FrenchDuck’s databank
31 Haut-Garonne

Toulouse (31 Haut Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees) is known as the Pink City but violet is the colour for February.

Every year in February, during the flowering season of this highly-perfumed little flower, the Festival de la Violette is organised by Les Amis de la Violette.
The violet is the emblematic flower of Toulouse, and has been cultivated by the market gardeners in the north of the city since the 19th century. Nowadays, “La Violette de Toulouse” is a registered trademark, to be found on a wide variety of products (sweets, perfume, liqueur, etc.) and offers an excellent reason to celebrate as well as to explore Toulouse - the City of Violets!

For more info see www.uk.toulouse-tourisme.com

It all started in Paris with the Velib’ Scheme - an amalgam of Velo (cycle) and Liberte (free), which has been a tremendous success.

The latest we’ve come across is the Velomagg in Montepellier (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon).

Vélib’ is a Self Service “bike hire” system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Multi pick up and drop off location allows you to pick up your bike from one service point and drop off to another.

. You need to subscribe, but for visitors there are 1-day and 7-day subscriptions and after the first 30 minutes you pay by the half-hour - e.g. a 90-minute hire will cost just €3 and you can pick up and drop off your bike at any of the hundreds of self-service stations across the city.

The Velib’ scheme has been based on a similar scheme VeloV in Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) France’s second city. The combination of these eco-friendly and fitness focussed schemes is now spreading throughout France:-
VeloCite in Mulhouse (68 Haut-Rhin, Alsace) and Besancon (25 Doubs, Franche-Comté)
Vhello in Aix-en-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Le Velo in Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Velo in Toulouse (34 Haut Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees)
Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique, Val de Loire)
Rouen (76 Seine Maritime, Normandy)
Bordeaux (33 Gironde, Aquitaine)
Velostan in Nancy (54 Meurthe et Moselle, Lorraine)
Velo+ in Orleans (45 Loiret, Centre)

This is clearly a popular scheme, mainly aimed at local residents but may also offer a different way of seeing some of France’s major cities from a different perspective. However, I would recommend choosing a city with good cycle lanes and paths - you do get the impression that traffic in many of France’s cities is not very forgiving with errant cyclists - so do not try cycling around the rond-point of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!!

Most French autoroutes between major towns and cities are toll motorways, which whilst often offering fast and uncrowded dual-carriageways, can nevertheless add significantly to the cost of a trip through France - e.g over €90 (over £60) on a one-way trip from Calais to Nice (1226km of motorway driving about 760 miles).

However there are significant sections of autoroute which are toll free - most often these are around major towns and Cities (Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon etc).

In the North, the A16 is toll-free from Boulogne (J29) to the Belgian border (J36) via Calais and Dunkerque. The A25 from Dunkerque (J20) to Lille is free, so you can reach Lille from the main Channel ports without paying a toll!. Also all routes from Lille to the Belgian border.
The following autoroutes are toll free (as at September 2007)
A16 (part of the Autoroute des Estuaires (estuaries)) from Boulogne-sur-Mer (J29) to the Belgian border(J36)
A20 (L’Occitane) from Vierzon (J6 junction with A71) to Brive-la-Gaillarde (J53) via Chateauroux, Argenton and Limoges
A25 from Dunkerque (J20 with A16) to Lille
A28 from Abbeville (J1) to Rouen (J14)
A30/A31 (Autoroute de la Vallée de la Fensch) from Thionville (J1) to Toul (J12) via Metz and Nancy
A38 from Dijon (J33) to Pouilly-sur-Auxois (J24 and the junction with the A6)
A63 (Autoroute de la Cote Basque) from Bordeaux to Bellin-Bellet (J20)
A64 (la Pyreneenne) from St Martory (J20) to Muret (J25)
A68 (la Tarnaise) from Monastruc (J3 NE of Toulouse) to Albi (J11) via Gaillac
A75 (la Meridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand (J15) to Pezenas (J59) (except for the Millau Bridge) via Issoire
A77 (Autoroute de l’Arbre (trees)) from Pouilly (J26) to Nevers (J37)
A84 from Caen (J46) to Rennes (J25) via Avranches

With the 2007 Rugby World Cup kicking off in early September, it is worth knowing when and where the matches are to be held - if only so that you can avoid the additional heavy traffic for several hours around the match time. Particularly susceptible to congestion will be the Paris Peripherique and the A1 autoroute entry to the city - the Parc des Princes and Stade de France are both close to the autoroute and peripherique, and if match time is anywhere near the evening rush hour the traffic will be even more chaotic.
For more details on the Rugby World Cup CLICK HERE
For map click (more…)

High in the Pyrenees southwest of Toulouse, the town of Bagneres de Luchon celebrates its annual Flower Festival bringing more colour to this already attractive town surrounded by mountains.

