Toulouse: French commune and city in Haute-Garonne, Occitania

It is the capital of the department of Haute-Garonne, as well as of the Occitanie region. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Toulouse. In 2014, 1.312.304 people live in the urban area, and 466.297 in the city itself. Toulouse is the 4th largest city of France.

Toulouse
Prefecture and commune
Montage of Toulouse Top: Pont Saint Pierre and Garonne river Middle: Place du Capitole, Pont Neuf Bottom: Capitole de Toulouse, Ariane 5 at "Cité de l'espace", Médiathèque José Cabanis
Flag Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Per Tolosa totjorn mai. (Occitan for "For Toulouse, always more")
Location of Toulouse
Toulouse Show map of France Toulouse Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°36′16″N 1°26′38″E / 43.6045°N 1.444°E / 43.6045; 1.444
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Toulouse
Canton	Capital of 11 cantons
Intercommunality	Toulouse Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Jean-Luc Moudenc
Area 1	118.3 km2 (45.7 sq mi)
Population  (2014)	466,297
• Density	3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Toulousains
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	31555 /
Elevation	115–263 m (377–863 ft) (avg. 189 m or 620 ft)
Website	www.toulouse.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The city has a unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks, which earned it the nickname la Ville Rose ("the Pink City"). Toulouse counts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Canal du Midi (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities) and the St. Sernin Basilica, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, designated in 1998.

The city was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom in the 5th century. It was the capital of the old French province of Languedoc before provinces were abolished during the French Revolution. "Languedoc" is a contraction of Linguae Occitanae (Latin). Then it included Roussillon, and was the unofficial capital of the cultural region of Occitania (Southern France). It is now the capital of the Occitanie region, the second largest region in metropolitan France.

The city of Toulouse is along the Garonne river, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the Mediterranean Sea, 230 km (143 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean, and 680 km (420 mi) from Paris.

The commune has an area of 118.3 km² (45.7 sq mi), and its average altitude is 189 m (620 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 146 m (479 ft).

Toulouse and its neighboring communes

Climate

The climate of Toulouse, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with temperate summers.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Toulouse is 637.5 mm (25.1 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is May with 73.7 mm (2.9 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 38.1 mm (1.5 in). There are an average of 74.0 days of precipitation, with the most rain occurring in May with 7.0 days and the least rain occurring in July with 4.4 days.

The average temperature for the year in Toulouse is 13.8 °C (56.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 22.3 °C (72.1 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 6 °C (43 °F).

The inhabitants of Toulouse are known, in French, as Toulousains (women: Toulousaines).

Toulouse has a population, in 2014, of 466,297, for a population density of 3,941.6 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Toulouse

 

Toulouse is the prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department, the capital of the arrondissement of Toulouse and the administrative centre (French: chef-lieu) of 11 cantons:

1. Toulouse-1 : part of Toulouse with 54,307 inhabitants (2014)
2. Toulouse-2 : part of Toulouse with 55,397 inhabitants (2014)
3. Toulouse-3 : part of Toulouse with 52,536 inhabitants (2014)
4. Toulouse-4 : part of Toulouse with 52,753 inhabitants (2014)
5. Toulouse-5 : part of Toulouse with 45,521 inhabitants (2014)
6. Toulouse-6 : part of Toulouse with 55,866 inhabitants (2014)
7. Toulouse-7 : 3 communes + part of Toulouse with 57,622 inhabitants (2014)
8. Toulouse-8 : 1 commune + part of Toulouse with 60,233 inhabitants (2014)
9. Toulouse-9 : 2 communes + part of Toulouse with 54,205 inhabitants (2014)
10. Toulouse-10 : 9 communes + part of Toulouse with 56,446 inhabitants (2014)
11. Toulouse-11 : 1 commune + part of Toulouse with 48,078 inhabitants (2014)

It is part of the intercommunality Metropolitan Toulouse (French: Toulouse Métropole).

Sister cities

Saint-Gaudens is twinned with:

Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:

In addition, Toulouse has an adoption city:

  Câmpia Turzii, Romania

Toulouse welcomes the Cité de l'espace dedicated to space exploration and Aeroscopia dedicated to aviation.

• Airbus Training Centre Europe
• E-Artsup
• École nationale de l'aviation civile
• École nationale de la météorologie
• École nationale supérieure d'électrotechnique, d'électronique, d'informatique, d'hydraulique et des télécommunications
• École nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques
• Institut polytechnique des sciences avancées
• Institut supérieur européen de gestion group
• École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées
• École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
• Institut catholique d'arts et métiers
• Institut national polytechnique de Toulouse
• Institut national des sciences appliquées de Toulouse
• Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace
• Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action
• Toulouse Business School
• Toulouse School of Economics

• Salon du livre aéronautique

• Toulouse F.C.
• Arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens
• Communes of the Haute-Garonne department