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Toulouse, France

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France

Things to do in Toulouse

Walking

The Canal du Midi, a UNESCO-recognised route, runs for over 240km (150 miles) from Toulouse to reach the shores of the Med. Its footpath makes a great walking trail as it’s flat and straight, so you can’t get lost. Once out of town, you’ll walk through fields of sunflowers and sleepy French hamlets beneath an arching canopy of trees.

Wakeboarding

A wakeboard is kind of like a snowboard on water, and it’s just as tricky to get the hang of. Yet, with warm weather and the right equipment, plunging into the water just doesn’t seem so bad. For a taste of adrenaline, give wakeboarding a go in Toulouse.

Tel: 05 6170 9288.
Website: www.teleskitoulouse.com

Rollerblading

See Toulouse on wheels by joining in with Roulez Rose. Despite the sound of the name (meaning pink wheels), this is a full speed tour around the city that takes place every week and makes the most of all those tarmac roads. Stewards in fluorescent jackets keep ‘health and safety’ happy.

Website: www.roulezrose.com

Skiing and snowboarding

Head into the Pyrenees for some action on the slopes. Your options are either the small but stylish French resorts near Toulouse, or the vast and modern but, ahem, less elegant Grand Valira Resort in Andorra. It’s at least a two-hour drive to the slopes but easy to hire equipment and buy short-term lift passes once you get there.

Website: www.france-montagnes.com

Website: www.grandvalira.com

Cycling

Bike-friendly Toulouse has cycle paths strewn all over the city, plus a lovely flat path running along the river and the Canal du Midi that stretches out to Carcassonne, and beyond to the Med (although be warned, that’s over 150 miles away). For some serious cycling, favourite Tour de France backdrop the Pyrenees are around an hour and a half away.

Tel: 05 3440 6472.
Website: www.maisonduvelotoulouse.com

Ice-skating

Perfect for a rainy day, the Patinoire Blagnac ice rink in Toulouse is fun, lively and suitably slippery. It’s a generously sized rink where ice-hockey teams regularly battle it out, but it is also open to the public for slightly more genteel-style skating sessions. For a smaller but more festive experience, try ice-skating in Place du Capitole itself during the Christmas Market in December.

Tel: 05 6274 7140.
Website: www.patinoireblagnac.fr

Daydreaming

Quite a lot about life in Toulouse involves lying on the riverbank or strolling through the many green parks and just watching the world go by. You won’t get hassled if you spend all afternoon in a single café with a single, well, café (coffee). Southwest France has a much more relaxed vibe than, say, Paris and taking the time to stop and really enjoy life is considered incredibly important, if not the whole point of being alive. Recommended spots to daydream in Toulouse include the Promenade Henri Martin, Prairies des Filtres and Le Jardin Raymond VI.

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