This Little City Went to Market

By JUDY FAYARD Monday, Feb. 17, 2003

Toulouse, an architectural marvel of rose-pink brick on the banks of the Garonne River, is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe; it's also one of the liveliest, and the best way to see it is through its panoply of specialized markets. On Wednesdays and Fridays there's a tiny farmers' market for foie gras and poultry. On Saturdays, it's booksellers, organic foods and a flea market; on Sundays, a huge traditional market for food, flowers, clothing and housewares, and an

STREETWISE

RESTAURANTS

THE GRAND HOTEL DE L'OPERA This beloved city landmark has a Michelin one-star restaurant: Les Jardins de l'Opéra (tel. +33 (0) 5 61 23 07 76), where
the chef is aptly named Dominique Toulousy. There's also the more relaxed atmosphere of Grand Café de l'Opéra (tel. +33 (0) 5 61 21 37 03), an after-theater institution decorated with decades of snapshots of stage and film stars

SIGHTS

THE ST. SERNIN BASILICA, the biggest and most beautiful Romanesque church in southern France; the Musée des Augustins, a 14th century convent and cloister with magnificent Gothic and Romanesque sculpture; the Fondation Bemberg collection, housed in the 16th century Hôtel d'Assézat, has paintings from the Renaissance to the 20th century; the church and cloister of Les Jacobins, founded by St. Dominic in 1340, is famed for its spectacular 28-m "palm tree"; pillar, fanning out into 22 vaulting arches; and the Musée St. Raymond, with its stunning ancient Roman sculpture

SHOPPING

The best shopping streets are the main artery, Rue d'Alsace-Lorraine, the pedestrian streets St. Rome/des Changes, Pomme and Filatiers, and the chic Rue Croix-Baragnon. Great artisan pottery at Nature et Sens, Rue Pharaon (tel. +33 (0) 5 61 14 12 37). Violette & Pastel, Rue St. Pantaléon (tel. +33 (0) 5 61 22 14 22), has candies, liqueurs and perfumes made from violets, the city's emblem

even bigger flea market. And every day but Monday, there's a big, bustling, cornucopia-style covered market that puts sterile grocery chain stores to shame.

Toulouse has been a market town since its early days as the Gallo-Roman Tolosa. In the Middle Ages the city was governed by councilors called capitouls, chosen from among the leading merchants. In the 15th century the merchant class grew rich from the international trade in pastel, a blue dye made from the locally grown woad plant, and the newly wealthy began to build the brick mansions that still line almost every central city street.

The city's hallmarks are gaiety and gastronomy. At the Place du Salin, remnants of the city's 1st century Roman walls support the small, age-darkened medieval house in which St. Dominic first established his order of preaching friars, in 1215. The Wednesday and Friday (winter only) foie gras and poultry market here has dwindled over recent years to just a handful of farmers. Madame Gazel, seated at a rickety folding table, is a 32-year veteran of the market, her carefully plucked chickens stashed in blue plastic picnic coolers and her fresh eggs in a wicker basket.

A few blocks away, the tree-lined boulevard called the Allées Jules Guesde hosts the big regional antiques and bric-a-brac market held on the first full weekend of every month. Dealers have to wait as long as two years to secure a regular stand here, and those on the waiting list often arrive at dawn on Friday hoping to temporarily cop the spot of a no-show colleague. Along with genuine antiques and fine furniture, there's a lot of Granny's attic on hand, from slatted-wood children's sleds to old family photos and rusty garden shears.

From the Place du Salin a beguiling maze of crooked streets leads north to the Place St. Etienne. (Don't miss the unbelievably ornate Hôtel de Clary in the Rue de la Dalbade.) On Saturdays — when it doesn't rain — the square in front of the lopsided St. Etienne cathedral fills with stands of booksellers offering hand-tooled, gold-leafed and leather-bound volumes along with used paperbacks. The cathedral itself is a little wacky — built between the 11th and 17th centuries, it's the odd sum of some pretty disparate parts, but well worth a look. Behind it, in the Place Dupuy, a new Saturday marché créatif sprouted last year, with so far about a dozen artists and artisans offering their handmade wares.

Sunday morning is the biggest market feast of all. First there is the gargantuan flea market encircling the St. Sernin basilica. Then there's the hectic, everything-goes market sprawling around the Place St. Aubin — fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and shellfish, cheese, bread and pastries, herbs and spices, jellies and jams. If you need shampoo, a crate of oysters, a new mattress or an African drum, this is where to find it. Then, since this is Toulouse, it's time for lunch.