conceived from the outset as a gigantic reliquary, the church was mainly built at the end of the 11th century and at the beginning of the 12th century to welcome the crowds of pilgrims, its double-sided aisles and the ambulatory surrounding the apse make it the archetype of the great pilgrimage church, where pilgrims could make the circuit around the church and were able to stop for meditation and prayer at the apsidal chapels of the transept and the radiating chapels of the choir. The church is also particularly noteworthy for the quality of its Romanesque sculptures, including numerous capitals and the historiated tympanum of the Miègeville gate, one of the first of its kind.<ref name="SeeYouInToulouse">Quitterie and Daniel Cazes, "See you in Toulouse". Éditions Sud-Ouest, 2018.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Basilica of Saint-Sernin">
File:Basilique_Saint-Sernin_de_Toulouse_-_exposition_ouest-1-.jpg|Basilica of Saint-Sernin
File:Toulouse Saint Sernin (2012.08) 08.jpg|The east side is the oldest part.
File:Tympan_de_la_porte_Miegeville.jpg|Romanesque tympanum of Miègeville gate (late 11th c. or early 12th c.)
File:Console_aux_personnages_symmétiques.JPG|Romanesque sculptures
File:Nef de la Basilique Saint-Sernin. - FRAC31555 18Fi019.jpg|The central nave of the church
</gallery>

===Gothic architecture (13th c.-early 16th c.)===

====Southern French Gothic: a militant religious architecture====
{{see also|Southern French Gothic}}
[[file:Toulouse - Jacobins et ND du Taur.jpg|thumb|Southern French Gothic bell towers and churches]]
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Catholic clergy of the South of France, seeing a growing number of the faithful turning to the [[Catharism]] which advocated a more pious austerity, showed the will to correct the defects of the Catholic Church which indulged in luxury. Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, [[Folquet de Marselha|Foulques]], an austere and militant architectural style was born with the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Toulouse: the '''Southern French Gothic'''. Conceived according to an ideal of poverty and humility to bring the faithful together in a single, vast nave to facilitate preaching, this architectural style then developed during the 13th century in the grand [[Mendicant orders|mendicant convents]] of the city, before spreading in the 14th century to a large number of churches and cathedrals in the region.<ref name="DossierVMF">Caroline de Barrau, "''Le gothique toulousain, un art militant''", in magazine VMF of march 2010 (''revue des Vieilles Maisons Françaises''), in French.</ref>

Several churches or convents in Toulouse belong to this architectural trend, but two of them are particularly symbolic and remarkable:
* [[Toulouse Cathedral|Cathedral of Saint-Étienne]] (Saint Stephen) is the seat of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse]]. Its construction, which was mainly done at the beginning and then at the end of the 13th century, reflects the history of this decisive century which saw the city lose its independence to become a French city. The single nave is the first example of Southern French Gothic, at 19 metres wide it probably was at its completion the widest in Western Europe (1210-1220). The higher choir that adjoins it was built in the Gothic style of northern France shortly after the city became part of the Crown of France in 1271.<ref name="DossierVMF"/>
* [[Church of the Jacobins|Convent of the Jacobins]] (13th century / early 14th century) was the Dominican convent of Toulouse and is considered to be, together with the [[Albi Cathedral]], the pinnacle of Southern French Gothic architecture.<ref name="UnescoAlbi">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1337.pdf|title=''La Cité épiscopale d'Albi'' (Episcopal City of Albi). Nomination document produced by French state for inscription on the world heritage list, p. 875, chapter comparing the Cathedral of Albi with the Jacobin Convent of Toulouse (in French)|last=|first=|publisher=World Heritage Centre (UNESCO)|year=2009|location=}}</ref> Like all Southern French Gothic churches it has a deliberately austere exterior, but on the inside its alignment of cylindrical columns form one of the tallest colonnades ever erected in Gothic architecture (28 metres high).<ref name="SeeYouInToulouse"/> The masterpiece of this church is the column that closes the choir (1275-1292), its palm tree shape was a hundred years ahead of the flamboyant gothic [[fan vault]]s.<ref name="UnescoAlbi"/> Because he thought that the bones of [[Saint Thomas Aquinas]] deserved «the most beautiful and most splendid surroundings»,<ref name="SeeYouInToulouse"/> in 1368 [[Pope Urban V]] made the church of the Jacobins the burial place of the famous Dominican friar, one of the most notable philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Southern French Gothic religious architecture">
File:Façade_de_la_cathédrale_Saint-Étienne_de_Toulouse.jpg|Toulouse cathedral
File:Ancienne nef, cathédrale Saint-Étienne, Toulouse.jpg|Southern French Gothic nave and northern Gothic choir
File:Couvent_des_Jacobins_de_Toulouse.jpg|Church of the Jacobins, exterior (13th c.)
File:Toulouse-Jacobins-voûte.jpg|The vault of the Jacobins and its famous palm tree
File:Cloître_et_clocher_des_Jacobins.jpg|Cloister (14th c.) and bell tower (1298) of the Jacobins
File:Augustins - Grand cloître et clocher des Augustins de Toulouse.jpg|Augustinian Convent (14th c.)
File:31 - Eglise Notre-Dame du Taur - Facade.jpg|Wall belfry of Notre-Dame du Taur (14th c.)
</gallery>

====Gothic civil architecture====
Toulouse has preserved about thirty Gothic stair towers (plus a dozen Renaissance or later towers),<ref>Jean-François Gourdou, "''Tours tolosanes''", Éditions Privat, 2008.</ref> the remains of private mansions (called ''[[hôtel particulier|hôtels particuliers]]'') from the Middle Ages and the early 16th century. Often hidden in courtyards, some of these towers are high enough to exceed their function of serving the floors and display the ambition of their owners.