For more info see www.luchon.com

At last a budget airline has introduced transparent pricing on its website. Flybe now shows the actual cost to fly on their routes to France and elsewhere. Until now airlines would headline their offers along the lines of “Flights from 99p” but by the time booking fees, admin charges, airport charges and government taxes were added, the 99p could become £50 or more.
The only additional charge is for a credit card (£1.99) and debit card (£0.99) per person per flight.
So I was quickly able to discover that I can fly from Birmingham to Bergerac (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) for just £65.64 inclusive at the end of September, which sounds pretty good to me!

Flybe flies to Angers, Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Chambery, Geneva, la Rochelle, Limoges, Nice, Paris, Perpignan, Rennes and Toulouse.

For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk/travel/flights.html

New Zealand v Romania in Toulouse

Romania v Portugal in Toulouse

France v Namibia in Toulouse

Japan v Fiji in Toulouse

Toulouse is the capital of the département of Haute Garonne (31) and of the Midi-Pyrenees region. The area has a rich food heritage - including the Toulouse Sausage! Duck, Goose and pork are the predominant meats, but the area is also good for fruit and vegetables.
The indoor Victor Hugo market in Toulouse (Place Victor Hugo), was where Rick Stein investigated and raved about the Toulouse Sausage of Jean Marie Castet at the stall of Gilles Vidal - open Tuesday - Sunday mornings - a huge selection of other wonderful foods always available.

The following list of markets is accurate to the best of our knowledge - many may only operate in the summer - always check with the local tourist office.
Arbas - Sunday
Aspet - Saturday
Aurignac - Tuesday
Auterive - Friday
Ayguesvives - Wednesday
Bagnères-de-Luchon - Wednesday
Balma - Saturday
Baziège - Saturday
Beauzelle - Wednesday
Bessières - Monday
Blagnac - Saturday
Boulogne-Sur-Gesse - Wednesday
Bruguières - Sunday
Cadours - Wednesday
Calmont - Tuesday
Caraman - Thursday
Carbonne - Thursday
Castelginest - Saturday
Castelmaurou - Thursday
Cazères - Saturday
Gaud - Tuesday
Cintegabelle - Wednesday
Colomiers - Saturday
Cornebarrieu - Sunday
Cugnaux - Saturday
Eaunes - Tuesday
Escalquens - Sunday
Fenouillet - Saturday
Fonsorbes - Saturday
Fridayonton - Thursday
Gratentour - Wednesday
Grenade - Saturday
Labarth-sur-Lèze - Sunday
Lanta - Wednesday
Launac - Friday
Léguevin - Sunday
L’Isle-en-Dodon - Saturday
L’Union - Sunday
Marignac - Friday
Martres-Tolosane - Tuesday
Mazères-Sur-Salat - Friday
Mirepoix-Sur-Tarn - Tuesday
Mondonville - Friday
Montastruc - Sunday
Montesquieu-Volvestre - Saturday
Montgiscard - Sunday
Montréjeau - Monday
Muret - Saturday
Nailloux - Wednesday
Pechbonnieu - Saturday
Pibrac - Monday
Pinsaguel - Sunday
Plaisance-du-Touch - Saturday
Portet-Sur-Garonne - Friday
Ramonville-St-Agne - Saturday
Revel - Saturday
Rieumes - Thursday
Roques-Sur-Garonne - Friday
Roquettes - Wednesday
Seysses - Friday
St-Béat - Friday
St-Cézert - Friday
St-Félix - Wednesday
St-Gaudens - Saturday
St-Geniès-Bellevue - Thursday
St-Jean - Saturday
St-Lys - Tuesday
St-Orens-de-Gameville - Saturday
St-Sulpice-sur-Lèze - Wednesday
Toulouse - Place du Capitol - Tuesday- Saturday (organic)
Toulouse - Victor Hugo - Tuesday - Saturday
Tournefeuille - Sunday
Vacquiers - Sunday
Venerque - Thursday
VilleFranche-de-Lauragais - Friday
Villemur-Sur-Tarn - Sunday
Villeneuve-Tolosane - Sunday

The number of budget airline routes to France from the UK is continuing to grow, as is the number of French destinations - no longer restricted to the major cities. This really does open up some of the less well-known parts of France.
The list below shows the extent of the coverage - and this excludes flights to Paris which are available from most local airports. Some flights are seasonal, so please check with the airline for timetables and availability.

For the South West the A20 autoroute (l’Occitaine) is now complete linking Paris and Toulouse via the A10 to Orleans, then the A71 to Vierzon onto the A20 for Toulouse via Limoges, Brive, Cahors and Montauban. This is a very enjoyable road cutting through some glorious scenery - and such a joy for those who used to struggle on the old N20. This provides much easier access to Limoges, the Upper Dordogne & Sarlat, and the Lot Valley, Montauban and Toulouse. Cahors is now less than 7hrs from Calais - although you will have to pay about €47 (£30) in tolls (2006 figures) for the journey from Calais to Toulouse. However, the stretch from Vierzon (18 Cher, Centre) and the A71 junction south to Brive-la-Gaillarde (19 Corrèze, Limousin) is toll free!