Toulouse is a city that tells its own story through its walls, squares and pink skies. A city where every stone seems to have a memory, where the past dialogues with the present and innovations. Behind the hustle and bustle of Place du Capitole and the laughter echoing along the banks of the Garonne, Toulouse hides another, more discreet but equally captivating wealth: its museums.
Here, art is not a matter of a fixed showcase. It’s lived and breathed. In a former Gothic convent, under the celestial palm of the Jacobins, in the cockpit of a Concorde, in the intimacy of a private mansion bathed in light, or in the bowels of a life-size rocket, Toulouse reveals its thousand faces. Just push open a door, dare to venture where tourists sometimes pass by without looking, and you’ll discover that the pink city is also a city of curiosities. Let’s take a look at the 7 most beautiful museums in the pink city, which you can easily reach from our 3-star hotel in Toulouse !
Musée des Augustins: Toulouse's art treasure (back soon)
Currently closed for extensive renovation, the Musée des Augustins will reopen its doors at the end of 2025, offering visitors a redesigned and modernized setting. In the meantime, it remains one of Toulouse’s most emblematic cultural venues, a museum steeped in history where medieval architecture meets masterpieces of sculpture and painting.
Founded during the French Revolution, the Musée des Augustins was one of the first museums created in France, alongside the Louvre. It is housed in a former Gothic convent, of which the 14th-century cloister, currently being restored, is one of the jewels. This exceptional setting is home to over 700 works of art, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
The museum is particularly renowned for its collection of Romanesque and Gothic sculptures, including such masterpieces as Le chapiteau de la Mort de saint Jean-Baptiste, la Vierge à L’Enfant, Nostre-Dame-de-Grasse and Jorge Pardo’s light installation, which enhances the Romanesque sculpture room with its play on color and light.
On the painting side, the museum exhibits works from the 15th to the 20th century, with major artists such as Delacroix, Ingres and Courbet.
Work is currently underway to restore the large cloister, improve accessibility and create a new reception area to make the visit more fluid and immersive. These improvements will enable the public to rediscover the museum in a new light, with a modernized scenography that respects the soul of the site.
Pending its reopening, the Musée des Augustins remains an essential part of Toulouse’s heritage. Its Gothic architecture and exceptional collections make it a not-to-be-missed venue as soon as it returns to the cultural scene.
The Jacobins Convent: a Gothic masterpiece in the heart of Toulouse
While the Musée des Augustins is currently under renovation, the Couvent des Jacobins remains one of Toulouse’s most fascinating historic sites. This jewel of Southern Gothic architecture, founded in the 13th century, is a must-see for anyone wishing to understand the architectural soul of the Ville Rose. With its immense brick vaults and famous stone “palm tree”, this convent offers a spectacular insight into Dominican history and medieval art.
Founded in 1230 by the Dominican order, the convent played a major role in Toulouse’s religious and intellectual history. It houses the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the most influential thinkers of the Middle Ages. Its sober, imposing tomb attracts many visitors every year in search of spirituality and contemplation.
The Couvent des Jacobins does not limit itself to its historical heritage. It hosts exhibitions, concerts and immersive events, highlighting the encounter between the ancient and the contemporary. From classical music concerts in the Gothic nave to light projections in the cloister, every visit can be full of surprises.
Cité de l'Espace: a journey to the edge of the universe
In Toulouse, a city that pioneered aeronautics and the conquest of space, the Cité de l’Espace is a must-see for enthusiasts of the infinite and beyond. More than a museum, it’s a veritable immersive park dedicated to space exploration, where you can walk on the Moon, observe the Sun live and even enter a life-size space station.
Located to the east of Toulouse, the Cité de l’Espace is distinguished by its open-air facilities, where visitors can get up close to life-size replicas of the greatest icons of space exploration. Inside, interactive exhibits, immersive experiences and flight simulators allow visitors to explore the mysteries of the cosmos.
Experiences not to be missed
✔ The lunar walk simulator, to feel the reduced gravity of the Moon.
✔ Planetarium films and the stellarium spectacular
✔ Live animations, where experts explain the latest advances in research.
Adventures at the Cité de l’Espace appeal to young and old. Everything is designed to be fun, accessible and interactive, making it an ideal family outing. Younger visitors can even learn about the astronaut profession in dedicated areas.
Aéroscopia: diving into the history of aviation in Toulouse
Toulouse is the cradle of European aeronautics, and the Aéroscopia museum in Blagnac is the perfect showcase. Here, you won’t find simple models under glass: you’ll be able to get up close and personal with legendary aircraft, and experience the history of aviation at first hand.
As soon as you enter, you’ll be impressed by the sheer size of the aircraft on display. The aircraft on display are not just there to be admired: you can explore their interiors, see the cockpits and understand the technological developments that have marked the history of aviation.