At a time when most of the houses in Toulouse were built in wood or [[Cob (material)|cob]], the brick construction of these towers and ''hôtels'' also testifies to their quality.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Gothic civil architecture">
File:Toulouse - Tour de Séguy 1477 01.jpg|Séguy tower, 1477
File:Toulouse - Tour de Boysson.jpg|Boysson tower, 1478
File:Delfau-sommet-2.jpg|Delfau tower, 1497
File:Lancefoc et Serta.jpg|Lancefoc tower (late 15th c.) and Serta tower (1529)
File:Olmieres-tour.jpg|Olmières tower, 1503
File:Toulouse - Tour de Bernuy.jpg|Bernuy tower, 1504
File:Bruni-tour.jpg|Bruni tower, 1510
File:Tour de Berenguier Bonnefoy 1513.JPG|Beringuier Bonnefoy tower, 1513
File:2_rue_Saint-Rome_-_Tour_Serta.jpg|Serta tower, 1529
File:Toulouse_-_Maison_Pierre_Delfau_-_Porche_PA00094614.jpg|Door of the Hotel Delfau
</gallery>

===Renaissance architecture (16th c.-early 17th c.)===
{{Main|Renaissance architecture of Toulouse}}
In the 16th century, Toulouse experienced a golden age coinciding with the Renaissance in France. The [[Isatis tinctoria|woad trade]] (''pastel'') brought merchants of international stature to the city, and the [[Parlement of Toulouse]] made the city the judicial capital of a large part of the south of France. These wealthy elites had private mansions built, remarkable for their architecture inspired by architectural treatises such as those of [[Sebastiano Serlio|Serlio]], [[Leon Battista Alberti|Alberti]] or [[Vitruvius]], but also by the royal castles of the [[Châteaux of the Loire Valley|Loire Valley]] and the [[History of Île-de-France|Île-de-France]].<ref name="Toulouse-renaissance"/>

Renowned for the quality of their architecture, the private mansions of the Toulouse Renaissance that have survived to the present day were built over more than a century (around 1515–1620) by reputed architects such as Louis Privat, [[Nicolas Bachelier]], Dominique Bachelier or [[Pierre Souffron]]. The most famous of these ''hôtels'' are those of [[Hôtel d'Assézat|Assézat]], [[Hôtel de Bernuy|Bernuy]], [[Hôtel du Vieux-Raisin|Vieux-Raisin]] or [[Hôtel de Bagis|Clary]]...<ref name="Toulouse-renaissance"/>

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Renaissance private mansions">
File:Hôtel d'Assézat - Main courtyard - 2014-09-01.jpg|Classical facades of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Assezat-15(1).jpg|Hôtel d'Assézat
File:Toulouse - Voûte de l'hôtel de Bernuy.jpg|Low vault of hôtel de Bernuy
File:Vx-raisin_(2).jpg|Renaissance windows at hôtel du Vieux-Raisin
File:Clary_(1).jpg|The hôtel de Clary and its Mannerist decoration
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Sample of Renaissance doors">
File:Toulouse-vx-raisin-porte-escalier_01.jpg|Door of hôtel du Vieux-Raisin
File:Assezat-02(12).jpg|Portal of hôtel d'Assézat
File:31_-_Hôtel_d'Assézat_-_Porte_escalier_de_l'angle_nord-ouest.jpg|Door of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Toulouse-porte-assezat-academies.jpg|Door of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Felzins-facade.jpg|Portal of [[Hôtel de Felzins|hôtel Molinier]]
File:Ancien_petit_Séminaire_de_l'Esquile.jpg|Portal of a former college of the university
File:Façade_de_Notre-Dame_de_la_Dalbade_-_Portail.jpg|Portal of Dalbade church
File:Hotel_de_Bagis_-_Porte_des_vieillards.jpg|Door of [[hôtel de Bagis]]
File:Capitole_de_Toulouse_-_Cour_Henri_IV_-_portail_de_Nicolas_Bachelier.jpg|Triumphal portal of the [[Capitole de Toulouse|Capitole]]
</gallery>

===17th century architecture===

====17th century religious architecture====
The [[French Wars of Religion]], which started in the second half of the 16th century, brought to the city many religious orders who came to seek asylum in this solid Catholic bastion. They had baroque churches built in the 17th century: among them, the [[Carthusians|Order of Carthusians]], expelled by the Huguenots from the region of Castres, founded the church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux, the order of the [[Discalced Carmelites]] built the church of Saint-Exupère, the [[Confraternity of penitents|blue penitents]] founded the church of Saint-Jérôme and the order of [[Carmelite nuns]] created a convent of which a remarkable painted chapel remains.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="17th c. religious architecture">
File:St Pierre des Chartreux - PA00094503.jpg|Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
File:Toulouse_-_St-Pierre_des_chartreux_-_intérieur.jpg|Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
Eglise Saint-Pierre des Chartreux de Toulouse - Façade.jpg|Portal of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
File:Eglise_Saint-Exupère_de_Toulouse.jpg|Church of Saint-Exupère
File:Eglise_Saint-Exupère_de_Toulouse_-_St_Joseph_by_Drouet.jpg|Church of Saint-Exupère (detail of the facade)
File:Toulouse - Chapelle des Carmélites.jpg|Chapel of the Carmelites, painted decoration
</gallery>

