Nikki

My husband and I will be picking up our daughters at the Toulouse airport around 5 PM one evening in August. Any suggestions for a hotel or B&B in or near Toulouse to spend one night before going on to our house exchange the next day?

For those who have been in the area, would it be better to spend the night in the city of Toulouse, somewhere near the airport, or somewhere in the nearby countryside?

sheila

It's about 1 1/2 hours' drive from the airport to the house, so you could defintely make it if you wanted to. What day do you arrive?

There are the usual plethora of airport hotels, but arriving that early, I can't think you would want to stay out there.

I would suggest you go into the city and stay there. You can visit a galery, walk along the river, have an apero at the Capitole, and have a nice dinner.

Or...

Go to Agen and stay there overnight. Or Albi (that's what we did this last trip. It was lovely)

One bad thing 5pm on a Friday (is it Friday?) is a dreadful time to be driving on the main roads round Toulouse. I know. I've done it.

Nikki

The girls arrive Friday, so the house isn't available until the next day. I guess we'll be stuck with the traffic whatever we do.

Been to Albi a couple years ago. What's Agen like? Both seem to be in the wrong direction, but what do I know?

Any suggestions for hotels in Toulouse?

sheila

Albi's in the wrong direction but only takes about 50 minutes. Agen is pretty much due west, as opposed to south west. To be honest I wasn't that much taken with it.

We have stayed at Le Ratelier in the forest just outside Touldouse. It's cheap and cheerful and not in the city, and about 20 minutes from the airport. We've stayed at the Ibis at the airport- cheap and cheerful. I've stayed at the Hotel des Beaux Arts right on the river overlooking the Pont Neuf. Very nice, great location. The rooms vary hugely. There's a restaurant, separate to the hotel on teh ground floor that does great fish and shell fish.

Preferring the country,I have two other suggestions. About half way down on the inland road (not the motorway) there's a place called the Moulin de Sabaillon where we've both eaten and stayed. there are only two Chmbres d'Hotes rooms.

Or we've recently discovered the Monastere de Mont Ares in Nestier, which has FANTASTIC food, and has reputedly good cheap Chambres d@Hotes upstairs. It's about half and hour south of the house.

Nikki

Great ideas, I will check them out, thanks.

Images2

We recently stayed at Les Pesques, which is about 30 minutes south of Toulouse for 49€ for a double room. It's a very pretty B&B.
Tel :+33 (0) 5.61.97.59.28 Dinner 8-8 :30 19€each
[email protected] www.les-pesques.com

I posted a review on Trip Advisor with pictures!

llamalady

If you simply have to stay at an airport hotel reserve the room asap.

B/c of the Airbus plant the hotels may be filled with businessmen. We had a very frustrating experience finding every place was filled. Ended up in a real dump for a four star price!

sheila

If you go for that- Les Pesques- place, Nikki, it's well located en route.

What are you thinking about now?

Lawchick

I go very regularly to Toulouse and indeed the Hotels tend to fill up. However August should be quiet there.

The airport area is not very nice...like any airport area, but the centre of Toulouse is not that far away.

I have alos stayed at a golf club in the country side...(no rooms left in Toulouse) The Hotel Maeva in Seilh - if you do want to stay in the country.

Nikki

The plans are changing a bit. We are now going to fly from Madrid to Toulouse to meet the girls, and our flight arrives at 7:30. So less time for a nice evening out afterwards, and less time to drive to a distant hotel.

Torn between the airport and the center of Toulouse. The kids will be exhausted after a long day of travel and then waiting for us at the airport when they'd rather be sleeping.

