Toulouse: the pink city, the Canal du Midi and the aeroplanes

Place du Capitole is the heart of Toulouse: a huge square with an Occitan cross set into the ground and the façade of the Capitole, which is both city hall and opera house. Inside, the Salle des Illustres has paintings and decoration worthy of a palace, and the visit is free.

Around it, the streets of the historic centre are full of Renaissance mansions built by merchants who grew rich on pastel, a plant that produced blue dye. The Hôtel d'Assézat, with its elegant courtyard, now houses an art collection.

Squares like Place de la Trinité and Place Saint-Georges fill with terraces. Toulouse lives a lot on the street, especially in the evening, with students, families and groups of friends.

The Basilica of Saint-Sernin is the largest surviving Romanesque church in Europe, with an octagonal brick bell tower visible from afar. It was an important stop on the Way of Saint James and is part of the UNESCO listing for that route.

The Gothic Convent of the Jacobins holds one of the city's most beautiful sights: inside the church, a very tall column opens out into ribs on the ceiling like a stone palm tree. The relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas rest here. The peaceful cloister is perfect for a rest.

Saint-Étienne Cathedral, a strange meeting of two churches from different periods, completes the church tour. Toulouse has far more heritage than its reputation suggests.

The Garonne crosses the city, wide and calm, and its banks have been turned into promenades, lawns and gardens. The Pont Neuf, despite its name, is the city's oldest bridge, from the sixteenth century, and the best spot for sunset.

In the late afternoon, the Saint-Pierre and Daurade quays fill with people sitting on the steps with drinks and music, watching the sky turn orange over the dome of the old La Grave hospital across the river.

On the other bank, the Prairie des Filtres is the largest riverside lawn, and the Saint-Cyprien district has lively streets and a market. There are boat trips on the river too.

The Canal du Midi, built in the seventeenth century, links Toulouse to the Mediterranean and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Toulouse its banks have paths shaded by plane trees, great for walking or cycling.

The canal continues to Carcassonne and beyond, and some people travel it by bike or rented boat over several days, at the pace of the locks. In Toulouse, an afternoon is enough to feel the calm of water and trees.

Near the centre, the Canal de Brienne and the Port de l'Embouchure, where the canals meet, are quiet corners few visitors know.

Toulouse is Europe's aerospace capital. The Cité de l'Espace is a space-themed park with a full-size Ariane rocket, the Mir station, a planetarium and simulators, great for families. The Aeroscopia museum shows historic aircraft, including Concorde, and there are guided tours of the Airbus assembly line, best booked well ahead.

At the table, Toulouse defends its cassoulet, with white beans, duck confit and the famous Toulouse sausage. The covered Marché Victor Hugo has stalls of southwestern produce and upstairs restaurants where you lunch on what's sold below.

The violet is another city symbol, in sweets, liqueur and perfume. For day trips, Carcassonne and Albi, with its fortified brick cathedral and Toulouse-Lautrec museum, are about an hour away.