====17th century civil architecture====
After the Renaissance, the decorations in civil architecture became less numerous and ostentatious, due to the importance given to the moderation of the architectural structures and the development of interior decorations. The play of colours (between brick and stone) and reliefs (bossing) were less costly and nevertheless effective solutions for livening up facades. The 17th century is the century that gave Toulouse the largest number of its private mansions, most of them built by members of parlement.<ref name="HotelsDeToulouse">Guy Ahlsell de Toulza, Louis Peyrusse, Bruno Tollon, «Hôtels et demeures de Toulouse et du Midi toulousain» ("Hotels and residences in Toulouse and the region of Toulouse"), Editor Daniel Briand, 1997.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="17th c. civil architecture">
Hotel_de_Caulet-Resseguier_(Toulouse).jpg|Hôtel de Caulet
Hôtel Pierre Comère.jpg|Hôtel Comère
(Toulouse) 24 Grande-rue Nazareth - Hôtel d'Avizard - Façade.jpg|Hôtel d'Avizard
Hotel_st_Jean_3.jpg|Hôtel Saint-Jean (courtyard), former Grand Priory of [[Knights Hospitaller]]
Toulouse-Capitole-Cour_Henri_IV_(2).jpg|Henri IV courtyard of the Capitole: brick and stone.
Hôtel_d'Orbessan_(Toulouse)_-_Façade_rue_Mage_-_Le_portail.jpg|Portal of hôtel d'Orbessan
Toulouse - Portail Desplats.jpg|Portal of hôtel Desplats (courtyard)
</gallery>

===18th century architecture===
In the 18th century Toulouse made its living from its parlement and from the wheat and corn trade, which was boosted by the creation of the [[Canal du Midi]] at the end of the previous century. Among the major architectural achievements, the most notable were undoubtedly the construction of the quays of the Garonne and the new facade of the [[Capitole de Toulouse|Capitole]] (1750-1760), designed by architect [[Guillaume Cammas]].

In the last third of the 18th century, the ever increasing influence of the Parisian model meant that red brick was no longer popular: the city facades were then whitewashed to imitate stone. This is why nowadays, even though the white paint has generally been removed, there are walls with deep grooves carved in brick to imitate ashlar architecture.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="18th century architecture">
File:Capitole-27.jpg|Capitole - city hall
File:Hôtel_d'Espie.JPG|Hôtel d'Espie
File:Hôtel_d'Espie_-_Portail_sur_la_rue_Mage_à_Toulouse.jpg|Portal of hôtel d'Espie
File:Ancien_hôtel_de_Bonfontan_-_41_rue_Croix-Baragnon_Toulouse_-_MériméePA00094534_-_ferronneries_de_style_rocaille,_par_Bernard_Ortet.jpg|Hôtel de Bonfontan
File:Toulouse_-_Basilique_de_la_Daurade_(1).jpg|Basilica of la Daurade
</gallery>

===19th century architecture===
Toulouse's 19th century architecture can be divided into three periods, which sometimes overlapped. In the first half of the century, at the instigation of architect Jacques-Pascal Virebent, the main architecturally unified squares were created: the ''Place du Capitole'' and the ''Place Wilson'' (called ''place Villeneuve'' when it was built), whose uniform architecture was inspired by [[Rue de Rivoli]] in Paris.

From 1830 onwards, Auguste Virebent and his brothers (sons of Jacques-Pascal) developed a factory of low-cost moulded decorations which met with great success and adorned Toulouse facades with numerous terracotta ornaments, far from the austere architecture of their father.

Then, in the last third of the 19th century, large Haussmann-style avenues were opened in the town centre, such as the central Alsace-Lorraine street, built in yellow brick to imitate Parisian stone.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="19th century architecture">
File:Toulouse-Place du Capitole.jpg|''Place du Capitole'', the main square of Toulouse (19th c.)
File:Café_Bibent.jpg|''Place du Capitole'' (''Café Bibent'')
File:Maison Lamothe (Toulouse).jpg|Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)
File:Immeuble_28_rue_des_Marchands.jpg|Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)
File:Toulouse - rue d'Alsace.jpg|Yellow brick of Alsace-Lorraine street (19th c.)
</gallery>

===20th and 21st centuries architecture===
From the middle of the 19th century, the arrival of the railway in Toulouse facilitated the supply of stone and made it cheaper for construction, and architects did not hesitate to play on the old traditional Toulouse codes linked to the prestige of stone construction, even if these no longer had the economic justification of yesteryear. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, the main railway station was built entirely in white stone.

Subsequently, concrete replaced the traditional materials, but brick and stone were still used for cladding, as shown recently by the work of prestigious architects such as [[Robert Venturi]] and [[Denise Scott Brown]] for the seat of the departmental council, or [[Shelley McNamara]] and [[Yvonne Farrell]] for the Toulouse School of Economics building.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="20th and 21st centuries architecture">
File:Façade Art Nouveau, rue Gambetta.jpg|Art nouveau facade, Gambetta street (early 20th c.)
File:Immeuble dit de La Dépêche du Midi, Toulouse.jpg|Art Deco facade, Alsace-Lorraine street ({{circa|1930}})
File:Bibliothèque rue Périgord.jpg|Toulouse municipal library, Art Deco facade (1935)
File:Toulouse - Conseil départemental 31.jpg|Seat of the departmental council (1999), by the architect Robert Venturi, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991
File:Université Toulouse Capitole juin 2020.jpg|Seat of the Toulouse School of Economics (2019), by Grafton Architects, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2020
</gallery>

=== Banks of the Garonne, Canal du Midi, parks ===
[[File:Toulouse - Garonne et Pont Neuf.jpg|thumb|right|Numerous parks and green spaces line the Garonne in the heart of Toulouse.]]
The banks of the [[Garonne|Garonne river]] offer an interesting urban panorama of the city. Red brick dykes from the 18th century enclose the river which was subject to destructive floods. The [[Pont Neuf, Toulouse|Pont-Neuf]] took almost a century to build as the project was so ambitious (1545-1632). It was a very modern bridge for its time, removing the housing on the deck and using techniques such as lowered arches, openings in the piers and stacked spouts to spread the water, making it the only bridge in Toulouse to withstand the violent floods of the past. Further downstream, the [[Bazacle]] is a ford across the [[Garonne]] river, in the 12th century the [[Bazacle Milling Company]] was the first recorded European joint-stock company. On the left bank of the river, historically a flood-prone bank, stand two former hospitals whose origins date back to the 12th century: the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques and the [[Hôpital de La Grave]]. Isolated on the left bank, victims of the plague and other sick people were thus kept away from the city by the width of the river.

