Toulouse entdecken

A Dominican convent begun in 1230 in the city where the order was founded, whose brick church shaped the southern French Gothic style. In the choir a single column carries 22 vault ribs, known as the palm tree, and the relics of Thomas Aquinas lie in the church; the cloister, chapter house and Saint-Antonin chapel complete the visit.

A Romanesque basilica of brick and stone built from about 1080 over the tomb of Saint Saturnin, the first bishop of Toulouse, and a stop on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. An octagonal bell tower rises above the crossing, and the crypt and ambulatory hold the relics of saints in a series of reliquaries.

The seat of the Archbishop of Toulouse, built over several centuries and known for its unusual plan: a 13th-century nave in southern Gothic brick meets a wider, northern-style choir begun around 1272 on a different axis. The west front pairs a rose window with a massive bell tower, and Pierre-Paul Riquet, builder of the Canal du Midi, is buried inside.