Photo: mauritius images/Alamy
From waste comes rhythm, waste turned into melodies. In La Halle de la Machine in Toulouse I see how Ignacio Herrero, one of La Halle's employees, makes music from recycled pieces of junk.
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This hangar-like space in the southern district of Montaudran is best known as the home of the giant animatronic Minotaur Asterion and his equally enormous spider companion Ariane. However, the exhibits demonstrated by the staff also include an improvised orchestra: old horns turned into an organ, a huge pinwheel of abandoned guitars, a cascade of battered drum cymbals, an accordion powered by a device that operated windshield wipers in a previous life. The ingenuity, innovation and quirkiness of it all are enchanting; music and technology come together harmoniously in a way that would have made Heath Robinson burst into song.
Toulouse has always been one for pushing boundaries: La Halle de la Machine is next to the L'Envol des Pionniers Museum, which celebrates early French aviation, and five kilometers from the space-themed Cité de l'Espace science museum. As of October 31, it is now an official UNESCO City of Music, in recognition of Toulouse's exceptional musical institutions, music education and festivals.
Music is as much a part of the city's DNA as it was when the medieval counts of Toulouse were ardent patrons of the Occitan-singing troubadours who provided the soundtrack to the Middle Ages. There are not many places where the Town Hall shares its space with the national theater and opera house, in this case the Théâtre du Capitole, but it is what happens behind the pink neoclassical facade of the Capitole, Toulouse's most imposing monument. The Christmas market is in full swing during my visit, filling the elegant Place du Capitole with its arcades of glittering white wooden chalets, the smell of mulled wine and stalls selling fantastically gooey produce. aligot the signature dish of the Aveyron region: cheesy, garlicky puree.
At the Théâtre du Capitole I see a fascinating performance of Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses by the Toulouse-based Gemelliensemble I. It is the last in the series, but gives a taste of the rich theater program of opera, classical music and ballet. With baroque opera in my ears, I wander to the student district near one of Toulouse's three universities. The cloisters of the Gothic Couvent des Jacobins provide an atmospheric backdrop for concerts, including the Piano aux Jacobins festival and the Toulouse Conservatory, which trains the next generation of musicians.
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When I reach Place Saint-Pierre, near the Garonne River, I am firmly in student territory. I'm not sure why the bar Le Saints des Seins calls itself the saint of breasts, but it is popular for live music and DJ sets. A few minutes away there's a slightly more adult atmosphere at Flashback Café, whose DayGlo interior brightens up a cold December evening with its vibrantly colored inflatable couches, a giant screen for gamers and a stage for live bands and DJs. I'm sorry I can't be there for the theme evening 'ugly sweaters, mustaches and harder haircuts'. I also don't have time to go further along the river to jazz club Le Taquin, an intimate space that hosts local and international jazz musicians, as well as funk and world music artists.
Jazz club Le Taquin is an intimate space that hosts local and international jazz musicians, funk and world music artists
Two of my favorite cultural institutions in Toulouse - the art collections of Fondation Bemberg and Musée des Augustins - are closed for renovation; the former until February and the latter will likely reopen at the end of 2025.
I stayed at one of Toulouse's newest boutique hotels, the centrally located Hotel Les Capitouls. It's not often you walk into a hotel reception and see posters of Joy Division, New Order, the Stone Roses and the Haçienda nightclub, but something from the 80s and 90s in Manchester has been created by the hotel's French designer, Thierry d'Istria, inspired to pay tribute. In addition to posters, cassette tapes and other musical paraphernalia have also been processed into works of art in the rooms and public areas. They've even named the bar Le Wilson, although I expect it has more to do with nearby Place Wilson than with Manchester music maverick Tony.
A recent addition to Toulouse's cultural - and culinary - scene opened in September in La Cartoucherie, an eco-district close to the Zénith Toulouse Métropole music venue, with a capacity of 11,000 people. Les Halles de la Cartoucherie emerged from the ruins of a former munitions factory and has already become a honeypot. With its industrial heritage proudly on display, Les Halles is part food hall (with stalls offering everything from cassoulet to West African cuisine, as well as a butcher's shop and grocery store), part co-working space and part fitness center (with squash courts, a fitness room and a climbing center) with rooms for courses and workshops. The ultra-modern music venue will open for concerts and cultural performances in the spring.
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Judging by the full tables of people devouring Peruvian ceviche, Sri Lankan curry and Lebanese meze, among other things, the formula apparently works. Eating well in Toulouse is easy and such a pleasure. I'm reminded why I fell for Toulouse years ago when I walk through the Victor Hugo Food Market, one of the largest covered markets in France, and the place where you can find some of the best produce in south-west France. I can't avoid the stalls selling regional cheeses, including the holy trinity of rocamadour, roquefort and cantal.
The charcuterie displays take me back to an earlier evening during my visit, when Jessica Hammer of Taste of Toulouse took me on a wine bar tour, culminating in the cured hams and cheeses platter at Maison Sarment. Oh, and the wine of course, including the underrated Côtes de Gascogne and Gaillac that are so typical of the South West. Hammer, a wine expert and former cheesemonger from Michigan, fell in love with Toulouse six years ago and hasn't looked back. In a place full of so many joys of life, surrounded by such gentle beauty, it is difficult not to be seduced by Toulouse's song of the south.
This trip was arranged by the Toulouse tourist office. Hotel les Capitouls has double rooms (rooms only). €159