Built at the end of the 17th century, the [[Canal du Midi]] bypasses the city centre and has linked Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea ever since. Its 240 kilometres were inscribed as a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] in 1996.

The ''[[Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse|Jardin des Plantes]]'', the ''Grand Rond'' and the ''Jardin Royal'' form a set of adjacent parks that span several blocks and include the Museum of Natural History, cafés, children's activities and a [[botanical garden]] (18th-19th century). The ''Prairie des Filtres'', the Raymond VI garden and the Japanese garden are other interesting parks that border the center of Toulouse.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Banks of the Garonne, Canal du Midi, parks">
File:Le Pont-Neuf de Toulouse.jpg|''Pont-Neuf'' (16th-17th c.)
File:Garonne_5102.jpg|Red brick dykes from the 18th century
File:Panorama Quais & Pont Neuf Toulouse.jpg|Quays of the Garonne and ''Pont-Neuf''
File:Hotel-dieu-02b(1).jpg|''Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques'' former hospital (12th–19th c.)
File:Hopital_de_la_Grave_-_Toulouse_-_2012-06-23.jpg|''[[Hôpital de La Grave|La Grave]]'' former hospital (12th–19th c.) and the copper dome of its chapel
File:Le_Port_de_la_Daurade.jpg|''Port de la Daurade'', a former river port converted into a recreational area
File:Toulouse rempart et dôme au jardin Raymond VI.jpg|[[Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse|Raymond VI]] garden, at the foot of the last remains of the old Toulouse ramparts on the left bank
File:Canal du Midi Ramonville.jpg|''[[Canal du Midi]]'' (17th c.)
File:Grand_Rond_(jardin).jpg|''Grand rond'' park
File:Jardin_Japonais_de_Toulouse.jpg|Japanese garden
File:Ancienne_porte_du_Capitole_(Toulouse).jpg|Renaissance portal in ''[[Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse|Jardin des plantes]]''
File:Toulouse - Prairie des Filtres et Pont Neuf.jpg|''Prairie des Filtres'' park
</gallery>

=== Museums and theme parks ===
Toulouse has many museums, the most important of which are:
* ''[[Musée des Augustins]]'' is the fine arts museum of Toulouse, it is located in the former [[Augustinian convent (Toulouse)|Augustinian convent]].
* [[Hôtel d'Assézat#Bemberg Foundation|Bemberg Foundation]], housed in the [[Hôtel d'Assézat]], presents to the public one of the major private collections of art in Europe.
* ''[[Musée Saint-Raymond]]'' is the archeological museum of Toulouse, located in a former college of the university it presents the ancient history of Toulouse and a very rich collection of Roman sculptures from the imperial [[Roman villa of Chiragan]].
* ''Musée Paul Dupuy'' is the museum of Decorative Arts and Graphic Arts, including a very rich collection of clocks and watches.
* ''[[Georges Labit Museum|Musée Georges Labit]]'' is dedicated to artifacts from the Far-Eastern and Ancient Egyptian civilizations.
* ''[[Muséum de Toulouse]]'' is one of the most important natural history museums in France, housed in the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites.
* ''[[Les Abattoirs]]'' is the museum of modern and contemporary art of the city, opened in a former municipal slaughterhouse.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Museums">
File:Augustins_-_Gargouilles_de_l'ancienne_église_des_Cordeliers.jpg|''[[Musée des Augustins]]''
File:Augustins - Vierge à l'Enfant dite Notre-Dame de Grasse RA 788.jpg|''[[Nostre Dame de Grasse]]'' at ''[[Musée des Augustins]]''
File:Bemberg Fondation Toulouse - Hercule à la cour d'Omphale - Lucas Cranach l'Ancien - 1537 Inv.1098.jpg|Painting of Lucas Cranach the Elder at Bemberg Foundation
File:Toulouse - St Raymond.jpg|''[[Musée Saint-Raymond]]''
File:Musée Georges Labit.jpg|''[[Georges Labit Museum]]''
File:Grand carré MHNT.jpg|''[[Muséum de Toulouse]]''
File:Les abattoirs - Musée d'art moderne de Toulouse.jpg|''[[Les Abattoirs]]''
File:Toulouse - Abattoirs - Picasso.jpg|Picasso at ''[[Les Abattoirs]]''
</gallery>

Toulouse also has several theme parks, notably highlighting its aeronautical and space heritage:
* ''[[Cité de l'espace]]'' is a scientific discovery centre focused on spaceflight.
* ''[[Aeroscopia]]'' is an aeronautical theme park located near [[Toulouse–Blagnac Airport]], dedicated to the preservation of aeronautical historical heritage (it hosts for example two [[Concorde]] airliners).
* ''[[L'Envol des pionniers]]'' is a museum that traces the great adventure of l'[[Aéropostale (aviation)|Aéropostale]], a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse which operated between France and South America from 1918 to 1933, and employed legendary pilots such as [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]], [[Jean Mermoz]] or [[Henri Guillaumet]]...
* ''[[Halle de La Machine]]'' is a vast hall that houses numerous small or giant animated machines, often inspired by the world of aeronautics, human or technological epics.

