What is the Toulouse self-guided walking tour?
The Toulouse self-guided walking tour is a walk through Toulouse that you take on your own, with audio narration on your phone instead of a guide. It takes about 3 hours in all: 45 minutes of walking over 3.6 km, and 10 stops where the narration takes over. Toulouse's pink-brick centre is compact, so most of that time goes on looking rather than walking.
At Saint-Sernin the narration begins with the tomb of Saint Saturnin, the city's first bishop, over which one of Europe's largest Romanesque churches was begun around 1080. A few streets on, you hear why Notre-Dame du Taur is named after a bull. The Couvent des Jacobins brings the story of the Dominican order, founded in Toulouse in 1215, and the Pont Neuf the paradox of a 'new' bridge that is the city's oldest across the Garonne and the only one to survive the flood of 1875.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 45 min · 3.6 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do along the way
Hear the stories
Every stop has its own audio chapter with history, local legends and fun facts, read aloud or shown as text.
Find the way
Google Maps shows the way to the next stop: 3.6 km and about 45 minutes on foot in total.
Take a break
Nothing runs on a timetable. Close the app for a meal or a museum and open it again whenever you like, even the next day.
Local tips
Along the way you get tips for food and shops near the route. If another starting point suits you better, change it in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
First time in Toulouse
One walk links the main sights of the centre and explains what you are looking at.
Travellers who skip group tours
No group to keep up with and no meeting point: stay where something interests you and move on when you are ready.
A short stay
About 3 hours covers the centre, so the rest of the day stays free.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Saint-Sernin, the Capitole, the Pont Neuf, Saint-Étienne
10 stops · about 45 min walking · start: Basilica of Saint-Sernin · finish: Saint-Exupère Church
The walk opens at the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in the north of the old centre and heads south past Notre-Dame du Taur to the Capitole and its square. It turns west to the Couvent des Jacobins and the Garonne at the Pont Neuf, then crosses the centre eastwards to the Musée des Augustins and St Stephen's Cathedral. The last stretch runs through the Grand Rond Garden and past the University of Toulouse to Saint-Exupère Church. You can change the first stop and the order in the app, and none of the stops needs an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Basilica of Saint-SerninStart
Begun around 1080 over the tomb of Saint Saturnin, the first bishop of Toulouse, Saint-Sernin is one of the largest Romanesque churches in Europe. Pope Urban II consecrated its altar in 1096, and the basilica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a stage on the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela.
Read the full story →
2Notre-Dame du Taur
According to tradition, this church stands where Saint Saturnin was first buried after being dragged to his death by a bull, which gave the street and church their name: taur means bull in Occitan. Its tall brick facade is a wall-belfry, a flat bell wall typical of southern French Gothic, built in the 14th century.
3Capitole
Toulouse City Hall is called the Capitole, after the capitouls, the consuls who governed the city from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Its long facade of pink brick and stone was built in the 1750s to plans by Guillaume Cammas, and the building also houses the Théâtre du Capitole. A large Occitan cross is set into the paving of the square.
4Couvent des Jacobins
The Dominican order was founded in Toulouse in 1215, and its friars began this brick church in 1230. Inside, a single slender column spreads its vaulting ribs like a palm tree, a feature known as the Palm Tree of the Jacobins. The relics of Thomas Aquinas have rested here since the 14th century.
Read the full story →
5Pont Neuf
Despite its name, the Pont Neuf, or New Bridge, is the oldest bridge across the Garonne in Toulouse: it was begun in 1544 and completed in 1632, partly under the Parisian architect Jacques Lemercier. Look at the round openings in its piers, which let floodwater through, and it was the only bridge in the city to survive the great flood of 1875.
Read the full story →
6Musée des Augustins
The fine arts museum occupies a former convent of Augustinian friars built from the 14th century, with a Gothic cloister and a church tower visible from the street. It opened as a museum in 1795, making it one of the oldest in France, and is known for its Romanesque sculpture from the churches of Toulouse.
7St Stephen's Cathedral
Toulouse Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, was built over several centuries and is known for its unusual shape: the early 13th-century nave and the larger Gothic choir begun in the late 13th century are not on the same axis. Look at the west front, where the rose window is not centred above the portal.
Read the full story →
8Grand Rond Garden
The Grand Rond, also called the Boulingrin after the English bowling green, is an oval garden laid out in the 18th century where several tree-lined avenues meet. A large fountain stands at its centre, and the garden is linked to the Jardin Royal and the Jardin des Plantes.
9University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse was founded in 1229, at the end of the Albigensian Crusade, which makes it one of the oldest universities in Europe. Today Toulouse is one of the largest student cities in France, and university buildings are spread across the centre and the suburbs.
10Saint-Exupère ChurchFinish
This parish church is dedicated to Saint Exuperius, bishop of Toulouse around the year 400. He is remembered for completing the basilica over the tomb of Saint Saturnin and moving the saint's relics there, the forerunner of today's Saint-Sernin. In 405 Pope Innocent I sent him a letter listing the books of the Bible, an important early text on the biblical canon.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Well thought out walking tour. At our own pace and saw many interesting things. Worth seeing museum at first stop and includes tickets to convent which is a stop further on.
Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
il percorso era interessante e ben organizzati
Apr 16, 2024 –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ça permet de faire une boucle dans le vieux Toulouse et de voir de beaux bâtiments 👍
Jan 23, 2024 –
Collected on GetYourGuide
El hecho que el Mapa te guíe es muy interesante. La información muy correcta. Estaría bien que te informara como desplazarte en transporte público. Gracias.