Events > Friday optional excursions

On Friday 24^th of May, we offer you the possibility to discover Toulouse and its surroundings, with 4 possible day trips:

1) Carcassonne (a fortified citadel 1h from Toulouse) - 40€

ITINERARY AND PLANNING OF THE DAY HERE : itinerary_carca_1.pdf

You will be taking the train at 9am from Toulouse to Carcassonne. A 30 minutes free walk through the city center and across the river “l’Aude” will lead you to the medieval fortress. A guided visit of the ramparts and the castle will be organized and you can then enjoy by yourself a walk around the citadel. Trains back to Toulouse will be available between 4pm and 8pm.

The price comprises:

• One return train ticket
• One ticket for the guided tour
• One return bus ticket if required to go from the train station to the citadel

A bit of history: Carcassonne was settled as early as the 6th century BC and later became an important Roman town. It was fortified in the 4th century and was a strategic site in the Middle Ages. It took on its definitive shape in the 13th century with the king’s decision to construct the distinctive double-walled ramparts and extend the castle. The city was restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century and is a testimony to 1,000 years of military architecture and 2,500 years of history. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

For more info, visit: http://www.remparts-carcassonne.fr/en/

2) Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse (Space City) - 25€

As Toulouse can be viewed as the European capital of aeronautic and spatial industry (Airbus, CNES), we offer you to visit the Cité de l’Espace, a theme park focused on space and the conquest of space. You will have a pass that gives you unlimited access to different areas of the Cité de l’Espace such as the Garden and the Exhibition Pavilion (where you can see full-scale models of the Ariane 5 rocket, Mir space station, and Soyuz modules). The pass also allows attendance at the various shows on the day of your visit (Imax, Planetarium, Stellarium) as available.

The Cité de l’Espace is reachable by public transport in Toulouse and you will be welcomed from 10 am to 17 pm.

The price comprises:

• A day-pass to the Cité de l'Espace
• One return bus ticket

For more info, visit: https://en.cite-espace.com/

3) Hiking trip to Najac, a perched village in Aveyron surrounded by forests – 20€

You will take the train from Toulouse to Najac, a charming small village 1h30 away from Toulouse. From Najac station, you will climb to Najac (approximately 20 minutes), and then you can choose between two possibilities:

• You can either spend the day in Najac village (extra possibilities to visit the castle or the Maison du Gouverneur) and then go back to the station using the same pathway
• Or you can do a hiking trip of 3 extra hours that will take you to the countryside and the banks of Aveyron river and then back to Najac station.

The price comprises:

• A return train ticket to Najac
• The printed itinerary of the hiking trip

The hiking trip is of medium difficulty, the part climbing up to Najac being a little steep. The totality of the circuit is 4hours, 12kms.

For more info on Najac, visit: https://en.tourisme-aveyron.com/en/discover/unmissables/najac.php

4) Short hiking trip to Rieux-Volvestre, a small village with view on the Pyrénées - 5€

You will take the bus to Rieux-Volvestre, a small village 1h30 away from Toulouse by bus. You then can do a 2 hours hiking trip in the countryside, with a beautiful view on the iconic Pyrénées.

The price comprises:

• A return bus ticket to Rieux-Volvestre
• The printed itinerary of the hiking trip

The hiking trip is easy, and the totality of the circuit is 2h20, 7kms.