<gallery mode="packed" heights=130 caption="Theme parks">
File:Ariane 5 at Cite de l'Espace 1.jpg|''[[Cité de l'espace]]''
File:France Occitanie 31 Toulouse 04.jpg|''Cité de l'espace''
File:Tarmac Nord Aeroscopia.jpg|''[[Aeroscopia]]''
File:Replica Salmson 2 A.2 at Envol des pionniers.jpg|Replica [[Salmson 2|Salmson 2 A.2]] at ''[[L'Envol des pionniers]]''
File:Piste des Géants et halle de la Machine.jpg|''[[Halle de La Machine]]''
File:Minotaure 2.jpg|The giant Minotaur of the ''Halle de La Machine''
</gallery>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Toulouse}}
[[File:Toulouse Siège Airbus.jpg|thumb|Global headquarters of Airbus at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport]]
Since 2003, Toulouse has been the French city with the fastest growing GDP per capita, a performance driven by growing high-tech industries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 October 2016 |url=https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/voici-la-ville-de-france-qui-s-est-le-plus-enrichie-depuis-2003_AN-201610020068.html |title=''Voici la ville de France qui s'est le plus enrichie depuis 2003'' (Here is the city in France that has grown the most since 2003) |website=BFMTV.com & Cologne Institute for Economic Research }}</ref>

Toulouse economy can rely on three pillars: large industrial companies, research laboratories and a huge pool of students, engineers and scientists. Indeed, Toulouse is home to the second largest research and education centre in France, it has a high quality of education, first class engineering schools, powerful industries supported by world leaders, such as Airbus or Thales Alenia for aeronautics and space. This ecosystem fosters innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence, IOT, robotics, avionics, embedded systems, biotechnology, health etc.<ref>Pierre-Alexandre Balland, « ''Les atouts économiques de Toulouse'' » (The economic assets of Toulouse) [https://le-24-7.fr/interview-les-atouts-economiques-de-toulouse-dr-pierre-alexandre-balland], 29 September 2021</ref>

Toulouse can particularly be described as the 'capital' of the European aerospace industry: it hosts the [[Airbus]] headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus [[Airbus A320|A320]], [[Airbus A330|A330]], and [[Airbus A350 XWB|A350]]. The [[Airbus A380|A380]] was also produced here (the last completed in 2021), as was the [[Concorde]] supersonic aircraft.<ref>"[https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-04-27-airbus-flight_x.htm Airbus A380 lands after making aviation history]." ''[[USA Today]]''. 27 April 2005. Updated 28 April 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2010.</ref><ref name="AirbusContacts">"[http://www.airbus.com/en/utilities/contacts.html Contacts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110025630/http://www.airbus.com/en/utilities/contacts.html |date=10 January 2010 }}." [[Airbus]]. Retrieved 12 February 2010.</ref> Toulouse also hosts the headquarters of [[ATR (aircraft manufacturer)|ATR]], one of the two headquarters of [[Liebherr Aerospace]] and [[Groupe Latécoère]]. As for the space industry, with 12,000 jobs, 400 companies and 25% of the European workforce, Toulouse is the main European hub.<ref>"[https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr/la-filiere-spatiale-sur-toulouse-metropole-46440 ''La filière spatiale sur Toulouse métropole'' (The space industry in Toulouse metropole)"] Ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, 21 February 2019.</ref>
{{wide image|Airbus Toulouse plant entrance DSC02696.jpg|1200px|The main Airbus factory in [[Blagnac]], near Toulouse, lies next to [[Toulouse Airport]]|660px}}

==Education==
[[File:Toulouse - 2007-05-02 - IMG 3604.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Portal of the college de l'Esquile (1556), a symbol of the university's seniority]]
Toulouse has the fourth-largest student population in France after Paris, [[Lyon]] and [[Lille]] with 103,000 students (2012).

===Colleges and universities===
[[File:Université de Toulouse.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|A historic building of the University of Toulouse]]
[[File:(31) - Toulouse School of Economics.jpg|thumb|right|New building of [[Toulouse School of Economics]]]]
[[File:Entrée de l’ENAC Toulouse.jpg|thumb|right|[[École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile|ENAC]] entrance]]
The [[University of Toulouse]] (''Université de Toulouse'') was established in 1229 (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 of reconciling Greek philosophy and Christian theology.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
* [[Catholic University of Toulouse]]
* [[Université Toulouse I]], [[Toulouse School of Economics]], [[Toulouse School of Management]] and [[Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse]]
* [[University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès]] (Formerly [[University of Toulouse II – Le Mirail]])
* [[Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III)]]

Toulouse is also the home of [[Toulouse Business School]] (TBS), [[Toulouse School of Economics]] (TSE), the [[Institut supérieur européen de gestion group]] (ISEG Group), the [[Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action]] (ISEFAC), [[E-Artsup]] and several engineering schools:
* [[Institut catholique d'arts et métiers|ICAM Toulouse]] (Institut catholique d'arts et métiers)
* [[INSA Toulouse]]
* [[Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace|ISAE SUPAERO]] (Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace)
* [[École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile|ENAC]] (École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile)
* [[École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications|INP ENSEEIHT]] (École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications)
* [[École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole|ENSFEA]] (École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole)
* [[École nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques|INP ENSIACET]] (École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs en art chimique et technologique)
* [[École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse|INP ENSAT]] (École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse)
* [[École nationale de la météorologie|INP ENM]] (École Nationale de la Météorologie)
* [[École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées|EPITA]] (École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées)
* [[École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies|EPITECH]] (École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies or ''European Institute of Information Technology'')
* [[Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées|IPSA]] (Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées)
* [[École d'ingénieurs de Purpan|EIPurpan]] (École d'ingénieurs de Purpan)

===Primary and secondary schools===
The most well known high schools in Toulouse are [[Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat]] and [[Lycée Saint-Sernin]].