I just decided this last night so the kids don't know that part yet. Ssh, don't tell.

sheila

pack overnight bags. Take a taxi into the centre of Toulouse and stay somewhere nice. Take a taxi back out inthe morninga nd pick up your car when you're fresh. Do NOT mess with Toulouse Friday night traffic when you're jet lagged.

annhig

hi, Nikki,

we had a late flight into toulouse last September. we got a cab into town [about 25 E and stayed at the albert 1er, just off teh main square. For about 80E we got a good sized room, king bed, full bathroom, and airconditioning - essential in august. Breakfast was eztra[ i forget how much] but worth every penny. [sorry, cent]
There are lovely restaurants round the square, nice bars, shops, a great walk along the riverside under the trees, cathedral, etc.etc.
In the morning, we walked to the station [about 15 minutes] and picked up our hire car from there. You could get a bus instead or book a cab the night before.

in august, it should be light enough to get to your house when you arrive, but if you factor in the possiblity of delays, jet-lag, and the chance to see a great french city, IMO there's no contest.

good luck,

regards, ann

PS I wouldn't stay near the airport - you'll be there very early, nothing to do, bad food - a waste of an evening.

Nikki

OK, the heck with the girls. They'll be tired and jetlagged so they can sleep in their room. My husband and I will be coming from Portugal and then Spain, so we'll be used to those 10 PM dinner hours and we can find someplace nice in Toulouse. I'm assuming places will be open at 10 PM on a Friday night, right?

I hope a taxi will hold us and our luggage. For that matter, I hope our rental car will hold us and our luggage.

annhig

hi, again, Nikki,

we arrived in toulouse later than you should as our plane didn't get in til 9pm. Plenty of taxis into the centre from the rank out the front, including come bigger ones, I think.

Not sure about restaurants open at 10pm for people sitting down at that time. THe bars were certainly open, and restaurants still open. I suggest you google restaurants in Toulouse and look at the serving times of a few likely ones. THe restaurant we ate at in the square on the second night we were there was certainly open at 10pm, but we sat down at about 8.30pm. I'd aim for 9pm if i were you and take a long time to decide!

regards, ann

Nikki

Thanks, Ann. We'll just have to see what's open when we get there. By the time we gather our bags, kids, car or taxi, get to the hotel, and get out again, I really don't know what time it will be.

It's not that I want to sit down at 9 PM and wait an hour; it's that I just don't know whether we'll hit the ground running much before 10.

The Albert 1er does look like a good choice to be very central for our purposes.

annhig

hi, nikki,

if your are picking up daughters at 5pm, you should be in hotel by 6.30pm at latest - say 30 minutes to clear passport and collect luggage, 30 minutes in cab, 30 minutes settling in.

we arrived at about 9pm, and were drinking a beer in the square at 10.15.

the Albert 1er had three classes of rooms from memory - we picked the mid-price, but it'l ldepend what 's available, I suppose. we booked direct with them over the internet, and they were very good at coming back answering our questions and confirming the booking.

Being in centre of town,it's not the quietest hotel I've ever stayed in but it's down a sidestreet and it's away from the square, which could be noisy, I think. another poster stayed there so you might like to search this thread for her report, before you book.

good luck,

regards, ann

Nikki

Ann, no, that 5 PM thing went out the window when we decided to fly to Toulouse and our plane arrives at 7:30 PM. See my post of 6/21 at 7:38. That was the point of all that talking about the kids waiting for us for hours at the airport.

The rooms with two beds or king size beds at the Albert 1er are the most expensive ones, but that's OK, still not bad. I'll search for the previous report.

sheila

Nikki

The one time I've stayed "posh" in Toulouse, it was in the Hotel des Beaux Arts, which is right on the Pont Neuf.

My pal had a lovely big room overlooking the river. I had a very functional attic. It worked very well-but specify teh room you want.

There was a cracking seafood restuarnt on the ground floor- not part of the hotel; on checking I see it's called the Brasserie des Beaux Arts. It has a web site, and it seems to serve till midnight

http://www.brasserielesbeauxarts.com/

Nikki

Thanks, Sheila. I checked out the Hotel des Beaux Arts and it seems a bit more expensive and less central than the Albert 1er. Not thinking so much about staying posh for this one night. And I think we will want to walk quickly to some place for dinner or drinks.