Guesttoguest ... and Toulouse

[Dieu]

Hi. Really hoping someone can help. I will be taking my 3 children away on my own this year (am now divorced), with my mum, and a friend of my (nearly) 17 year old daughter. Mum has accrued enough points to get us some free accommodation. We have left everything a bit late (I started working full-time a few months back, and life has been busy), but have the chance of a house with pool near Toulouse (about 15 mins away by public transport).

I must admit, that I am struggling to get excited by it. The house itself, although really nice, is in a very residential place (like at home, so not really the beach resorts I'm used to!) but to be fair, has a few shops nearby and is near Toulouse, as I said. The owner does seem lovely and very helpful. As a family, in the past, we'd usually have done the all-inclusive thing (not everyone's cup of tea, I know!), which did feel like a proper break for me. I just have to accept that things are different now, and I no longer have the same kind of budget (nowhere near it actually ).
So I guess what I'm here to ask, is does anyone know this part of France? Is there much to do in Toulouse itself? Are there beaches not too far away? Any more tips or info? And I would like to hear your guest to guest experiences, as I have never done this before. I am happy anywhere as long as the kids are happy, and I don't want to end up with two bored 17 year old girls on my hands!

Many thanks

I should add that we won't have a car.
And my mum is vegan

Noted! Many thanks.

And I thought the coast might be close enough for a day visit, but perhaps unrealistic.

Look where you can get to on the rail network - you can book this all in advance on the SNCF site. Carcassonne is beautiful (we’re just back from there & it was stunning even in the pouring rain!). You don’t mention when you’re going but there are train strikes at the moment which look like they’re going to go on awhile & unfortunately it was a case of turning up on the day and seeing what was going (they let us use our prebooked tickets) & using rail replacement buses. Self catering will help your Mum have a better time - I’m vegetarian & the options eating out weren’t great. I’m not really an AI fan (I get really bored really quickly of endless buffer meals & lying around like a beached whale) & your trip sounds v good to me!

Bah - buffet not buffer!!

Thank you! And we're going in July.

There's a beach - Narbonne Plage is doable as a day trip by car at least, unfortunately I have no idea about public transport there.
It's not a spectacular beach but it is a beautiful

Beach- last word was meant to be beach
It's not that beautiful

Thanks partdeux. I have read that there are manmade 'beaches' in Toulouse itself, by the river in the summer time. Sounds like a great alternative!

Toulouse was pretty but I didn't feel it had a great deal to do, nice to walk around in the day, but it didn't have anything standout we felt. Carcassonne was lovely and wish we had stayed there longer, loads going on around the castle and it wasn't far (we had a hire car though)

I love Toulouse so may be a bit biased! Toulouse has a number of vegan restaurants so you may be surprised! Le faim design haricots, B12 and more. It's a great city, lots of markets and shops. La Ramee park has water sports, walking, picnic areas. Sesquieres has a cable tow wakeboard park. The train station is central and you can get to the med coast easily. Carcassonne is fab but does get crazy busy, Gruissan, Narbonne, La Franqui are all great coastal resorts.
There is a man made beach on the Garonne with various sport activities. You can do boat trips, visit the space centre, Airbus, try the crazy Abbatoir art gallery, botanic gardens. There is also a huge expat community so may be worth having a browse of Facebook or tinterweb to get more advice from some local families with teen-agers