Villa du Taur

When I’d first told Mr Smith we were going to Toulouse for the weekend, his instinctive reaction had been ‘What on earth for?’. His scepticism wasn’t without grounds – Toulouse receives just a fraction of the visitors of Nice or Paris and tends to be largely overlooked as a tourist destination. 

We arrived in Toulouse in the early evening, as the winter rain fell steadily on the pink city, giving it a greyish hue. Fortunate enough to live in nearby Barcelona, we had opted to dust off Mr Smith’s vintage convertible and take her for a spin up the coast. Less than four hours later, there we were, in France’s fourth city, home of French aviation and the country’s most notoriously diehard meat eaters.

Of all the rose-coloured cobbled streets in all the towns in all the world, the prettiest might just be Rue du Taur, where we eventually ended up, after a few failed attempts to navigate Toulouse’s bewilderingly tangled one-way system through the fervent back-and-forth of the windscreen wipers.

Open less than a year, Villa du Taur is a 17-room street-art themed hotel featuring a popular restaurant and gin bar. A spectacularly colourful mural by local artist Momies adorns the entrance, and there’s more – with bespoke pieces in the rooms and public spaces. As room manager Virginie explained, the owners use the hotel to support street art and showcase the work of local creatives, as well as big international names like Banksy and Keith Haring. ‘If you want to take a memento of your stay home with you, some of the pieces are for sale,’ she adds.

Contemporary urban design is the name of the game at Villa du Taur, which was put together almost from scratch by one of its owners, in collaboration with a designer from Bordeaux. Their keen eye for detail is present throughout, from the psychedelic tiles on the ground floor, to the copper pipe lighting by Alain Masseron in reception. 

Already in love with the feel of the place, we headed up to the first floor and our Deluxe room, 101. Again, the light fixtures were on point, with a series of well-positioned spotlights and two gorgeous brass lamps suspended above the bed. Also designed by Monsieur Masseron, the lamps might have ended up in my suitcase if I’d thought I could get away with it but, sadly, for now, they remain very much in Toulouse. 

The French invented the sexy weekend getaway so it came as no surprise that the bathroom was an entirely door-less, screen-less, curtain-less affair. This room is definitely not one for the prudish, but, when in Toulouse…

Toulouse is best known for its superb food and – unlike other cities that can be a bit hit and miss if you don’t know your way around – there were no dud meals on this trip. On our first night, we set out in search of local speciality cassoulet: a dense, hearty stew packed with different cuts of meat, sausage and white beans. The most legendary version of this carnivorous feast is found at Le Colombier, a restaurant that has been perfecting the recipe since Monsieur Colombier replaced the traditional duck confit with goose and made it his signature back in 1924. We don’t know how it tasted then, but in its current incarnation it is comforting and indulgent. 

Two giant cassoulets and an apple tart flambéed in Armagnac later, Mr Smith and I were grateful that Le Colombier is only a short stroll from Villa du Taur. Grateful, that is, until we discovered that the door to the hotel was locked and reception was dark and deserted. After a few brief moments of panic, we phoned the hotel and were soon let in by the very obliging night receptionist, who also had to repeat the same process the following night (lesson: bring your phone out when staying at Villa du Taur). Crisis averted and bellies still heavy with goose and beans, we went straight to bed and slept like gluttonous babies until morning. 

The highlight of any morning in France is breakfast, by which I mean fresh-baked flaky croissants, pains au chocolat and bread, served with copious amounts of butter, cheese, cold cuts and jam. Villa du Taur doesn’t disappoint, proudly offering up pastries sourced from one of Toulouse’s top bakeries. We washed it down with freshly squeezed orange juice and café au lait, all served by the exceedingly helpful Mélodie, and were all set for a day of exploring. 

Sadly, it seems the rain in France stays mainly in Toulouse, so our reconnoitring led us only as far as a superb selection of local patisseries, bistros, salons de thé and wine bars – and to the Aeroscopia museum of aeronautics, which Mr Smith tells me is a must for aviation enthusiasts. 

As we checked out the next morning, the sun peeped out momentarily, giving us a brief glimpse of Toulouse in all her pink glory. Top down, we headed back down south, won over by her charm.