TOULOUSE

BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
●Au Pere Louis – 45 Rue des Tourneurs; 011-33-05-6121-3345; au-pere-louis.fr; wine bar with oak barrels and dusty wine bottles; like something out of Zola; wine bar; closes at 10:30 p.m.; house speciality is quinquina, bittersweet liquor.
●Le St.-Jerome – 21 Rue St.-Antoine-du-T; 011-33-05-6122-9066; lesaintjerome.com; cocktail bar with brick-lined interior and brims with “B.C.B.B.” (bon chic bon genre, good style good breeding); good cuba libres.
●Les Tenors – 9 Place du Capitole; 011-33-05-3161-5600; lestenors.fr; sit on terrace for drinks & people-watching.
●N°5 Wine Bar – 5 Rue de la Bourse; 011-33-05-6138-4451; n5winebar.com; over 30 wines by glass.
●Ubu – 16 Rue St.-Rome; 011-33-05-6123-2675; ubu-club.com; stony underground space; disco and house music.
●Xavier Fromager Affineur – 6 Place Victor Hugo; 011-33-05-3445-5945; xavier.fr; cheese & wine bar.



HOTELS
●Les Bains-Douches – 4 & 4 Bis Rue du Pont Guilhemery; 011-33-05-6272-5252; hotel-bainsdouches.com; sleek boutique hotel with 22 rooms and chic cocktail lounge.
●Le Clos des Potiers – 12 Rue des Potiers; 011-33-05-6147-1515; hotel-closdespotiers.com; mixes 19^th Century French Empire-style with 21^st Century amenities; 8 rooms.
●Grand Hôtel de l’Opéra – 1 Place du Capitole; 011-33-05-6121-8266; grand-hotel-opera.com/en; former 17^th Century convent; old-world hotel 1-minute walk from Place du Capitole & 7 minutes from Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse; colorful, elegant rooms feature flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, free WiFi & minibars; upgraded rooms have balconies or patios; some suites have terraces; common areas are opulent & warm; fine dining restaurant, brasserie, bar & spa (hammam & sauna).
●Hôtel Albert – 8 Rue Rivals; 011-33-05-6121-1791; hotel-albert1.com; cheap, clean, and cozy.
●Hôtel des Beaux Arts – 1 Place du Pont Neuf; 011-33-05-3445-4242; hoteldesbeauxarts.com; next to Garonne River, with most rooms having view; individually decorated rooms feature free WiFi, satellite TV & minibars; ask for Room 42, which comes with private terrace over river; sophisticated, wood-paneled bar/brasserie with outdoor seating.
●Hôtel du Grand Balcon – Rue Romiguières; 011-33-05-3425-4409; grandbalconhotel.com/en; set in classic redbrick building, this polished boutique hotel is block from Place du Capitole main square & 5-minute walk from Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse; modern rooms feature free WiFi, flat-screen TVs, minibars & Nespresso machines; retro-chic cocktail bar; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stayed here & there’s 1930s suite dedicated to him.



RESTAURANTS
●L’Air de Famille – 20 Place Victor Hugo; 011-33-05-6121-9329; lairdefamille-restaurant.com; try 3-course lunch, including dessert; especially good are braised rabbit and seafood risotto.
●La Belle Equipe – 22 Rue des Polinaires; 011-33-05-6152-6298; try blanquette de veau.
●Le Bibent – 5 Place du Capitole; 011-33-05-6123-8903; maisonconstant.com/bibent; Old World brasserie; if nothing else, have aperitif on terrace; must see for Belle Époque style.
●Bicoq’ – 2 Rue du Coq d’Inde; bicoq.com; small, local restaurant; displays avant garde art.
●Bistro J’Go – 16 Place Victor Hugo; 011-33-05-6123-0203; lejgo.com; fries are must, as are brochettes (especially duck hearts).
●Chez Carmen – 97 Allee Charles-de-Fitte; 011-33-05-61-42-0495; chezcarmen.fr; old-fashioned, steakhouse; try salade gersoise (salad with duck livers), steak tartare, and/or cote de boeuf; also try fries – iconic.
●Chez Navarre – 49 Grande Rue Nazareth; 011-33-05-6226-4306; Spartan and family-style; traditional, French comfort food.
●Chez Pham – 1 Rue Mage; 011-33-05-6219-1236; sister to Chez Navarre, but Vietnamese food.
●Le Colombier – 14 Rue de Bayard; 011-33-05-6162-4005; restaurant-lecolombier.com; get classic cassoulet (white beans, pork and pork fat, red and white sausage; and abundant goose fat); simple brick and stone dining room; finish with strawberry soup with lime sorbet.
●Restaurant Émile – 13 Place Saint-Georges; 011-33-05-6121-0556; restaurant-emile.com; attractive wine list, good traditional cuisine that focuses on fresh produce & 100% homemade; icing on cake - pretty terrace overlooking pleasant square; obviously try cassoulet.
●L’Empereur de Hue – 17 Rue des Couteliers; 011-33-05-6153-5572; empereurdehue.com; Vietnamese food; try anything pork-based.
●Le Genty Magre – 3 Rue Genty Magre; 011-33-05-6121-3860; legentymagre.com; living room-ish restaurant; French international; try beef cheeks and moelleux au chocolate.
●Maison Samaran L’Espace Rotisserie – 18 Place Victor Hugo; 011-33-05-6121-2691; maisonsamaran.fr; food emporium and restaurant.
●Michel Sarran – 21 Boulevard Armand Duportal; 011-33-05-6112-3232; michel-sarran.com; 2 Michelin stars.
●N°5 Wine Bar – 5 Rue de la Bourse; 011-33-05-6138-4451; n5winebar.com; tapas.
●Le Temps des Vendanges – 9 Place de l’Estrapade; 011-33-05-6142-9466; letempsdesvendanges.com; husband & wife run take-out food emporium and café; natural food and wine.
●Vinea – Centre Cial St. Caprais (L’Union); 011-33-05-3427-1775; open for lunch Tuesday through Friday and dinner on Fridays only; bistro and wine bar.



