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The train station,
gare Matabiau
, and
gare routiEre
(tel 05.61.61.67.67), stand side by side in boulevard Pierre-Semard on the bank of the tree-lined and imaginatively planted Canal du Midi. This is where you'll find yourself if you arrive by train, bus or air, for the
airport shuttle
(every 20min; 20min journey; 23F/3.36) puts you down at the bus station (with stops also in allees Jean-JaurEs and at place Jeanne-d'Arc). It is also the best spot to aim for if you are in a car: leave the
boulevard peripherique
at exit 15.
To reach the city centre from the train station takes just five minutes by
metro
to stop Capitole (8F/1.22, covering one hour's transport by metro and Semvat city buses within the city centre), or twenty minutes on foot. Turn left out of the station, cross the canal and head straight down allees Jean-JaurEs, through place Wilson and on into place du Capitole, the city's main square. Just before it lie the shady and much-frequented gardens of the square Charles-de-Gaulle, where the main
tourist office
(May-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-1pm & 2-6.30pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm, Sun 10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm; tel 05.61.11.02.22,
www.Mairie-Toulouse.fr
) is housed in a sixteenth-century tower that has been restored to look like a castle keep; the Capitole metro stop is right outside.
The best guide to
what's on
in and around the city - and usually there is a lot, from opera to cinema - is the weekly listings magazines
Toulouse Hebdo
(3F/0.46) and
Flash
(6F/0.92). More highbrow interests are covered in the free monthly
Toulouse Culture
, available from the tourist office, among other places.
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