International schools serving area expatriates are in nearby [[Colomiers]]:
* [[International School of Toulouse]]
* [[Deutsche Schule Toulouse]] (German school)

==Transport==
[[File:Métro VAL.jpg|thumb|Line A of the [[Toulouse Metro]]]]
[[File:Toulouse_-_Téléo_03.jpg|thumb|Téléo, the cable car of Toulouse]]
[[File:Carte de transport en commun de Toulouse.png|thumb|upright=1.15|right|Toulouse public transport map that shows metro lines, tram lines and the high-level bus network called Lineo]]

=== Train ===
The main railway station, with regional and national services, is [[Toulouse-Matabiau station]]. In addition, there are several smaller stations in the city: [[Toulouse-Saint-Agne station|Toulouse-Saint-Agne]], [[Gallieni-Cancéropôle station|Gallieni-Cancéropôle]], [[Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes station|Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes]], Le TOEC, Lardenne, Saint-Martin-du-Touch, Les Ramassiers, Montaudran and Lacourtensourt. The stations of Lalande-L'Eglise and Route-de-Launaguet were served until 2016.

=== Metro ===
All urban bus, metro and tram services are operated by [[Tisséo]]. In addition to an extensive bus system (145 lines), the [[Toulouse Metro]] is a [[Véhicule Automatique Léger|VAL]] (Véhicule Automatique Léger) [[rapid transit|metro]] system made up of driverless (automatic) [[rubber-tyred underground|rubber-tyred]] trains:
* Line A runs for {{convert|12.5|km|1|abbr=on}} 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 C is under construction for an opening in 2028 with 21 stations over 27&nbsp;km. It will cross line B at 2 stations (La Vache and François Verdier) and will cross line A at Matabiau Gares (central train station)

Actual 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 [[Gare de Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes|Arènes]]. Two other stations located in Toulouse are also served by line C. Lardenne, formerly named "Gare des Capelles", changed its name in September 2003 when line C opened.<ref name="Le RER toulousain entre en gares">{{Cite web |title=Le RER toulousain entre en gares |url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2003/09/01/142866-le-rer-toulousain-entre-en-gares.html |website=ladepeche.fr |access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref> Le TOEC station opened on 1 September 2003 with the creation of line C, allowing an urban train service in Toulouse and close western suburbs.<ref name="Le RER toulousain entre en gares"/> Since 2023, the service is now named ''Arènes-Colomiers'' train line to leave the name for the new metro line.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 May 2023 |title=Plan détaillé du réseau |url=https://www.tisseo.fr/sites/default/files/plan_detaille_reseau.pdf |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref>

Similarly, Line D runs south from [[Gare de Toulouse Matabiau|Toulouse Matabiau]] to [[Muret]].

=== Tramway ===
The Toulouse conurbation has [[Toulouse tramway|two tram lines]]:
* The tramway line T1, with 25 stations and 14.8&nbsp;km long, has been in service since December 2010. It links Toulouse to the new MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre in Beauzelle, via Blagnac.
* The tramway line T2, which connects Toulouse-Blagnac airport, is a branch of the first line. It is currently stopped to transform it into an airport express tram which will be connected to metro line C in 2028.

=== Cable car ===
Since 13 May 2022, the city of Toulouse has had a new mode of public transportation called Téléo. This is a cable car that links Paul-Sabatier University to Rangueil Hospital and the [[Oncopole de Toulouse|Oncopole]] (a major cancer research centre). It allows to fly over the Garonne and the hill of Pech David and, with its 3 kilometres, it is the longest urban cable car in France. It is presented as the first link in a public transport belt that is not radial and oriented towards the city centre, but designed to encircle the south of Toulouse.

=== Bicycle ===
In 2007, a citywide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=VélôToulouse arrive... |url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2007/11/11/223506-velotoulouse-arrive.html |language=fr |work=La Dépêche du Midi |location=Toulouse |date=11 November 2007 |access-date=27 March 2017 }}</ref> with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.

=== Airports ===
Airports include:
* [[Toulouse Blagnac International Airport|Toulouse Blagnac]]: the principal local airport
* Toulouse Francazal: former principal airport, then former military airfield, its activity is nowadays reduced
* [[Toulouse-Lasbordes|Toulouse Lasbordes]]: this airfield is dedicated to leisure aviation and flying clubs

=== Canal ===
The [[Canal du Midi]] begins in Toulouse and runs up to [[Sète]].

===Toulouse public transportation statistics===
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Toulouse on a weekday is 44 minutes. 9.1% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 9 minutes, while 10.4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is {{convert|7|km}}, while 8% travel for over {{convert|12|km}} in a single direction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Toulouse Public Transportation Statistics|publisher= Global Public Transit Index by Moovit|url=https://www.moovitapp.com/insights/en/Moovit_Insights_Public_Transit_Index_France_Toulouse-1024|access-date=19 June 2017}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].</ref>

==Communications==
Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a {{convert|61|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission.<ref>{{Structurae|id=20014245|title=Bonhoure Transmission Tower}}</ref> In 2001 a {{convert|100|km|adj=on}} [[optical fiber]] (symmetric 360&nbsp;Gbit/s) network named ''Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications'' was deployed around the city and suburbs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.garonne-networks.com/ |title=Garonne-networks.com |publisher=Garonne-networks.com |access-date=14 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208130956/http://garonne-networks.com/ |archive-date=8 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Halle aux grains Toulouse.jpg|thumb|The ''Halle aux grains'', a former grain market now used as a concert hall]]

The [[Théâtre du Capitole]] is the home of opera and ballet; there has been a theatre on the site since 1736.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatre-du-capitole.fr/1/le-theatre/l-univers-du-theatre/l-histoire.html?lang=fr |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217133513/http://www.theatre-du-capitole.fr/1/le-theatre/l-univers-du-theatre/l-histoire.html?lang=fr |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 February 2013 |title=L'univers du Théâtre |publisher=Theatre-du-capitole.fr |access-date=14 March 2011 }}</ref> The [[Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse|Orchestre National du Capitole]], long associated with [[Michel Plasson]], plays at the Halle aux Grains.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onct.mairie-toulouse.fr/ |title=Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse |publisher=Onct.mairie-toulouse.fr |access-date=14 March 2011}}</ref> On 31 October 2023, Toulouse was named [[City of Music (UNESCO)|UNESCO City of Music]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/55-new-cities-join-unesco-creative-cities-network-world-cities-day?lang=en |title=55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=31 October 2023 }}</ref>

