Toulouse Cathedral

Toulouse Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

The Cathedral of Saint Stephen, Saint-Etienne, stands on a square in the old town of Toulouse, southern France, about fifteen minutes' walk from the Capitole square, and entry is free. It is the cathedral of Toulouse, but it is less visited than the city's great Romanesque basilica of Saint-Sernin or the Jacobins church, partly because of its strange, lopsided appearance, which is exactly what makes it interesting.

Walking tours of Toulouse's old town include the cathedral along with the Capitole, Saint-Sernin, the Jacobins, the Augustins museum and the mansions of the woad merchants, like the Hôtel d'Assézat. Organ recitals are held in the cathedral, especially during the autumn organ festival. The cathedral is active, and visiting pauses during services. Metro line B stops at Francois Verdier, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral.

Visiting Toulouse Cathedral: what to see

The cathedral was built over several centuries, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, and never completed as planned, so it combines two very different churches that do not line up. The western part, the nave, was built in the thirteenth century in the southern Gothic style, a single wide aisle without side aisles, typical of Languedoc. The eastern part, the choir, was begun later in the northern French Gothic style, much taller and designed to be the start of a new, larger cathedral that was never finished, so its axis is offset from the nave. The result is an unusual, asymmetrical interior. The west front has a rose window inspired by Notre-Dame in Paris, placed off-centre above the portal.

Inside, the choir has sixteenth-century carved stalls, stained glass windows from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, and a large organ suspended on the wall. The cathedral also holds tapestries and a baroque altarpiece. The choir's stained glass windows include some of the oldest in Toulouse. The chapels around the choir hold paintings and tombs of archbishops. The cathedral's organ, from the seventeenth century, hangs on the wall like a nest and has been restored. The facade's portal is decorated with carved figures. Tapestries in the nave tell the story of Saint Stephen. The cathedral square, the Place Saint-Etienne, has a fountain and cafes. The cathedral's bell tower is massive and has a fortified look. The cloister of the old canons has disappeared, but its stones are displayed in the Augustins museum.

Toulouse Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, with a break at lunchtime on some days. Toulouse is lively all year thanks to its large student population, and summer is hot. The Toulouse les Orgues festival in October brings organ concerts to the cathedral and other churches of the city, which has an exceptional collection of organs. The Christmas market fills the Capitole square in December. Mornings are quiet in the cathedral square. Allow about twenty minutes for the cathedral, and walk through the old town to the Augustins museum and the Garonne river. The Musée des Augustins, in a former convent, displays Romanesque sculpture and paintings, and is about ten minutes' walk away.