The train station, gare Matabiau , and gare routière (tel 05.61.61.67.67), stand side by side in boulevard Pierre-Sémard on the bank of the tree-lined and imaginatively planted Canal du Midi. This is where you'll find yourself if you arrive by train, bus or air, for the airport shuttle (every 20min; 20min journey; 23F/3.36) puts you down at the bus station (with stops also in allées Jean-Jaurès and at place Jeanne-d'Arc). It is also the best spot to aim for if you are in a car: leave the boulevard périphérique at exit 15.

To reach the city centre from the train station takes just five minutes by métro to stop Capitole (8F/1.22, covering one hour's transport by métro and Semvat city buses within the city centre), or twenty minutes on foot. Turn left out of the station, cross the canal and head straight down allées Jean-Jaurès, through place Wilson and on into place du Capitole, the city's main square. Just before it lie the shady and much-frequented gardens of the square Charles-de-Gaulle, where the main tourist office (May-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-1pm & 2-6.30pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm, Sun 10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm; tel 05.61.11.02.22, www.Mairie-Toulouse.fr ) is housed in a sixteenth-century tower that has been restored to look like a castle keep; the Capitole métro stop is right outside.

The best guide to what's on in and around the city - and usually there is a lot, from opera to cinema - is the weekly listings magazines Toulouse Hebdo (3F/0.46) and Flash (6F/0.92). More highbrow interests are covered in the free monthly Toulouse Culture , available from the tourist office, among other places.