[[Le château d'eau, pôle photographique de Toulouse|Le Château d'Eau]],<ref name="Château d'Eau">{{cite web |url=http://www.galeriechateaudeau.org/ |title='''''Le Château d'Eau''''' Official website |language=fr |publisher=Galeriechateaudeau.org |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308150450/http://www.galeriechateaudeau.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> an old 19th-century water-tower, was converted as a gallery in 1974 by Jean Dieuzaide, a French photographer from Toulouse and is now one of the oldest public places dedicated to photography in the world. Toulouse's art museums include the [[Musée des Augustins]], the [[Musée des Abattoirs]], the [[Musée Georges Labit]], and the [[Fondation Bemberg]] in the [[Hôtel d'Assézat]]. The [[Musée Saint-Raymond]] is devoted to Antiquity and the [[Muséum de Toulouse]] to natural history.

Toulouse 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 [[Occitania|Occitan culture]]. The traditional [[Occitan cross|Cross of Toulouse]] (from Provence, under the name of cross of Provence), emblem of the County of Toulouse and commonly widespread around all of Occitania during the Middle Ages is the symbol of the city and of the newly founded Midi-Pyrénées ''région'', as well as a popular Occitan symbol.

The city's gastronomic specialties include the [[Saucisse de Toulouse]], a type of [[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 commonly made in the Midi-Pyrénées.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foiegras-factsandtruth.com/heritage/the-production-regions|title=The production regions|website=foiegras-factsandtruth.com|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref>

==Sport==
[[Stade Toulousain]] of the [[Top 14]] is the most successful [[rugby union]] clubs in Europe, having been crowned [[European Rugby Champions Cup|European champions]] six times and French champions twenty-four times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/europes-top-rugby-clubs.html |title=Europe's Top Rugby Clubs – For Dummies |publisher=Dummies.com |date=4 January 2010 |access-date=1 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/fra/classement_europeen.php |title=ERC : Classement Européen |publisher=Ercrugby.com |date=21 September 2010 |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001114353/http://www.ercrugby.com/fra/classement_europeen.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Toulouse Olympique]] represents the city in [[rugby league]]. The club has been playing in the [[British rugby league system]] since 2016. They have been playing in the [[Super League|top tier]] in 2022 and played in the 2nd tier [[RFL Championship|Championship]] in 2023, after their relegation. The club has had historical success in France, having been crowned French champions six times.

The city also has a professional football team, [[Toulouse FC]], which plays in [[Ligue 1]], the highest level of football in France. The [[Toulouse FC]] won the [[Coupe de France]] in 2023, winning against [[FC Nantes]] the [[2023 Coupe de France final|2023]] final.{{efn|An unrelated club, also based in the city and named Toulouse FC but now defunct, won the 1957 final.}} The club plays at the [[Stadium Municipal]], which was a venue during the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]] and [[2007 Rugby World Cup]], as well as hosting important club rugby games and several [[Rugby League World Cup]]s. Toulouse was also a host of [[EuroBasket 1999]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights=120 caption="Major sports facilities and professional clubs">
File:Stadium-Lory.jpg|The [[Stadium de Toulouse|municipal Stadium]] (capacity: 33,150)
File:Stade Ernest Wallon.jpg|[[Stade Ernest Wallon]] (capacity: 19,500)
File:Stade toulousain vs RC Toulon - 2012-09-29 - 48.jpg|Rugby union: [[Stade toulousain]].
File:Offensive toulousaine, Toulouse, 6 mai 2018 (TFC - LOSC).jpg|Football: [[Toulouse Football Club]].
File:TOteam.jpg|Rugby league: [[Toulouse Olympique]].
File:TMB-2018-2019-Toulouse.jpg|Women's basketball: Toulouse Métropole Basket.
File:Fenix_Toulouse_20140831_-_Finale_Challenge_Marrane.jpg|Handball: [[Fenix Toulouse Handball]].
File:Volley_Ball_-_2012-03-20_-_Spacers_Toulouse_vs_Rennes-13.jpg|Volleyball: Spacer's Toulouse Volley.
</gallery>

{{notelist}}
{{clear}}
{{anchor|Inhabitants}}<!--linked from Toulousian(s)-->

==Notable people==
{{main category|People from Toulouse}}
[[File:Capitole Toulouse - Salle Henri-Martin - Buste de Pierre de Fermat.jpg|thumb|Bust of mathematician [[Pierre de Fermat]] in the [[Capitole de Toulouse]]]]
Several notable Toulousains have been scientists, such as [[Jean Dausset]] (1916–2009), 1980 winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]]; 17th-century mathematician [[Pierre de Fermat]] (1607–1665), who spent his life in Toulouse, where he wrote [[Fermat's Last Theorem]] and was a lawyer in the city's [[Parlement of Toulouse|parlement]]; [[Paul Sabatier (chemist)|Paul Sabatier]] (1854–1941), 1912 winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]]; [[Albert Fert]] (b. 1938),<ref name="Albert Fert">{{cite news |url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2008/05/23/455648-albert-fert-retrouve-son-toulouse.html |title=Albert Fert retrouve son Toulouse|newspaper=La Dépêche du Midi|access-date=23 May 2008}}</ref> 2007 winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] who grew up in Toulouse where he attended the [[Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat]] and [[Jean Tirole]] (b. 1953), owner of the 2014 [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences]], chairman and founder of the [[Toulouse School of Economics]] along with [[Jean-Jacques Laffont]].