SERVICES
●Croisiere Ete Canal Cruise – Quai de la Daurade; 011-33-05-6180-2226; bateaux-toulousains.com; passes through St. Pierre lock, under Pont Neuf bridge, past historic buildings; English translation available; 75 minutes.
●Velo Toulouse – velo.toulouse.fr; bicycle rentals; do not accept most American credit cards.



SHOPPING
●Brock & Roll – 16 Rue Cujas; 011-33-05-6227-0821; B-movie chic clothing and furniture.
●Cartouche – 10 Place du Président Wilson; 011-33-05-6121-8346; women’s clothing.
●Chevaline des Halles – Loge 118-121, Place Victor Hugo (at Marche Victor Hugo); 011-33-05-6123-5271; marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm; horse meats.
●Chez Catherine – Loge 41-42, Place Victor Hugo (at Marche Victor Hugo); marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm; coffees.
●Departement Feminin – 1 Rue Maurice Fonvieille; 011-33-05-3444-9962; departementfeminin.com; high-end women’s boutique.
●Les Fees de la Creation – 12 Rue Cujas; 011-33-05-6112-1170; lesfeesdelacreation.com; clothes by young designers.
●Fromagerie Betty – Loge 232-236, Place Victor Hugo (at Marche Victor Hugo); 011-33-05-6122-1781; marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm; cheeses.
●Galeries Lafayette – 4-8 Rue Lapeyrouse; 011-33-05-3445-9898; galerieslafayette.com/magasin-toulouse-lapeyrouse; take elevator to roof for amazing city view.
●Maison Garcia – Loge 166-170 & 196-199, Place Victor Hugo (at Marche Victor Hugo); marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm; 011-33-05-6123-1062; butcher.
●Marche Victor Hugo – Place Victor Hugo; marchevictorhugo.fr; enclosed market space; upstairs restaurant, Chez Attila, very good.
●Serge Inaudi – Loge 67-70, Place Victor Hugo (at Marche Victor Hugo); 011-33-05-6121-7040; marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm; butcher.
●Sun Bell – 17 & 18 Rue Cujas; 011-33-05-6123-1262; clothes; cardigans from Surface-to-Air; cult favorite French labels.



SIGHTS & SITES
●Les Abattoirs – 76 Allees Charles-de-Fitte; 011-33-05-6248-5800; lesabattoirs.org; city’s premier art museum; Picasso’s theatre curtain painted for Le 14 Juillet (by Romain Rolland) in 1936.
●Fondation Bemberg – Hotel d’Assezat, Place d’Asssezat; 011-33-05-6112-0689; fondation-bemberg.fr; venerable, mansion-like museum with modern French art; plenty of antiques – Chinese porcelain, Renaissance-era Swiss clocks, etc.; galleries of modern French paintings; Pointillist Room (Room 8) displays Paul Signac’s “Le Clocher de Saint Tropez” (1896); Fauve Room (Room 10) displays Raoul Dufy, Georges Braques; Room 12 is dedicated to Pierre Bonnard, such has haunted nocturnal painting “Le Moulin Rouge” (1896).
●Les Jacobins Monastery – Rue Lakanal; 011-33-05-6122-2382; jacobins.toulouse.fr; large brick building whose construction started in 1230; architecture influenced development of Gothique méridional style (think towering pillars that resemble palm trees - mirror mounted in floor to allow you to experience fully); Thomas Aquinas relics housed here.
●Musée des Augustins – 21 Rue de Metz; 011-33-05-6122-2182; augustins.org/en; fine arts museum housing painting & sculpture collection, from Middle Ages to early 20^th Century; includes Monet & Rodin.
●Rue Cujas – easy-to-miss lane in city center where clubbers and clothes horses go.
●Rue de Taur – shopping.
●St. Sernin Basilica – Place St.-Sernin; 011-33-05-6121-8045; basilique-st-sernin-toulouse.fr; largest Romanesque church in world. Lunch afterwards at Le Bibent.
●Théâtre du Capitole – Place du Capitole; 011-33-05-6122-3131; theatreducapitole.fr; red velvet-clad ballet company & opera house.