Place du Salin

Toulouse is known as the Pink City because of the warm red brick of its buildings, and the Place du Salin is one of the quieter corners of the old centre where that colour is easy to appreciate without the crowds. It lies in the Carmes district, in the first arrondissement, a short walk from the cathedral square and the lively Carmes market, and it is a small square lined with old houses and tall façades. Visitors who come to see the Capitole and the great basilicas often skip it, which is exactly its attraction: here you can sit on a bench in the shade and watch the neighbourhood go by.

The name recalls the salt trade. In medieval and early modern France, salt was subject to a heavy tax, the gabelle, and royal officials stored and sold it in warehouses called salins. The site that gave the square its name once held such a salt store and the treasury and offices that went with it, a building that functioned as an administrative centre for the royal salt administration, and it was a place where kings were received when they visited the city. In the Revolution, the property became the property of the state, and in the nineteenth century a religious community occupied part of it, until religious orders were dispersed by the law of 1904.

The main building on the square is the Temple du Salin, a Protestant church that incorporates parts of the older structure. Toulouse has a long Protestant history, with the Reformation taking hold in the sixteenth century and the city seeing bitter conflicts during the Wars of Religion, and the temple is the successor of those communities. Its present form, in neo-Gothic style with stained glass and tall windows, dates mostly from the early twentieth century, but traces of the medieval walls are visible. The temple is open for worship on Sunday mornings, and visitors are welcome to attend, while at other times access depends on events and the congregation's schedule.

The square itself has a calm atmosphere. Cafés and small shops line the surrounding streets, and the pace is slower than in the commercial centre of the city. The neighbourhood is a good place for a coffee or a lunch away from the main tourist routes, and the Carmes market, held at certain times of the week, offers fresh produce, cheese, flowers and local specialities. The nearby streets, with their brick townhouses, courtyards and doorways, are good for wandering.

Some of Toulouse's best-known sights are close at hand. The cathedral of Saint-Étienne, the Musée Paul Dupuy, the Hôtel d'Assézat, which houses a famous private collection of art, and the Musée des Augustins are within a few minutes' walk, and the Place du Capitole and the Basilique Notre-Dame du Taur are not far. The Musée des Jacobins and the Basilique Saint-Sernin offer further monuments. The square suits walkers and those who like to discover small, unpolished places, and a stop takes about fifteen minutes. Walk down to the Garonne at sunset to see the brick glow pink.