Explorer Toulouse

The town hall of Toulouse, named after the capitouls who governed the city from the 12th century. Its 135-metre façade of pink brick and stone on the Place du Capitole was completed in 1760 to designs by Guillaume Cammas; the first-floor reception rooms, including the painted Salle des Illustres, can be visited, and the building also houses the Théâtre du Capitole.

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 Pont-Neuf is a brick and stone bridge over the Garonne in Toulouse, begun in the 1540s and opened in 1632, which despite its name makes it the oldest bridge across the river in the city. Its seven arches rest on piers pierced with round openings that let flood water through, and it was the only Toulouse bridge to withstand the flood of 1875.

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.