Les Marchés de Noël

So it seems that I may have blinked twice and semester one is almost over. Somehow, I have been calling Toulouse my home for four months now and I can’t quite tell you where all the time has gone. Nevertheless, the most wonderful time of the year is finally upon us, and spending the best part of December in Toulouse has been a pretty magical experience (disregarding the extremely un-seasonal antics of the gilets jaunes).

Despite this, Toulouse has endeavoured to keep its inhabitants in the Christmas spirit and I personally think they have done a pretty great job of it. I wanted to make a post showing what goes on in this pretty little city when Santa Clause comes to town.

After being at the university of Birmingham for the last two years, I was pretty gutted about missing out on their famous Christmas markets whilst on my year abroad. However I soon found out that Toulouse had their own one going on in Capitole and felt much better. These markets take up the entire Capitole square (which if you didn’t know, is pretttttty big) and are filled with all sorts of delights…

LIGHTS

Toulouse has always looked pretty at night time but when December comes around it’s a whole new level. There are lights all over the town but the market square is definitely the prettiest!

[wpvideo ZRjHTkDm ]

FOOD

Food, where do I even start with food? There are definitely more than enough different foods at the market to please everyone. From hot dogs to burgers, cakes to pastries, veggie meals to the best cheesy mash you will every try in your life. This market has everything. Which is why, the other day I was furious at myself for spending ages deciding what to eat and in the end choosing a rotisserie wrap that was actually in fact 90% mustard. But hey, we all make mistakes sometimes. Luckily I’ve been to the markets a few times and managed to try some other delicious treats.

DRINKS

Of course no Christmas market would be complete without mulled wine. Admittedly, I’m not actually the biggest fan, which is why I was so happy that they also sold mulled cider (which FYI is MUCH nicer). I also tried this amazing hot apple juice which you wouldn’t think would be anything special but trust me, it was. They have pretty much any drink you could ask for at the main bar here and cute little barrels that act as tables all around it!

SHOPPING

Obviously food and drink is always the first port of call when it comes to anything Christmas related. But aside from this, the markets also have so many cute stalls selling all sorts of things. Soaps, clothes, plants, jewellery, fairy lights and pretty much anything else you can think of!

So there’s a sneak peak into what the Toulouse Christmas markets have to offer! As much as I love Birmingham’s markets, I do have to admit that these ones had more of a variety of stalls. Plus, I’m almost in permanent holiday mode whilst I’m over here so I think that made these markets that little bit more special!

As my Christmas holidays are tantalisingly close, I am feeling extremely excited to go back to the UK, but part of me will definitely miss my French home from home. I’m excited to see what the new year brings for me in the next part of my year abroad!