Taxi Bordeaux → Toulouse

The Bordeaux–Toulouse journey links south-western France's two largest metropolises, two complementary cities separated by 245 km of motorway through the Gascony hills. Toulouse, the Pink City (named for the pink brick of its buildings), is France's fourth city and Europe's aerospace capital: Airbus, CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), Thales Alenia Space and hundreds of aerospace companies have their headquarters or factories here. The Place du Capitole, a vast 12,000 m² esplanade bordered by the Capitole (18th-century town hall and theatre, with its sumptuous painted halls), is the city's beating heart. The Basilica of Saint-Sernin, the largest Romanesque church in the Western world and a major stop on the Compostela route (UNESCO), impresses with its colossal dimensions and emblematic octagonal bell tower. The Canal du Midi (UNESCO), a 17th-century civil engineering masterpiece designed by Pierre-Paul Riquet, crosses Toulouse and offers magnificent plane tree-shaded walks. The Cité de l'Espace, a space theme park unique in Europe, brings the space adventure to life (full-scale Ariane 5 rocket, Mir station replica). The Augustins Museum (fine arts in a Gothic convent), Les Abattoirs (contemporary art), the Saint-Étienne quarter (unfinished cathedral, organic market) and the Garonne banks compose a culturally rich heritage.