36 hours in Toulouse

IF Paris is the capital of France, Toulouse is the nation's campus. With three major universities and a thriving high-tech center, including the headquarters of Airbus, France's fourth-largest city hums with inventiveness and creativity. Under its medieval church spires, the spider web of cobblestone lanes brims with art museums, theaters, upstart fashion boutiques, all-hours night life and an expanding bevy of fine restaurants serving everything from haute cuisine to hearty cassoulet. And thanks to its location in France's sunny southwest — closer to Barcelona than Paris — Toulouse is suffused with a laid-back Latin vibe. No wonder "La Ville Rose," so named for the dusty rose-hued bricks in many of its old edifices, is France's fastest-growing city. Friday 5:30 p.m. 1) CHANNEL SURFING A cruise along the Garonne River and its... [read full story]