Air Time in Toulouse
Explore Europe’s longstanding aerospace and aviation hub.
Fortunately for many business travelers, spending a working or leisure day in the city of Toulouse — in southwestern France, less than two hours from the Mediterranean Sea and Spanish border — is not a hardship. Many business travelers have developed a strong interest in aviation and find it fascinating to visit Toulouse, the aviation capital of Europe.
The city’s aviation history began with Clément Ader, an engineer from Toulouse fascinated by mathematics, drafting and the flight of bats. In 1890, aboard his Éole aircraft, he managed to rise about 8 inches above the ground, flying about 165 feet through the air, becoming perhaps the first inventor of the airplane.
Today the economy of Toulouse thrives through the presence of the aerospace and aviation industry, found mostly in an area known as
Aerospace Valley. Located on the outskirts of Toulouse, Aerospace Valley hosts hundreds of aerospace companies and research facilities including Airbus Industries, the huge European aircraft manufacturing consortium. Toulouse, often called La Ville Rose for the pinkish terra-cotta bricks on most of the city’s buildings, also boasts excellent restaurants and the beautiful 3-year-old Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre, designed by noted architect Rem Koolhaas. And, of course, there are enough aviation museums in Toulouse to keep a visitor busy all day.
Throughout its existence, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport has made a huge contribution to the city’s aviation history. Opened in 1928, it was used for flight tests by an early aircraft factory in nearby Saint-Martin-du-Touch, only to suffer considerable damage during World War II.
In 1953 the airport constructed its first passenger terminal, and
Caravelle, the first mass-produced jet aircraft designed for medium-haul flights, took off from Toulouse in 1955. The second runway expansion came in the 1960s and ’70s, and the first Concorde flight departed from Toulouse in 1969. A second terminal opened in 1991. In 2005 the Airbus A380 flew its first test flight in Toulouse, followed in 2013 by the Airbus A350’s maiden flight. Today both Airbus and ATR, the world’s No. 1 aircraft manufacturer in regional aviation, manufacture aircraft at nearby facilities and test them at the airport. Airbus and ATR utilize runway 32L/14R for flight testing and delivery flights, while runway 32R/14L services commercial flights arriving and departing Toulouse.
Waking up at the 148-room, 4-star NH Toulouse Airport Hotel, adjacent to the airport, offers a good start to the day. The modern hotel opened in 2018 and, with 12 meeting rooms featuring a total capacity of 350, proves a good venue for a morning business meeting. Each meeting room provides audiovisual equipment, and the hotel’s on-site restaurant can cater group breakfast meetings. Convenient amenities include free parking and a one-minute walk to the terminal (if flying in). The hotel’s address is, appropriately, 15 Rue Charles Lindbergh.
From the airport hotel, take an eight-minute drive to Les Ailes Anciennes (Old Wings Toulouse), where bilingual volunteers stand by to tell stories relating to the Vampire, Alouette and Mirage aircraft, all lovingly restored and on display. Old Wings Toulouse tries to save any historical aeronautical equipment that becomes available. Tickets cost €6 (about $6.50).
A two-minute walk from Old Wings, visit Aeroscopia Museum, where a Concorde, formerly operated by Air France, is preserved outdoors. Aeroscopia offers more than 75,000 square feet of displays, including an exhibition of historic aircraft, including the Concorde, Caravelle and Super Guppy. Built to resemble the fuselage of an airplane, the building also displays scale models and a large mural. Visitors can board the Concorde, Airbus A300B and other aircraft. Tickets cost €15 (about $16.25). Aeroscopia recently opened a new space, Tarmac Nord, where visitors can board Airbus A380, ATR 72, ATR 42, Airbus A340 and Airbus A320 aircraft.
For a business lunch with clients, consider the stylish, Michelinstarred Les Jardins de l’Opéra with its wooden tables, impressive wine cellar and leafy interior courtyard covered by a glazed roof. It is surprising to find this quiet, peaceful setting in the midst of Toulouse’s Place de Capitole, in the heart of the city. For midday meals, Chef Stéphane Tournié may offer wild pollock, plates of langoustine, duck smoked in grass and herbs, and other fresh dishes depending on the season. Lunch service is Wednesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Reservations required.
Following lunch, visit the huge Airbus factory by booking a tour with Manatour. Because of the factory’s highly secured and restricted area, all visitors must take a guided tour. The tour includes a bus route across some of the 1,730 acres of Airbus infrastructure in Toulouse, a stopover at the lookout point of the Airbus A350 XWB assembly line, and a detailed presentation of the production process. The 1.5-hour tour can be booked online two to three weeks prior to the visit. Tickets are €16 (about $17.35). After making the online reservation, on the day of the visit participants meet at the reception desk of Aeroscopia Museum, the starting point for all Airbus visits.