Musically, Toulouse is one of the two controversial, disputed birthplaces of [[Carlos Gardel]] (1890–1935) (the other being [[Tacuarembo]], [[Uruguay]]), probably the most prominent figure in the [[history of the tango]]. The city's most renowned songwriter is [[Claude Nougaro]] (1929-2004). The composer and organist [[Georges Guiraud]] (1868–1928) and songwriter [[Jain (singer)|Jain]] (b. 1992) were born in Toulouse.

Concerning arts, Toulouse is the birthplace of Impressionist painter [[Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin|Henri Martin]] (1860–1943) as well as sculptors [[Alexandre Falguière]] (1831–1900), [[Antonin Mercié]] (1845–1916) and illustrator [[Edmund Dulac]] (1882–1953). Moreover, [[Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres]] (1780–1867) and [[Antoine Bourdelle]] (1861–1929) were trained at the Toulouse fine arts school. Post Impressionist painter [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]]'s (1864–1901) father was Count Alphonse Charles de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa (1838–1913) and was part of an aristocratic family of Counts of Toulouse, Odet de Foix, Vimcomte de Lautrec and the Viscounts of Montfa.

[[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]] ({{circa|1041}}–1105), one of the leaders of the [[First Crusade]], was born in Toulouse. Aviation pioneer [[Clément Ader]] (1841–1925), acrobatic performer [[Jules Léotard]] (1838–1870) who gave his name to the [[leotard]], and psychiatrist [[Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol]] (1772–1840) were also natives. French football legend [[Just Fontaine]] (1933–2023), record holder for the most goals in a single FIFA World Cup (thirteen in six games in 1958), lived in Toulouse for the last 60 years of his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/2023/03/01/mort-de-just-fontaine-les-obseques-de-lancien-footballeur-seront-celebrees-a-toulouse-le-lundi-6-mars-11031504.php |title=Mort de Just Fontaine : les obsèques de l'ancien footballeur seront célébrées à Toulouse, le lundi 6 mars |newspaper=La Dépêche du Midi |date=2 March 2023 |access-date=2 March 2023 }}</ref> [[Léon Marchand]] (b. 2002), swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalist grew up in Toulouse where he attended [[Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University]].

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

===Twin towns and sister cities===
Toulouse is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toulouse.fr/web/la-mairie/echanges-internationaux/les-villes-jumelees |title=Les villes jumelées |publisher=Mairie de Toulouse |location=Toulouse, France |language=fr |access-date=26 December 2020}}</ref>

{{colbegin}}
* [[Atlanta]], United States, since 1975
* [[Bologna]], Italy, since 1981
* [[Elche]], Spain, since 1981
* [[Chongqing]], China, since 1981
* [[Kyiv]], Ukraine, since 1975
* [[Tel Aviv]], Israel, since 1962
{{Colend}}

===Other cooperations===
Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.toulouse.fr/web/la-mairie/echanges-internationaux/accords-de-cooperation|title=Accords de coopération |publisher=Mairie de Toulouse |location=Toulouse, France |language=fr |access-date=26 December 2020}}</ref>

{{colbegin}}
* [[Zaragoza]], [[Aragón]], Spain
* [[N'Djamena]], Chad
* [[Hanoi]], Vietnam
* [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]], Senegal
* [[Düsseldorf]], Germany
* [[Kfardebian]], Lebanon
{{Colend}}

==See also==
{{Portal|France}}
* [[138 Tolosa]], an [[asteroid]]
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse]]
* [[André Abbal]]
* [[Listing of the works of Alexandre Falguière]]
* [[The works of Antonin Mercié]]
* [[List of the mayors of Toulouse]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite book|title=Histoire de Toulouse illustrée|publisher=leperegrinateurediteur.com|year= 2006|first=Anne|last= Le Stang|isbn=2-910352-44-7 |language=fr}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Practical Guide to Toulouse |publisher=leperegrinateurediteur.com|year= 2008 |first=Helen & Jeremy |last=Kerrison |isbn=978-2-910352-46-2}}
* [[Jean-Marc Olivier]] {{Cite book|title=Histoire de Toulouse et de la métropole|publisher=Privat|year= 2019|isbn=978-2-7089-8379-3 |language=fr}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [https://www.toulouse-visit.com Toulouse tourist office]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200610090446/http://www.toulousecity.com/fr// ToulouseCity.com]}} {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://about-france.com/cities/toulouse.htm Toulouse city guide] – About-France.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130516030924/http://www.france.fr/en/regions-and-cities/toulouse-pink-violets-red-and-black Toulouse: pink, violets, red and black] – Official French website
* [http://www.toulouse.fr/ Official site] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Geographic location
|title= Neighbouring communes
|Northwest = [[Fenouillet, Haute-Garonne|Fenouillet]], [[Beauzelle]] (by a [[quadripoint]]), [[Blagnac]]
|North = [[Aucamville, Haute-Garonne|Aucamville]], [[Launaguet]]
|Northeast = [[L'Union]]
|West = [[Colomiers]],<br />[[Tournefeuille]]
|Center = Toulouse
|East = [[Balma]],<br />[[Quint-Fonsegrives]]
|Southwest = [[Cugnaux]],<br />[[Portet-sur-Garonne]]
|South = [[Vieille-Toulouse]], [[Pechbusque]]
|Southeast = [[Saint-Orens-de-Gameville]],<br />[[Labège]],<br />[[Ramonville-Saint-Agne]]
}}
{{Prefectures of departments of France}}
{{Prefectures of regions of France}}
{{Haute-Garonne communes}}
{{Cities in France}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Toulouse| ]]
[[Category:Cities in France]]
[[Category:Communes of Haute-Garonne]]
[[Category:Languedoc]]
[[Category:Cities in Occitania (administrative region)]]
[[Category:Midi-Pyrénées]]
[[Category:Prefectures in France]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 2nd century BC]]