The third lockdown has now entered into force. It is no longer possible to take the air in the Pyrenees or to walk in the surrounding countryside for the people of Toulouse. But the Pink City offers a multitude of walks. Here is our selection of three outings for this weekend.
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The Pink City is confined for the third time since Easter weekend. The new restrictive measures announced by the government therefore require Toulouse residents to limit their travel. But if the inhabitants of Toulouse should not move away from their home, they can still walk more than 10 km around their place of residence. The occasion of discover or rediscover the Pink City through its gardens, its canal or its urban art.
Walks along the Canal du Midi
If the very popular banks of the Garonne are closed to the public, the Canal du Midi offers lovely walks or bike rides. During these walks, you can learn more about Toulouse. Close to the St-Pierre lock, be careful: the water passes through a small valve and walks through a vaulted gallery known only to specialists. Formerly, this gallery led to the Minimes and the water transported came water the fields of violets. Today, this underground passage is no longer in use. But the highlight of the show here is the St-Pierre lock.
Its oval-shaped basin allows the construction of face the force of water and above all, ensures better resistance to land pressure. Looking up, you can also admire the upper structure of the Toulouse School of Economics building. Before its construction, preventive excavations had been undertaken. Amphorae and a child’s grave had been found there. It must be said that the TSE is built on top of a Visigothic site. After having taken the underground passage leading to the Port de l’Embouchure, you can discover the beginning of lateral canal at the Garonne. From 1856, it was possible to join the sea to the ocean thanks to the connection of this new canal with the Canal du Midi.
If you turn back, cross the Twin Bridges and then descend again at the foot of their arches, you will be able to observe the bas-relief of the Port de l’Embouchure. In Carrara marble, it has considerable dimensions: 15 by 4 meters. Going around the Twin Bridges, the perspective of the last kilometers of the Canal du Midi is offered to you. Then let yourself be carried away by your steps to arrive in the station district. Facing the Ramblas and back to the Canal, you can see the statue of Pierre-Paul Riquet. Quite a symbol: he died a year before the end of the canal works. You can then continue your walk to the Departmental Archives at 11, Boulevard Griffoul-Dorval and finally, towards Port St-Sauveur. Where you can find Radoub’s holds, a ship repair basin, at 65 allée des Demoiselles.
“Green” break in the Toulouse gardens
You can still enjoy a break in the gardens of Toulouse. The Pink City is full of greenery. In the François-Verdier district, no less than three parks, connected by pedestrian bridges, are available to you for bucolic walks: the Royal Garden, fitted out as a landscaped garden (or English garden), the Grand Rond, with a charming kiosk, and the Garden of plants. The first two have many remarkable elements: hundred-year-old trees with rare species, himalayan cedars, tulip tree, Osage orange, American copalme, plane tree with exceptional dimensions, floral ornamentation, statues of mythological or local inspiration, benches with plant ironwork … The Jardin des Plantes is full of hidden trails which lead either to romantic statues or to groves or even to the artificial waterfall of a rocky islet.
If you want to travel, go to the Compans-Caffarelli district where is the Japanese Garden. All the typical and symbolic elements of the Japanese garden are present there: tea pavilion, red bridge, body of water, sea of sand, rocks, trees cut into clouds, spheres, transparency and superb cherry blossoms. After this little tour in Japan, do not miss the unmissable Raymond VI garden in the St-Cyprien district. Covering an area of 2.5 hectares, it is bordered by a long line of imposing brick rampart that once surrounded the city. During your walk, you will be able to hear the Garonne rumbling in the distance. It is after having climbed a few steps that the river will reveal itself to you. You can also discover several works of art. The garden adjoins the Abattoirs, Toulouse’s modern and contemporary art museum.
To enjoy a little wilder nature, the Maourine park, in the Borderouge district, is ideal. With a total area of 14 hectares, it consists of natural atmospheres such as the fragrant Garrigue, the Flower Garden or the Vegetable Garden of the World. There, the forest offers refuge to one of the most Toulouse’s rich biodiversity.
In the footsteps of street art artists
If the museums are closed, it is still possible toadmire many works in Toulouse. The Pink City seems to inspire street artists. Urban art is revealed everywhere in the streets of Toulouse. Toulouse is even one of the most dynamics in the world of graffiti. At the bend of an alley, it is therefore not improbable to come across graffiti, installations and works of art. You have probably already seen the red resin sculptures by James Colomina. If not, here’s where to find them on your weekend stroll. Go first to Pont Neuf where “The boy with the donkey hat” was placed in one of the ditchers of the structure in 2017. You will then be able to admire “L’attrape Coeur”, present at the Grand Rond since 2019, and finally “The Man with the Apple Head” on the alleys of Jean Jaurès.
For the next works, it’s up to you to find out. In 2016, the street artist Space Invader came to Toulouse and left six of his ceramic tile creatures in the hyper center. But they attract lusts, fortunately five are still visible. The German artist Hendrik Beikirch also said ECB also visited the Pink City in 2017. In the Empalot district, rue d’Antibes, he produced the portrait of a Siberian grandmother on a building. Also in the Empalot district, at 32 rue Jean Moulin, the colorful little chickens, or “chicanos”, of Toulousain CeeT are on display.
At 64 avenue de l’URSS, the artists Maye and Mondé have created on a wall a shepherdess all in delicacy and contortion or a magician guardian of your dreams. You choose ! To continue this dreamlike momentum, go to 19 rue des Anges to discover a work by 100Taur where the monsters seem straight out of the artist’s nightmares. Produced in 2018, it is the longest fresco in Toulouse.
Modified on 04/09/2021–
