Toulouse in 2 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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2 days covers Toulouse’s pink-brick core, plus one paid sight
This route covers Place du Capitole, the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, the Jacobins, and the Garonne quays on Day 1, almost entirely free, then one aerospace sight on Day 2 to cover Toulouse’s other identity as Europe’s aerospace capital. Expect roughly 55-90 EUR a person per day including a bed, meals, and transit, the daily tables below break down where it goes. With more time on the ground, the 3-day itinerary adds an Albi day trip on top of this exact core.
Book these before you go
- A slot for Cite de l’Espace or the Let’s Visit Airbus tour , the Airbus tour also needs photo ID and fills fast in school holidays
- A room booked ahead if your dates land on Piano aux Jacobins (September) or the Christmas market (late November-December), when centre rates jump
- Nothing for Albi or Carcassonne on this short a trip, those day trips need their own day, see the 3-day and 4-day itineraries
Day 1: Place du Capitole, Saint-Sernin, and the Jacobins
Start at Place du Capitole , free to cross, and step inside the Capitole building during standard hours for the painted Salle des Illustres, also free. Walk to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, the largest surviving Romanesque church in Europe and UNESCO-listed since 1998, its nave free to enter (the crypt holding Saint Sernin’s relics is a separate 2 EUR ticket). From there it’s a short walk to the Jacobins, the Dominican Gothic church with the famous 22-rib “palmier” vault and the relics of St Thomas Aquinas, 5 EUR (free on the first Sunday of the month). Finish with a sunset walk along the Garonne quays and across the Pont Neuf, Toulouse’s oldest bridge despite the name, free either way. Lunch at a bakery or Marche Victor Hugo; dinner at a bistro off the square in Carmes-Saint-Etienne, not directly on it.
| Day 1 cost (EUR, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed (hostel dorm / budget room) | 30 | 100 |
| Breakfast | 4 | 12 |
| Bakery or market lunch | 8 | 18 |
| Saint-Sernin crypt / the Jacobins | 0 | 7 |
| Dinner | 15 | 35 |
| Transit (centre is walkable) | 0 | 4 |
| Day 1 total | 57 | 176 |
Day 2: one aerospace sight
Toulouse’s other identity is Europe’s aerospace capital, and it’s worth one paid day. Pick one: Cite de l’Espace, the space-themed park with a 55m Ariane 5 replica and two planetariums (21.50-24.50 EUR, 3-4 hours), or Aeroscopia, the aviation museum with two retired Concordes on display next to Airbus’s Blagnac assembly line (from 13 EUR, 2-3 hours), optionally combined with the Let’s Visit Airbus factory tour (16 EUR, ID required, 26 EUR combined with Aeroscopia). Both sit out near Blagnac, reachable by Tisseo metro and bus from the centre. Lunch near the site; dinner back in the centre, or a final Garonne riverside walk if the weather holds.
| Day 2 cost (EUR, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 30 | 100 |
| Breakfast | 4 | 12 |
| Cite de l’Espace or Aeroscopia | 13 | 24.50 |
| Lunch | 8 | 18 |
| Dinner | 15 | 35 |
| Transit (metro/bus to Blagnac) | 2 | 6 |
| Day 2 total | 72 | 195.50 |
Getting around on 2 days: walk it, or buy a transit ticket?
Day 1 is entirely walkable, Place du Capitole to Saint-Sernin to the Garonne is under 30 minutes end to end, no transit ticket needed. Day 2’s aerospace sights sit out near Blagnac, reachable by the Tisseo metro’s Line A plus a connecting bus; check current fares directly at tisseo.fr rather than assuming a multi-day pass pays off for a single outing. Full fare details are in the main Toulouse guide .
Book the Airbus tour or Cite de l’Espace before you arrive rather than deciding on the day, both need advance booking and the Airbus tour needs ID. Everything else on this 2-day core runs cheap enough that the schedule matters more than the money.