The midi-pyrénées region.

The Midi Pyrénées region is the largest of France. Administrative entities created in 1960, the regions have since acquired a strong identity of their own. The Midi Pyrénées region comprises eight departments and is larger than Switzerland, the Netherlands or Belgium for instance. Whilst Toulouse has become a focal point for the region, the departments are exemplary for their own individual commercial and industrial dynamism but also for the variety of their landscape and climate ; from the austere Sidobre to the snow-capped Pyrénées, via the Quercy, the Aubrac and the Lauragais ; from the chalky plateaux to the valleys, the gorges and the mountains.    

Toulouse, the pink city, where a particular quality of life is anchored in several centuries of tradition and history.

A fine place to live.

A fine place to study.

The city is proud of its rich past, its remarkable heritage and its dynamic industry and commerce.

History

An intense powerful history. Different cultures and civilisations have marked the city. Four chief periods can be identified.

The Roman period, of which little is left but a few archaeological remains and sculptures and the souvenir of certain sites (the Arenas for instance), was the first stage of urbanisation of the city.
The medieval times like everywhere else in Europe were a very troubled period but a powerful creative element was at play, the legacy of which can still be seen today in some remarkable monuments, for instance the Romanesque St Sernin Basilica, - St Sernin introduced Christianity to the region in the 3rd century -, and the extraordinary Gothic Jacobins convent. It was also the advent of the rise to power of the Counts of Toulouse ; the establishment of an original and unique institution, the Capitouls, a body of twelve men who governed the City and were elected by the different guilds ; the remarkable success of the Cathars ; the Inquisition ; and the creation of the University in 1229, a few years after Oxford, Paris and Bologna.
Then came the Renaissance, a remarkable time for Toulouse : the economy was buoyed by the cultivation of woad which was used throughout Europe as a dye, then a quasi-Toulousan monopoly : this new money was used by wealthy landowners to build sumptuous houses in the city with the help of Italian architects, hence the unmistakable Italianesque aura of the pink city. During the following centuries Toulouse seemed to go quietly to sleep, only to be awakened briefly during the Revolution and the Empire.
The twentieth century was a new departure with the remarkable and rapid development of the air and space industries with firms such as Latécoère, L'Aéropostale, Airbus, ATR, Aérospatiale and today the era of new technologies : companies in the fields of software, biotechnology and others have now settled in Toulouse.

Living in Toulouse

Its colourful past has provided the city with a maze of narrow streets, with fine elegant houses within the medieval walled enclosure (a significant portion of the walls can still be seen today).

   

Toulouse is the fourth city in France : 350 000 inhabitants within the city limits, c. 600 000 including the neighbouring suburbs, and more than 100 000 students !

And yet, there is no feeling of saturation or dizziness often encountered in other big cities. A city with a human dimension.

An undeniable quality of life : the pleasure of the streets, of the river banks and of the canal (a step only from MPSE) ; a busy city, lively, young and multi-ethnic where cafés, bars and shops of all kind abound And also an exceptional situation, with sea and mountains nearby : 100 km to the Pyrénées (less than 1 h 30 to a ski resort), and 150 km to the Mediterranean sea, and 250 km to the Atlantic ocean.

This remarkable quality of life is enhanced further by a rich and varied cultural and artistic life. The Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, directed by Michel Plasson, has earned an international reputation ; there is a rich opera season at the Théatre du Capitole and a rich concert season at the Halles aux Grains ; several theatres, &laqno; café-théatres », rock venues and others can also be found.

The Midi Pyrénées region is also home to diverse festivals : music, circus, theatre, the reputation of some having gone well beyond its borders, for example, Jazz in Marciac, and classical music in St Lizier and the Toulouse rugby team has been French champion more times than one can remember !

Studying in Toulouse

Toulouse has become the second university town in France. A university tradition that goes back to 1229 when the university was founded. Who then would have thought the university would enjoy such prominence today ?

In Toulouse today we can find : three universities, sixteen IUT (University technological colleges) and some 350 research centres (c. 10,000 researchers) as well as twelve grandes écoles !


The Universities

• Toulouse I, Université des Sciences sociales : Law, Political science, Economics... which includes the Manufacture des Tabacs, home to the Midi Pyrénées School of Economics ;
• Toulouse II, Université du Mirail : French literature and linguistics, Foreign languages, History, etc. ;
• Toulouse III, Université Paul Sabatier : Science, Medicine, Pharmacy...

The grandes écoles

• Aeronautics : the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (Sup Aéro) ; the Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (ENAC), the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Constructions Aéronautiques (ENSICA) ;
• Agriculture and Agronomy : the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture de Purpan (ESAP) ; the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie de Toulouse (ENSAT) ;
• Chemistry : the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse (ENSCT) ; the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs du Génie Chimique (ENSIG) ;
• Electronics : the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electrotechnique, d'Electronique, d'Informatique et d'Hydraulique de Toulouse (ENSEEIHT) ; the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSAT) ;
• Business : the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse (ESCT) ;
• Meteorology : the Ecole Nationale de Météorologie.

Research institutes and centres

    They are several, most of them involved in a joint relationship : research / university / industry. To name a few : the CNES, the CNRS, the INRA, the GREMAQ, the CERFACS, the IDEI.

The industrial fabric

    A university town yes, but also an industrial and commercial town. There have been several successful partnerships between the university and the worlds of research and industry ; high technology industry with three leading sectors : aeronautics and space, electronics and computers, and health.

    Aeronautics and space

• first European research and production centre for non-military planes : Airbus, ATR, Aérospatiale, Latécoère (which was established in Toulouse as far back as 1917) ;
• an exceptional space centre, second in the world to Los Angeles ;
• a buoyant space industry ; the European leader in satellites : Matra, Alcatel, etc.

    Electronics and computers

        Two sectors which are doing exceptionally well and which are continuing to grow : alongside the big firms such as Motorola, Siemens, Thomson CSF and Materials Research, small and medium sized businesses have joined the creative fray.

    Health

        Biotechnology, biomedical engineering, pharmacy : Fabre group, Ciba-Vision, Rhône Mérieux, Elf Biorecherche...

    Other sectors are represented also, including the agro-food industry and precision mechanics.


Communication

    The airport, the fourth busiest in France, is merely fifteen minutes away, with national and international flights, and an annual 5 million passengers capacity.
     
    The TGV high speed train links Paris to Toulouse in just over 5 hours.
     
    The metro now traverses the city on a north south axis ; a second line should be ready soon.