The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

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9 months ago

Summer 2024

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Full of fabulous features, fantastic photos - inspiring, entertaining and informative. Culture and history, destination guides including Paris, Brittany, Toulouse, Troyes, Alsace-Lorraine, Champagne and more. Discover brilliant city, country, seaside and gourmet breaks. Truly scrumptious recipes to make at home. And much, much more. Bringing France to you - wherever you are.

From my base at the

From my base at the comfortable Citiz Hotel, the city is easily accessible by public transport or on foot. Ten minutes’ walk to the main station in one direction, even less to the historic centre in the other, with the Massena Metro station and key bus and tram routes also on the doorstep. My first stop is Aeroscopia at Blagnac, close to Toulouse’s international airport to the west of the city. Open 361 days of the year, this inspiring collection includes a wealth of iconic civil and military aircraft from the early days of powered flight to the present day. Just think Concorde, Caravelle and Airbus; Falcon, Mirage and the Blériot XI. And it’s soon clear that you don’t need any particular interest in aviation to enjoy this diverse collection and the human stories behind it. I find it strangely humbling to look at the replica of Louis Blériot’s tiny wooden plane ‘flying’ above the concourse of the vast hangar and then look across to the sleek profile of Concorde that took to the skies just 60 years later. Blériot made the first flight over the English Channel from Calais in 1909, his achievement capturing the imagination of wealthy wannabe pilots whose early flying machines were manufactured around Paris. But as the Western Front of the Great War advanced relentlessly towards the capital, the Government moved the aviation industry as far away as possible, and Toulouse quickly evolved into a centre of aeronautical excellence and innovation. After an afternoon immersed in iconic aviation, I come right back to the present with dinner at Les Halles de la Cartoucherie, opened in September 2023 as part of the city’s emerging new eco-district. Easily reached by tram or bus from the city centre, the Cartoucherie neighbourhood is just 15 minutes from Place du Capitole and incorporates accommodation with entertainment venues, workspaces and leisure facilities on the site of a 19 th century arsenal. Gun cartridges and most recently electronic accessories were produced in Les Halles Rue du Taur © Rémi Deligeon - Agence d'Attractivité Toulouse Marché Victor Hugo © Rémi Deligeon - Agence d'attractivité de Toulouse Métropole which has been imaginatively repurposed to combine market stalls and international street food outlets with sports facilities, meeting rooms, and cultural events. Just hop on the T1 Tram or L2 bus for access from the city centre. On a Saturday evening, the spacious building is buzzing with families and friends enjoying an eclectic choice of cuisine at communal tables. For accommodation on a budget, check out Eklo just across the plaza, a new Cite de L'Espace, Toulouse French concept of green, affordable hotels, combining a design hotel and youth hostel with strict sustainability credentials. Next morning, I enjoy a different side of Toulouse’s diverse gastronomic scene on a guided tour of the city’s Victor Hugo Market with American resident Jessica Hammer, founder of Taste of Toulouse. I know a fair bit about French gastronomy but still learn new things as Jessica leads our convivial small group from one friendly stall holder to another, finishing with an indoor picnic of carefully selected cheese and charcuterie, accompanied of course by a glass or two of local wine. Huge fun. Next I head to the east side of the city for Cité de l’Espace, a family-friendly attraction that combines space craft with interactive exhibitions and timed shows, a Planetarium and IMAX ® 3D theatre, all set in a landscaped park. To make the most of all that is on offer, arrive early and plan your day around the scheduled events. Inside the exhibition hall, I particularly enjoy the section on how space affects our daily lives through satellites transmitting weather information and images for telecommunications, television and GPS. And amongst a wealth of hands-on experiences, I can’t resist trying to steer a virtual moon buggy to a lunar module, albeit rather shakily! 82 | The Good Life France Les Halles de la Cartoucherie © Rémi Deligeon The Good Life France | 83