Le Grand Balcon

Unless you’re an academic, an aerospace engineer, or, you know, French, you probably don’t pay a huge amount of attention to what goes on in Toulouse. The south gets more tourist traffic than the southwest, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see here: a look at the Hôtel Le Grand Balcon reveals a hotel as sophisticated and cosmopolitan as any design-conscious European boutique.

In this it helps to have a designer of Jean-Philippe Nuel’s caliber; the interior architect’s work might be more familiar from Parisian haunts like the Hôtel Thérèse, but he’s in top form here as well, mixing sober modernism with whimsical touches including a cloud motif, a nod to the hotel’s heritage — this used to be the lodging of choice for French air mail pilots. The rooms are sensibly named, from Cosy on up through Classic and Deluxe to the Suite Saint Exupéry, named for the literary aviator who once made his home here.

The location is quite central, just off the Place du Capitole, and the city center is easily walkable. In typical French city-boutique style there’s no restaurant per se, just breakfast in the stylish little lounge bar — after that you’re on your own at the heart of a charming old city.