Today’s highlights are a walk through the streets of the ‘Pink City’ of Toulouse in the Midi-Pyrenees. It was a cold and wintery 3 days there, so you’ll notice that there is very little in the way of blue skies!
Today’s post shows you a few glimpses of the Rue du Taur area with its charming pink brick buildings, narrow streets, wrought iron details, and medieval history.
The origins of the Rue du Taur are actually rather grim! This was the street where St Saturnin, first Bishop of Toulouse, was tied by the ankles to a charging bull and then dragged to his death at the instigation of the pagan priests who were headquartered at the site of the current Capitole plaza.
The basilica of St. Sernin (St. Saturnin) is the large cluster of buildings at the top of the Rue du Taur and it is all that remains of a formerly vast abbey complex.
UNESCO World Heritage Site Basilica of St. Sernin (St. Saturnin) in Toulouse, France.
Shoppers on Rue du Saur in Toulouse, France.
A slight curve in a narrow road filled with soft pink-coloured brick buildings in Toulouse, France.
Man sitting on a bollard in front of the Notre Dame du Taur church entry reading a guidebook.
Clad in a full fur coat and fur hat, a woman bustles through the shopping district on Rue du Taur in Toulouse, France.
Our journey down the Rue du Taur ends as the street opens up into the vast plaza in front of the the Capitole de Toulouse, a government and arts complex covering over 2 hectares (4.4 acres) right in the heart of Toulouse and rebuilt in the 1700s-1800s in the same spot as the original Roman Capitolium.
Rue du Taur terminates at the vast plaza containing the Capitole in Toulouse, France.
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The plaza in front of the Capitole building in Toulouse is frequently crowded with both tourists and local residents.
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