If you are on a diet, don't go to Toulouse. Unless, of course, you subscribe to Oscar Wilde's antidote to temptation: give in to it.
It is all about food here. Yes, sprawling aerospace manufacturing complexes abound: Airbus, the Galileo satellite navigation system and the Toulouse Space Centre, Europe's largest.
But let us stick with the food: sauces, so rich in cream your spoon stands up, and cheeses that run like syrup. Begin your ascent to trencherman's nirvana at the Toulousy-Les Jardins de l'Opéra, 1 place du Capitole.
The entrance to the city's best restaurant is in the 18th-century Florentine courtyard of the Grand Hôtel de l'Opéra. The dining area is a series of salons, looking over a winter garden and a reflecting pool. Try the ravioli stuffed with foie gras of duckling and served with essence of truffles.
Or the Chez Michel Sarran, 21 boulevard Armand Duportal; it's regarded as the most stylish restaurant in Toulouse. Its patrons include French prime ministers and film stars. Start with a warm soup of foie gras and oysters, then move on to a poached sea bass served with a creamy polenta and lobster sauce.
But if it's not about the food for you, what can distract you? Well, for a start, Toulouse is a city of exceptional beauty, with an exciting, dynamic history.
Situated in the shadow of the Pyrénées, on the crossroads between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, there has been a settlement here since the 8th-century BC. Known in France as la ville rose - the pink city, because of the colour of its medieval brick - its prosperity has been unbroken since Roman times.
From its renaissance mansions to its rococo squares and warren-like streets, there is much to draw one's eyes away from the groaning restaurant tables.
twitter: Follow and share our breaking business news. Follow us
iPad users can follow our twitterfeed via Flipboard - just search for Ind_Insights on the app.
