Novotel Toulouse Centre
Toulouse, Haute-Garonne

Built in 1987, totally refurbished in 2005, near the access roads to motorways and town centre. Toulouse International Airport: 6km far. Novotel Toulouse Centre backs onto 10 ha of magnificent gardens, facing Congress Center, close by the heart of Toulouse (1km). Airbus site: 10km far. Large redesigned spacious bedrooms with double bed & cosy sofa bed. All rooms with private bathroom, separate toilet, individual air conditioning, WiFi access, tea & coffee facility, etc. Swimming pool, bar.

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France’s fourth-largest metropolitan area is consistently vibrant, even when its student population (the largest outside Paris) takes off for the summer or winter holidays. Toulouse combines the easygoing character of the south-west with a self-assurance born not just from its rich cultural heritage, but also from its affluence and role as a high-tech industry town. Dubbed the ‘Ville Rose’ because of its pink brick buildings, Toulouse sits astride the Garonne river and the historic Canal du Midi, midway between the Med and the Atlantic. The heart of town is the vast, arcaded place du Capitole, where the impressive, grandiose Capitole building is the seat of local government. It is worth popping in, if only to see the floor-to-ceiling 19th-century paintings, including Henri Martin’s elaborate depiction of Toulousain life at the time.