Toulouse - Getting Around

Most Popular Hotels in Toulouse:
Rue Saint Jerome, 31000A
23, Impasse De Maubec, 31300
13 Bis Rue Matabiau, 31000
29 Allees Jean-Jaures, 31000
 
 




Public Transport

The buses and metro in Toulouse are operated by Tisséo-Connex  (tel: (05) 6141 7070; website: www.tisseo-connex.com). There are 67 bus routes and one Metro line, Ligne A, which runs southwest-northeast and serves 18 stations. A second line, Ligne B, is scheduled for completion at the end of June 2007 and will stretch north-south, serving some 20 stations. The metro runs from about 0500 until midnight (0100 on Fridays and Saturdays). A free navette (shuttle) goes on a loop around the historic centre, Mon-Sat (0900-1900). 

Various kinds of tickets are available: single, return, day and weekly pass, as well as a carnet (book) of 10 tickets. Concessions are available for children, students and OAPs. Tickets have to be validated prior to boarding or travellers will incur a fine.

Taxis

There are taxi stands at the train station, place Wilson and place Esquirol. Otherwise try Capitole Taxi (tel: (05) 3425 0250) or Taxi Radio Toulousain (tel: (05) 6142 3838).

Driving in the City

You are better off on foot in Toulouse city centre, as the centre is compact and finding a parking spot can be difficult. There are five free car parks (Parking Relais) at various metro stations on the outskirts of Toulouse, from which you can connect to the public transport system. These are located at Jolimont, Basso-Cambo, Arènes, Argoulets and Balma Gramont.

If you do decide to drive in the centre, get hold of a good map, as there are lots of small, narrow, one-way streets. 

Car Hire

The following car hire companies all have desks at the main railway station, Gare Matabiau, 64 boulevard Pierre Sémard: Avis (tel: (05) 6162 5040; website: www.avis.fr), National/Citer (tel: (05) 6162 0296; website: www.citer.fr), Europcar (tel: (05) 6273 4164; website: www.europcar.fr) and Hertz (tel: (05) 6273 3947; website: www.hertz.fr).

Additionally, Budget can be found at 51 rue Bayard (tel: (05) 6163 1818; website: www.budget.fr), and local company Ada at 25-27 avenue de Lyon (tel: (05) 3430 4860; website: www.ada.fr).

Bicycle Hire

There are 210km (130 miles) of cycle lanes in Toulouse, and the municipality is aiming to extend that to 300km (186.5 miles) in the next few years. A map of all the cycle lanes in the city, as well as the leaflet ‘Trois promenades pour découvrir Toulouse à vélo’ (three routes to discover Toulouse by bike) are available from the tourist office.

A scheme aiming to encourage the use of bicycles in the city has been launched by the city in partnership with Movimento (tel: (05) 3430 0300; website: www.movimento.coop), where you can hire a bike for as little as €1 for half a day, and €2 for a full day. The two main Vélostations are located at the Gare Matabiau (coach station) (tel: (05) 6273 0766) and at the Capitole, place du général De Gaulle (tel: (05) 6122 6144), opposite the tourist office. They are open seven days a week. You will need a passport and a deposit.

Tours of Toulouse


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