The European city named best to visit in 2025 with £19.99 flights from Manchester Airport
It's the latest destination added by Ryanair to their Manchester network
City breaks may be holidays that are small, but they’re often perfectly formed, packing in a pleasant mix of history, culture and discovery while taking minimal annual leave.
Serving over 200 destinations across the globe, Manchester Airport connects the north west to some of the world’s most exciting cities.
This year budget airline Ryanair announced two new routes from the airport this summer, including the French city of Toulouse. With tickets starting from £19.99 one way (baggage and seat allocation not included) and a two-hour flight time, this city in southwestern France is perfect for a long weekend away.
It’s rather fitting that this new route should launch this year as Toulouse was named by Lonely Planet in its list of the best cities to visit in the world for 2025.
Named alongside destinations including Osaka in Japan and Pittsburgh in the USA, Toulouse was praised for “overflowing with art galleries in repurposed industrial spaces, excellent food and scenic river and canal banks”.
The city is often described as Paris in miniature because it packs in all the cultural sights you’d expect of a capital city in a compact format.
While there’s no Eiffel Tower or Arc De Triomphe, it still has dozens of gems up its sleeve, including the beautiful Garonne River, which could be a double of the famous Seine.
Not everything in Toulouse is in miniature, however; at 223 miles long the Canal du Midi - which flows past the city - is far longer than Paris’ Canal Saint-Martin (a mere 2.86 miles long).
It’s considered one of the greatest civil engineering projects of the 17th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact the city has not just one but three UNESCO accolades.
Lonely Planet recommends catching live music at one of the city’s beloved venues, including Le Saint des Seins, Le Taquin or Théâtre du Capitole; and celebrate Toulouse’s status as a UNESCO City of Music.
Another ‘must’ is a visit to the Basilique St-Sernin, a magnificent 11th-century brick and stone basilica that's one of the largest Romanesque buildings in the western world and the city’s second UNESCO World Heritage site.
The neoclassical Capitole - the city hall - shouldn’t be missed by architecture fans either.
The publication points out that this year the Musée des Augustins is reopening. It’s one of the oldest museums in the city located in a 14th-century cloistered convent and features a collection of sculpture and paintings spanning from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
It’s one of many museums scattered across the city, many in unique locations. Les Abattoirs is a museum of modern and contemporary art housed in a former slaughterhouse, while Galerie Le Chateau is a photography gallery inside a renovated water tower.
No trip to France is complete without indulging in some local cuisine, and Lonely Planet suggests picking up some local produce from the Victor Hugo market for a picnic.
Or tuck into some cassoulet in the on-site eatery, a signature Toulouse dish made with beans, pork and Toulouse sausages.