VIRTUOSE HALLE AUX GRAINS

This atypically shaped building is a key landmark in the city: its brick and Garonne pebble facades are indissociable from the obelisk in Place Dupuy. Erected between the boulevards and the port of Saint-Sauveur, the Halle aux grains, inaugurated in 1861, was an essential commercial link between the city and the Canal du Midi. With the decline of inland navigation, however, the history of the hall was just beginning.

Over the decades, the town has continued to convert the space. Its Eiffel-style iron structure and rustic granaries have seen agronomy laboratory technicians, sweaty boxers, red-nosed clowns and graceful ballet dancers come and go. Hard to believe? This hour-long tour not only tells the fascinating story of the hall, but also takes you through the corridors of an underground mini-city built in the 1970s when Michel Plasson convinced the local council to turn the site into a temple to the performing arts.

Although the Halle aux Grains remains the home of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the hall hosts around 140 shows a season, and the musicians of the Orchestre National share it with artists who are sometimes less classical, but always talented.

Visit in partnership with the Opéra national and the Orchestre national du Capitole.