CAP SUR TOULOUSE MÉTROPOLE : L’UNION

Seven kilometres as the crow flies to the north-east of Toulouse, on the road to Albi, L'Union appears to be a residential town like any other, yet...

The commune was officially created during the Revolution by a decree issued by the Directoire on 12 March 1791 under the name of Saint Jean de Kyrie Eleison. It brought together two older village communities, Belbèze-les-Toulouse and Lacournaudric, which correspond to the current territory of the communes of L'Union and Saint-Jean.

The two communities in the Toulouse metropolitan area turned their backs on each other after splitting up in the 1860s, but why? This tour will tell you all about it: how for a long time the two communities looked at each other as if they were mirror images, sharing the same church but facing up together to the floods of their impetuous river, the Hers Mort.

Beyond these particularities of identity, L'Union remained profoundly rural until the end of the 1960s. The guide will tell you how the farmland adjoined the elegant châteaux and manor houses of Toulouse's notables, such as Malpagat. The town also boasts other residences, such as the logis de la Belle Hôtesse. This later became an inn that served as a stopover for travellers and stagecoaches on the road to Albi.

It's in the stable that your steps will lead you: here you'll discover what is the envy of many archaeologists specialising in the Bronze Age and Carolingian period: two dugout canoes carved out of oak. These remains are stored here after being discovered during development work on the River Hers. L'Union, a town full of surprises...

Good to know:
- Between 15/06 and 15/09, during orange and red heatwave alerts and when the temperature is 35°C or above, the tour is adapted and shortened to 1? hours.