Top museum to close for 20 months

Agustin cloisters

The Musee des Augustins in Toulouse is one of the oldest such institutions in France, opening first in 1795, having been requisitioned after the Revolution. With a major collection of art and artifacts from medieval times to the 1940s. Housed in a beautiful old monastery the museum is in need of some modernisation. The 20 month closure will be used to install better fire protection, video surveillance and a lift to the first floor, as well as general repairs and decoration.

picture:Frederic Charmeux:MaxPPP

Did you miss the giant machines?

Nearly a million people went to Toulouse over the 4 days the Company Les Machines presented its spectacular "Gardiens du Temple" featuring the giant Minotaur and Ariane the spider a couple of weeks ago. If you want to see the machines the new Halle de la Machine in the Toulouse suburb of Montaudran has opened its doors to visitors where many giant and smaller machines are on view. You can even ride on the Minotaur along the "piste de geants". Open every afternoon (except Monday) from 14h - 18h, entry 9 euros for adults and less for other categories. The Halle will be closed from 7th January until 7th February for maintenance.
Details on this link to the Halle's website.  https://www.halledelamachine.fr/infos-pratiques/horaires-tarifs/

Out of this world

Astronaut exhibit

The Cité d'Espace in Toulouse has broken its record for attendance in 2017, with over 400,000 visitors. Boosted by improvements to some of the exhibits, such as the planetarium and the interest generated by the French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, the numbers rose by 20% this year. In fact the day that Pesquet returned to earth, followed live at the museum, over 18000 visitors were in attendance.
Most visitors are French, with about 40% from the Toulouse region (school trips accounted for 55000 visitors). We did visit some 10 years ago, on a particularly wet summer's day and our guests would have benefitted from guided tours in English, no doubt rectified these days.
The museum details are on its web site at http://www.cite-espace.com/ 

Science museum proves popular

Science museum at Toulouse. Pic MaxPPP

The Quai de Savoirs is a science museum based in the old science faculty of Toulouse University, which opened its doors in February this year. But it is not just an exhibition of old instruments, but a participative experience for scientists, engineers, local businesses, artists and animators. Over 45000 visitors have already crossed the threshold  and organisers hope to improve the appeal to tourists over the next 12 months. The appeal to children is apparent with many school trips planned during the holiday.

100000 for Picasso

At the expo:  photo MazPPP

The public appetite for the works of Picasso seems never satisfied. The exhibition at the Musee des Abattoirs in Toulouse has attracted its 100000th visitor, a record for the museum. With 31 works loaned from the Picasso museum in Paris the expo lasts until 31st January.
The event also marks 50 years since Picasso donated to the city his design for the theatre scene for Romain Rolland's 14 juillet.
comments to taglines82@gmail.com

Couvent des Jacobins modernised



After 4 years of work and 4.8 million euros the jewel of Toulouse's historic monuments is to celebrate the completion of the works. The Dominican convent is today home to various exhibitions and concerts and as well as new ticket office and boutique, the various chapels have been restored, damp marks eliminated, new lighting installed, painted decor restored, as well as better disabled access created.

Photos by P. Nin, Ville de Toulouse

New multi media guides are on hand, incorporating in various languages introductions to the various architectural features, such as the 28 metre high "palm tree" vaults supporting the church roof.
A series of events such as concerts will be held to inaugurate the new works.
comments to taglines82@gmail.com

Aeroscopia heading for success

picture MaxPPP

In its first three months the new aeronautical museum at Blagnac, close to the airport, has attracted 40000 visitors, 8% of them aged under 10 years. With  target of 150000 per annum the management is confident of reaching their goal when the summer holidays arrive with many more families having the time to visit.



comments to taglines82@gmail.com

New museum opens next week

Thirty years ago a group of enthusiasts thought that Blagnac should have an aeronautical museum, dedicated to the place Toulouse has played in the industry. Next week (Wednesday 14th January) the museum, called Aeroscopia will open its doors to the public. Iconic aeroplanes such as Concorde will be on display plus aeronautic technicalities over the ages. Local TV France 3 Midi Pyrenees will be devoting a series of reports in its 7pm news all week or on its website FranceTV info..
comments to taglines82@gmail.com

Museums in Toulouse with free entry

The site below will tell you about museums in Toulouse and which ones you can enter for free.

http://www.toulouscope.fr/article/2014/11/07/616-decouvrez-les-musees-toulousains-concernes-par-la-carte-museelibre.html
Comments to taglines82@gmail.com