Toulouse (France) – Location, History, Facts

Toulouse is a city in southern France on the Garonne River, serving as the prefecture of Haute-Garonne and the capital of the Occitania region.

Toulouse, France.

Country: France
Coordinates: 43.6044° N, 1.4433° E
Country and setting: France; on the Garonne in the country’s south
Administrative status: Prefecture of Haute-Garonne and capital of Occitania
Commune population: 514,819 residents in 2023

Toulouse overview

Toulouse is a city in southern France on the Garonne River, serving as the prefecture of Haute-Garonne and the capital of the Occitania region. Its public role extends beyond regional administration: it is a major European aerospace and space-industry centre, a university city, and a place where transport, heritage, cultural, and sporting institutions organize urban life. Roman foundations, a fifth-century Visigothic royal role, and later status as the capital of Languedoc give the modern city a long institutional history.

Official recorded sales

Residential property prices in Toulouse

The median recorded residential sale price was €3,360 per m² across 42,164 qualifying transactions in 2021–2025. This is a historical transaction measure, not a live asking price or a valuation.

Apartment median: €3,293/m²
House median: €3,814/m²
Source updated: 2026-07-17

Open the full data analysis and methodology

Toulouse coordinates

Toulouse is commonly mapped at approximately 43.6044° N, 1.4433° E, or 43.6044, 1.4433 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 43.6044° N, 1.4433° E

Decimal: 43.6044, 1.4433

Where Toulouse is located

Toulouse stands in southern France along the Garonne, about 150 kilometres from the Mediterranean, 230 kilometres from the Atlantic, and 680 kilometres from Paris. The river setting places the city within a broader network of regional movement, while Toulouse-Matabiau provides its main rail services. Its position is also reflected in its administrative reach: the city is the prefecture of Haute-Garonne and the capital of Occitania. The commune had 514,819 residents in 2023, while its metropolitan area had 1,513,396 residents in 2022.

A prefecture and regional capital with city-scale public systems

Toulouse performs both departmental and regional civic functions as the prefecture of Haute-Garonne and capital of Occitania.

These roles make the city a centre for public administration within southern France, while its population and metropolitan scale support systems serving residents beyond a single historic core. The commune counted 514,819 residents in 2023, and the metropolitan area counted 1,513,396 in 2022. Public movement is organized through Toulouse-Matabiau rail station, buses, two metro lines, tram lines, and Téléo. Together, the administrative designation and transport network describe a city that coordinates regional institutions and everyday circulation rather than functioning only as a local settlement.

The Garonne, historic centre, and metropolitan connections

The city’s urban form is shaped by the Garonne, a historic built environment, regional transport links, and institutions distributed across a large metropolitan area.

The river is the defining geographic reference, while the city’s pinkish terracotta-brick architecture gives its built environment the description “Pink City.” Toulouse-Matabiau connects the urban area to main rail services, and buses, metro, tram, and Téléo extend movement through the city. Its metropolitan population was 1,513,396 in 2022, substantially larger than the commune’s 514,819 residents in 2023. This relationship between a dense civic centre, river setting, transport infrastructure, and metropolitan population explains how local institutions operate within a wider urban field.

From Roman foundation to Languedoc capital

Toulouse developed from a Roman-founded city into the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom in the fifth century and later the capital of Languedoc.

Those successive political roles explain why the city’s civic identity cannot be reduced to its present-day administration or economy. Its historical institutions and religious sites remain part of the public landscape. The Basilica of Saint-Sernin and the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques are UNESCO World Heritage elements associated with the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route, while the Canal du Midi is also listed. The University of Toulouse, founded in 1229, adds another long-lived institutional layer, connecting medieval education with the city’s contemporary student population.

Aerospace, universities, museums, and performing arts

Aerospace organizations, higher-education institutions, cultural venues, and sports clubs define major parts of Toulouse’s public and economic life.

Airbus, ATR, the Toulouse Space Centre, CNES, and other aerospace companies or institutions are based in or have major operations in the city, making space and aviation central to its economic profile. The University of Toulouse was founded in 1229, and nearly 140,000 students contribute to the city’s educational community. Public culture is represented by the Théâtre du Capitole, Halle aux Grains, Musée des Augustins, Musée des Abattoirs, and Musée Saint-Raymond. Stade Toulousain and Toulouse FC provide additional organized sporting institutions.

A regional identity expressed through brick, music, and heritage

Toulouse represents a regional identity built from terracotta architecture, Occitan heritage, historic pilgrimage sites, music, and contemporary science and engineering.

The nickname “La Ville rose,” or “the Pink City,” refers to the pinkish terracotta brick used in its architecture; the Occitan name is Tolosa. This visual identity exists alongside internationally recognized heritage: the Canal du Midi and the Basilica of Saint-Sernin with the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques are listed UNESCO World Heritage elements. The city was designated a UNESCO City of Music in 2023. Its symbolic role therefore combines southern French and Occitan associations with institutions linked to aerospace, universities, performance, museums, and public history.