"I have read all of your (detailed!) posts on the area and very much appreciate all that you share with all of us.<<

I have posts & itineraries about France. Just in case you don't have my itinerary about the Languedoc - here it is.

See attached

Stu Dudley

Stu,
Yeah, he seems like a good guy overall, and it's cool that you got to meet him. I have to credit one of his TV shows for inspiring my love at first sight for the Dordogne, where my husband and I ended up honeymooning (along with Paris, of course!) at the ripe old age of 60 :blush: And if I counted everyone I know in the SF Bay Area who enjoy some pot on occasion, I'd quickly run out of fingers and toes!
Marlene

Thanks, Stu. I had read it and also printed up pertinent sections.

<<Thanks, Ann. And you're right - there's no reason we have to pick the car up at the airport. I wanted to have one so we have more freedom to explore the area (Carcassone, etc.), but we wouldn't need one in Toulouse itself.

My main question if we want to stay all 4 nts. in one place (to minimize the jumping around that we usually do!) what would be the best base, if we like a more historic/village feel?

Marlene>>

After Toulouse we went down to the Pyrenees and then stayed somewhere near Perpignan on the way back to Toulouse airport so I'm not the best person to answer that question, sorry. from what others have posted here I would be looking at Albi or Castres and it might come down to finding a hotel that I really liked.

Rick Steves is a good guy. I first met him at the University of Washington back in the early 70's, because as the President of the "International Association" I had to sign off on giving him the room key to do his workshops on "Europe Through the Backdoor". He really loves to teach and write and inspire people to travel and connect with people in other countries. Even though I think he can come off as a bit earnest sometimes in his shows, he really has built an amazing business. He also recently pledged $2M to a waterfront project in the community near Seattle where he lives and has his travel store

https://www.heraldnet.com/life/rick-...rfront-center/

Marlene-be sure to comment on great restaurants you find in Toulouse, Albi or other. We will be in France starting in early March but I won't make it down to that area until mid-May after your trip, so I will be excited to read anything you have to say about your thoughts and discoveries :)

We have lived in LA SF and Seattle, and Toulouse always gives me some of that west coast-fun street art, great food etc.

Hi Jpie,
Went ahead and booked an apartment at the Mercure Toulouse Center St. Georges as you suggested. Since we'll be there 4 nights, it will be nice to have a kitchen area/fridge if we don't want to eat out all the time (or we want to eat leftovers). The outside of the building isn't as charming as some of the other older places, but we're not going to standing around looking at the outside of it anyway!

And I agree with you about Rick Steves. He is a good guy! He's volunteered some on the public TV station here, KQED (which you may remember) and it's so great that you met him back in the day! I think you're right - he built up his business, worked really hard and has now transferred most of the day to day stuff to his staff. Good for him :)

I'll definitely comment on any restaurants that we like a lot, and will try to do it before you're down there. (jet lag allowing ;-) Sounds like we've lived in some similar areas - I in SF, Portland and Sacramento area. Was glad to hear what you said about the "vibe" of Toulouse.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Marlene

Oh I am excited you decided to base in Toulouse-I don't think you will be disappointed. And the location of the Mercure is really nice. It is a 2 minute walk from the hotel down to the Place Saint George which is a lovely place to hang out. And there are some nice design, decor and clothing shops all along that walk. There is actually quite a well know cassoulet restaurant on the Place called Emile's. I think Le Tirou is better (and cheaper in my recollection) but if you don't get the time to get out to Castnaudery then you could go there-you will probably need reservation BTW. Also I notice on their website that they are opening a new restaurant called LA TABLE DE MICHÈLE in Campsas which would be on your route up to Montauban, so that could make a nice lunch stop :) It looks to be very new-not even menus posted on the site yet.

https://www.restaurant-emile.com/

https://www.latablemichele.com/

The restaurant Monsieur Georges on the place is also quite good-more eclectic modern cuisine

https://www.monsieurgeorges.fr/#cartes

Also even though it is kind if tourist cheesy, I would recommend taking the "petit train" that leaves from the Capitole. It is an 45 minute or so ride around the core of Toulouse with audio guidance. It is a good way to get an overview of the city and understand the layout and distances of places you may want to come back to visit. There are actually two routes-both interesting

https://www.petittraintoulouse.com/nos-circuits?lang=en


I think you will enjoy having the apartment unit at the Mercure. I sprung for one this year with a deck since I thought that might be fun to try. So did you decide to pick up the car after your days in Toulouse then?

Jpie,
Thanks, as always, for the great recommendations. I've made note of them all. Speaking of cheesy but possibly fun, have you or anyone you know ever taken a boat trip down the canal in the Toulouse area? Not that we'll have a ton of time, but looks pretty. Maybe we'll just walk along it!