Interactive areas Aéroscopia is also a great place to learn about the principles of flight, aircraft design and the challenges of aeronautics. While aeronautics enthusiasts will find much to enjoy here, Aéroscopia is also an educational and fun place for children, with specially adapted activities and interactive models to help them understand how an aircraft flies.
Les Abattoirs: Toulouse's temple to modern and contemporary art
Toulouse, a city of history and medieval architecture, also knows how to make room for audacity and contemporary creation. Les Abattoirs, housed in a former industrial slaughterhouse, is the city’s must-see museum of modern and contemporary art. With its cutting-edge exhibitions, varied collections and resolutely avant-garde atmosphere, it’s a lively place where art expresses itself in all its forms.
Located on the left bank of the Garonne River, the Abattoirs building combines industrial architecture with bright, modular exhibition space, providing an atypical setting for its collections. Painting, sculpture, photography, video installations and digital art coexist here, highlighting the major artistic trends of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Les Abattoirs is not just a museum, but also a cultural center, hosting concerts, screenings, conferences and artistic performances. Immersive and interactive events are often organized here, offering visitors a unique experience.
Whether you’re a contemporary art lover or simply curious to discover unusual works of art, Les Abattoirs are a must-see if you want to understand Toulouse’s cultural vitality. A museum that challenges, questions and inspires, far from the beaten track.
The Natural History Museum: a fascinating immersion in the world of living things
Toulouse may be known for its architectural treasures and aeronautical heritage, but it’s also home to one of France’s largest natural history museums. Nestled in the heart of the Jardin des Plantes, the Toulouse Natural History Museum is as educational as it is spectacular, where young and old alike can explore the wonders of the living world, from the animal kingdom to the mysteries of the Earth.
Conceived and designed for exploration and discovery, renovated and enlarged in 2008, the Museum covers over 6,000 m². It offers an immersive tour that is absolutely marvellous from an educational point of view, where science and stagecraft meet. The permanent exhibition alone is well worth the detour.
The collection impresses visitors. The Muséum de Toulouse is home to over 2.5 million specimens, some of which are particularly spectacular, such as the skeleton of a Quetzalcoatlusone of the largest pterosaurs ever to have existed, a whale skeleton, a naturalized elephant over three meters high, and fascinating minerals and fossils tracing the history of our planet.
Exhibitions and events appeal to audiences of all ages. The Museum doesn’t just exhibit collections: it also offers captivating temporary exhibitions, exploring a wide range of subjects from prehistory and volcanoes to ocean biodiversity, as well as workshops for children, lectures and meetings with researchers, and night-time tours and immersive experiences.
La Halle de La Machine: the living spectacle of engineering and imagination
Toulouse is not only a city of history and science, it’s also a place where imagination comes to life in monumental forms. The Halle de La Machine, located in the Montaudran district, is one of those places where the boundaries between art, technology and performance are blurred to offer a unique immersive experience. Here, machines are more than mere exhibition objects: they live, move and interact with visitors.
A fascinating universe of engineering and poetry created by François Delarozière’s company, who also created the famous Machines de l’Île de Nantes, La Halle de La Machine is a veritable mechanical theater, where articulated creatures come to life before the public’s very eyes.
The space, halfway between a workshop and a performance stage, allows visitors to discover an impressive mechanical bestiary:
✔ The giant Minotaur, the real star of the place, which can carry visitors on its back.
✔ The Carrousel des Bestioles, an enchanting machine brought to life by artists.
✔ Fantastic creatures, inspired by wildlife and mythology, able to move and interact with the public.
✔ Machines in action, staged by “real machinists”, who manipulate them before the amazed eyes of spectators.
Unlike a traditional museum, La Halle de La Machine is a place where everything comes to life.
Live demonstrations allow visitors to see the machines in motion and talk to the machinists. Shows and performances are regularly organized, creating astonishing stagings, and the ride on the back of the Minotaur is an extraordinary experience on a 14-meter-high monster of steel and wood.
Toulouse, a museum city!
Toulouse is more than just the capital of aeronautics or a city with a rich medieval past. It‘ s a city where history, science and art coexist in unique places, at the crossroads of heritage and innovation. From our hotel in downtown Toulousemost museums are easily reached on foot or by public transport.
From strolling through the silent corridors of the Musée des Augustins to admiring the avant-garde exhibitions at the Abattoirs, Toulouse offers exceptional cultural diversity. Our Toulouse hotel staff will also be happy to guide you if you’re looking for atypical cultural or gastronomic experiences (see our article “The best restaurants in Toulouse”). The best restaurants in Toulouse)
The next time you spend a romantic weekend in Toulouse romantic getaway in Toulouse or with your family, you’ll want to visit these exceptional places. Other galleries, spaces and museums would have deserved their place in this article, such as : The Fondation Bemberg, an exceptional art museum nestled in a vast mansion, the Château d’Eau, temple of photography, the Musée du Vieux Toulouse, the Musée archéologique Saint Raymond, the Quai des Savoirs or the Musée Georges Labit and many more…
