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Getting There By Air:Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS)Tel: 0825 380 000.Website: www.toulouse.aeroport.fr Toulouse-Blagnac Airport is located in Blagnac, 8km (5 miles) northwest of Toulouse. It is the fourth largest airport in France outside Paris (after Nice, Lyon and Marseille) and serves over 5.5 million passengers a year. Building work is currently under way to increase capacity to 7.7 million
by 2008.
Airport facilities: There is a bureau de change, a post office and a bank in the terminal, as well as an information desk (tel: (05) 6142 4400) and a business center (tel: (05) 6142 4513). There are several bars and two restaurants, as well as a selection of shops, including duty-free. Car hire is available from Ada, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National/Citer and Sixt.
Getting to the airport: Navettes Aéroport Toulouse (shuttle buses) (tel: (05) 3460 6400; website: www.navettevia-toulouse.com) leave every 20 minutes throughout the day from Door C for the city center (journey time - 20 minutes). Taxis are also available: they leave from a taxi rank situated outside Arrivals Door C. The fare to the city center is about €25.Getting There By Road:Motorways (autoroutes) bear the prefix ‘A’, national roads ‘N’ and minor roads (départementales) are classed as ‘D’ roads. Traffic drives on the right and drivers must give way to the right, unless the route is marked with ’passage protégé’ signs (a broad arrow, a yellow diamond or an ‘X’ on a triangular background) or if the driver is at a roundabout indicating ‘Vous n’avez pas la priorité’. Tolls (péages) are enforced. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways (110kph, or 68mph, when raining), 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by a central reservation, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Seatbelts must be worn by all passengers (front and rear). Children under 10 may not travel in the front seat. A national driving license, the car’s registration document and a red warning triangle must be carried at all times. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving, by use of beam deflectors or by tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%. EU nationals taking their own cars to France are strongly advised to obtain a Green Card, without which insurance cover is limited to the minimum legal cover in France. The Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the car owner’s domestic policy.
Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF) (tel: (04) 9032 9005; website: www.asf.fr) is responsible for the southern France motorway network and produces free maps with information in English. The motorway network number (tel: (04) 9178 7878) provides information on traffic conditions and driving regulations in southeastern France. Information is also available from Autoroutel (tel: 0892 707 001). Traffic conditions are broadcast on RadioTrafic 107.7FM. Emergency telephones linked up to the police are located every 2km (1.2 miles) on each side of the motorway.
Emergency breakdown service: Dépann’Auto 31 (tel: (05) 6187 8204) If you need an ambulance, use the orange SOS phones that are situated every 2km (1.2 miles) on motorways and every 4km (2.5 miles) on dual carriageways and other major roads. Or dial 15 from a normal phone. You must also call the police (dial 17).
Routes to the city: Four motorways converge on Toulouse: the A62 from the north, the A68 from the northeast, the A64 from the southwest, and the A61 from the southeast. Toulouse is circled by a péripherique (ring road), will you will join upon leaving the motorway. The following exits are particularly useful: Pont des Demoiselles (for Gare Matabiau) and exit 30: Ponts Jumeaux (for the city center).
Approximate driving times to Toulouse: From Marseille - 3 hours; Barcelona - 4 hours; Bordeaux - 2 hours; Paris – 8 hours.
Coach services: The coach station (tel: (05) 6161 6767) is located next to the Gare Matabiau on boulevard Pierre Semard. Coaches and buses depart from here for a number of destinations in Midi-Pyrénées and further afield. Getting There By Rail:Societé Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF) (tel: 0892 353 535; website: www.sncf.fr) is the national rail carrier. Generally, trains are on time. As throughout France, train tickets must be validated prior to boarding. The Gare Matabiau, 64 boulevard Pierre Semard, is the hub for regional and national rail travel. Services run to Bordeaux via Agen and Montauban; Montpellier via Carcassonne, Narbonne, Béziers and Sète; and Perpignan via Narbonne, among many other destinations. Getting Around:Public TransportThe buses and metro in Toulouse are operated by Tisséo-Connex (tel: (05) 6141 7070; website: www.tisseo-connex.com). There are 67 bus routes and one Metro line, Ligne A, which runs southwest-northeast and serves 18 stations. A second line, Ligne B, is scheduled for completion at the end of June 2007 and will stretch north-south, serving some 20 stations. The metro runs from about 0500 until midnight (0100 on Fridays and Saturdays). A free navette (shuttle) goes on a loop around the historic center, Mon-Sat (0900-1900). Various kinds of tickets are available: single, return, day and weekly pass, as well as a carnet (book) of 10 tickets. Concessions are available for children, students and OAPs. Tickets have to be validated prior to boarding or travelers will incur a fine.TaxisThere are taxi stands at the train station, place Wilson and place Esquirol. Otherwise try Capitole Taxi (tel: (05) 3425 0250) or Taxi Radio Toulousain (tel: (05) 6142 3838).Driving in the CityYou are better off on foot in Toulouse city center, as the center is compact and finding a parking spot can be difficult. There are five free car parks (Parking Relais) at various metro stations on the outskirts of Toulouse, from which you can connect to the public transport system. These are located at Jolimont, Basso-Cambo, Arènes, Argoulets and Balma Gramont. If you do decide to drive in the center, get hold of a good map, as there are lots of small, narrow, one-way streets. Car HireThe following car hire companies all have desks at the main railway station, Gare Matabiau, 64 boulevard Pierre Sémard: Avis (tel: (05) 6162 5040; website: www.avis.fr), National/Citer (tel: (05) 6162 0296; website: www.citer.fr), Europcar (tel: (05) 6273 4164; website: www.europcar.fr) and Hertz (tel: (05) 6273 3947; website: www.hertz.fr).
Additionally, Budget can be found at 51 rue Bayard (tel: (05) 6163 1818; website: www.budget.fr), and local company Ada at 25-27 avenue de Lyon (tel: (05) 3430 4860; website: www.ada.fr).Bicycle HireThere are 210km (130 miles) of cycle lanes in Toulouse, and the municipality is aiming to extend that to 300km (186.5 miles) in the next few years. A map of all the cycle lanes in the city, as well as the leaflet ‘Trois promenades pour découvrir Toulouse à vélo’ (three routes to discover Toulouse by bike) are available from the tourist office.A scheme aiming to encourage the use of bicycles in the city has been launched by the city in partnership with Movimento (tel: (05) 3430 0300; website: www.movimento.coop), where you can hire a bike for as little as €1 for half a day, and €2 for a full day. The two main Vélostations are located at the Gare Matabiau (coach station) (tel: (05) 6273 0766) and at the Capitole, place du général De Gaulle (tel: (05) 6122 6144), opposite the tourist office. They are open seven days a week. You will need a passport and a deposit.
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