I did decide to change the car reservation (now I just have to actually do it - haha!). There are so many moving parts to planning a trip, though I know many people just "wing it". I'd rather have this stuff taken care of ahead of time so I can focus on what I actually want to do/see on the trip :)

Yes, I think the apt. at the Mercure will suit our needs well. I've used Airbnb a lot, because of the aspect of having a kitchen, etc. but lately have had a couple of not great experiences w/them. Will probably stick to domestic use with them.

Best,

Marlene

Yes I totally understand what you mean by having so many moving parts to the trip planning-I just cancelled a month of reservations we had due to some last minute stuff that came up-oh well, I figure at least we are still travelling!

I haven't done a boat trip but am actually planning on doing one with my cousin in May. But I have walked stretches of the canal and it is lovely. I have been eyeing this one:

https://www.bateaux-toulousains.com/...e/4-decouverte

I am just like you with airbnb. I have found that many times the beds aren't really up to snuff and I am getting so that I just appreciate the benefits that a hotel apartment has to offer. It is pretty unusual to find a Mercure with apartments, usually now we book at a lower end chain like Appart CIty or sometimes Citadines, etc. We much prefer to at least have a small kitchen to have coffee and breakfast and sometimes leftovers-but that is rarer for us to have in Europe with smaller portion sizes thank goodness! But it is such a luxury not to have get out early in the morning to have "forage for food" as my husband says.

Also, You may already know that there is pretty good public transport from the airport to the center of town both by bus and by bus/tram if you decide you don't want to take a cab.

Public transport | Toulouse-Blagnac Airport

The other thing I wanted to mention is that Toulouse has a very convenient public transport system with what I always call the "mini-metro (like a tiny version of Paris), tram and bus. But they also have a ticket called the "tribu" which can be used for 2-12 people traveling together for 1 day for up to 12 trips total in 1 day. It is cheaper for a couple together 8.20 euros versus the two singe day passes at 6.10 euros each. Just a FYI if you plan to use the public transport.

https://www.tisseo.fr/en/tickets-price

I took the cruise of the Garonne and the Canal de Brienne offered by https://www.bateaux-toulousains.com. I was there in July 2015 when I took it. (I was also there last October but only for a couple of nights before flying home from there.)

Depending on the time of year, this company offers cruises on either the Canal du Midi or the Garonne and the Canal de Brienne. Canal du Midi was not on offer in July.

Here are my pictures from the 2015 trip. Toulouse is at the beginning. If you click into a picture, you will see any text that I added in the lower left corner (if I did on that pic! LOL!)
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1Q...CKm43f2DosS3VQ

Albi pictures follow Toulouse as I did it as a day trip from Toulouse.

You're lucky that you'll be picking up your car at the Toulouse train station. I dropped my car there this past year and it was a complete mess to locate where to park it! The station is undergoing renovations.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the boat info! As for transport from the airport, I just got a message from the Mercure re a shuttle service they recommend. I'd probably do something like that. And thanks for the into on the tribu. Sounds good. We usually try to walk most places, but that can get a little tiring!

Appreciate all of your help.

Marlene

Joannyc,

Thanks for the boating link. I'll check it out!

I was looking forward to seeing the pictures from your trip, but unfortunately the link didn't work on my computer, despite trying it a couple of times.

When/if you have a chance, would you mind sending them again?

Good to know about the renovations at the train station. Maybe I'll check to see if there's another place we could pick it up.

Thanks again,
Marlene

Sorry, Marlene. Please try this link:
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1Q...oaoAKQ-9NcvuE3

I didn't link my "shared" album in my previous post.

You should be fine picking up a car at the train station! The office will direct you where to find the cars. My problem was there were no signs as to where to park the car upon return.

The cruise that I took went through a lock as do the ones on the Canal du Midi, so that was cool.

Thanks, joannyc. Good to hear about the train station. One thing I don't have to change ;-)

I'm sorry to say, but for some reason, I'm still getting an error message when I click on the link for your photos. Does it work for you when you click on it? It's frustrating, cause I'd love to see your photos. Don't know why I'm having a problem.

Hmm, don't know why you are receiving an error message. What is the message?

Maybe someone else on this thread can try to see if the link works for them?

Here is an old link to where I originally posted them, it redirected me to Google Photos.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1075540...fFrance2015MRI

I could open the other links but maybe that is because I own the album? I tried on my laptop and my iPad.

I can open them fro that link, joannyc.

Thanks very much, kja! I knew you would come through with helping out here!

Not sure about that, joannyc -- I only checked that last link. ;-) And only because your photos are worth seeing. :)

Awwww, you are too sweet and too kind! Thank you! Hope all is well with you!

@ joannyc: Ditto!