New in Toulouse

Your first month, step by step

1. Week 1

   Validate your VLS-TS visa

   If you have a long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS), validate it online within 3 months of arriving in France and pay the tax that comes on top of the visa fee. If your visa says “carte de séjour à solliciter dans les 2 mois suivant l'arrivée”, you have to apply for your residence permit at the préfecture within those 2 months: in Toulouse that is the Préfecture de la Haute-Garonne, 1 place Saint-Étienne.

   Validate the VLS-TS (service-public R52684) · Long-stay visa (service-public F16162) · Préfecture de la Haute-Garonne (service-public directory)

2. Week 1

   Social security number and carte Vitale

   To get a carte Vitale you need a social security number. The Assurance Maladie issues the card for free: order it from your ameli account and it arrives in about 2 weeks. If anyone asks you for money for it, it is a scam.

   ameli.fr, carte Vitale

3. Week 2

   Tisséo Pastel card

   The Pastel card is the personal, named transport card of the Tisséo network: you load your passes and tickets onto it, and you need it for any reduced fare. Order it on the e-shop together with your ticket, or get it at a Tisséo agency. If you work, your employer covers 50 to 100% of your pass (prime transport), so ask about it.

   Tisséo, the Pastel card · Tisséo, passes

4. Week 2

   Toulouse library card

   Entry to Toulouse's libraries is free and open to everyone; a yearly membership lets you borrow. Bring an ID document. For adults it costs €17 (€8 if you are 18 to 27), but it is free in several cases, for example over 65, if you do not pay income tax, or if you have applied for asylum: the full list is on the page.

   Bibliothèques de Toulouse, membership

5. Week 3

   Bavardages conversation workshops

   Toulouse's libraries run Bavardages: free French conversation workshops led by librarians, in a friendly, no-judgement setting, whatever your level. This season it is the first Friday of the month, 10:00 to 12:00, at the Médiathèque des Pradettes; dates are on the page.

   Bavardages (Bibliothèques de Toulouse)

6. Weeks 3–4

   Your first plan

   Volunteering is a free, unpaid commitment: an hour, a weekend or a longer mission, you choose. On JeVeuxAider.gouv.fr, the public volunteering platform, enter your postcode and when you are free to find a mission near you and meet people.

   Volunteering (associations.gouv.fr) · JeVeuxAider.gouv.fr

Rules change: always confirm on the official page before you go.

Where to practise languages and meet people

Free or low-cost places, open to everyone, where you can chat, practise a language and make friends. Check each page for upcoming dates.

• Bavardages (Bibliothèques de Toulouse)

  Free French conversation workshops led by librarians, no judgement, whatever your level or nationality. First Friday of the month, 10:00 to 12:00, at the Médiathèque des Pradettes.

• Pôle Langues et Littérature, Médiathèque José Cabanis

  Language-learning methods, including for learning French, and books in their original language. Regular reading clubs and themed Sundays to talk about books, some read in English or Spanish. Free entry.

• JeVeuxAider.gouv.fr

  The public volunteering platform run by the Réserve Civique: missions with associations, near you or remotely. An easy way to meet people while being useful.

• Je participe (Toulouse Métropole)

  Toulouse Métropole's participation platform: public consultations, meetings and ideas for your neighbourhood. A way to have your say and meet your neighbours.

• Welcome Desk de l'Université de Toulouse

  For international researchers and their families: help with paperwork (visa, residence permit, préfecture appointments), housing and daily life in Toulouse.

This week: events to go to alone

Sun15Nov

CultureToulouse

14:00–16:00

De la résistance à la résilience, film, Le Cratère, Toulouse

Le Cratère

On Sunday 15 November 2026 at 14:00 Le Cratère in Toulouse shows De la résistance à la résilience, a 41-minute French documentary by Marie Monique Robin, followed by a meeting with Noma'dock. The listing explains that ten years after the shooting of Qu'est-ce qu'on attend ?, shown in more than 1000 cinemas, the film returns to Ungersheim. It presents the small Alsatian commune as an international champion of transition towns, which has reached energy autonomy in electricity and heating while strengthening its food autonomy through a municipal farm employing four market gardeners and a solidarity grocery in a positive-energy building. Thanks to its tree and hedge planting programme, the territory has also become a biodiversity hotspot in Alsace. The listing does not give a price; tickets are handled through the cinema's online booking. A film followed by a discussion is easy to attend alone, since the audience shares an interest in the topic. «la petite commune alsacienne a réussi son pari : atteindre l’autonomie énergétique» Starts 14:00, ends about 16:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Le Cratère (open data). The listing gives a 41-minute film with a meeting with Noma'dock, and states no price.

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Sun15Nov

CultureToulouse

14:30–15:30

Guided tour "L'orientalisme" at the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse

Musée des Augustins

On Sunday 15 November 2026 at 14:30 the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse offers a themed guided tour of its collections, held in French, on the subject of orientalism. The listing says that the museum's guide-lecturers lead the visit through the richness of the paintings and sculptures on display. It explains that in the 19th century the Orient became a major source of inspiration for European artists, and that paintings and sculptures explore many facets of orientalism, from travel accounts and observation of the cultures encountered to idealised visions of faraway places. The tour runs from 14:30 to 15:30. The listing does not give a price. Tickets are handled through the museum's online booking system. A guided museum tour is easy to enjoy alone, since the group follows one guide and everyone looks at the same works, which makes it simple to share impressions with other visitors. «Au 19ᵉ siècle, l'Orient devient une source d'inspiration majeure pour les artistes européens.» Starts 14:30, ends about 15:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Musée des Augustins (open data). The listing gives the tour as running from 14:30 to 15:30 with online ticketing but no price.

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Sun15Nov

CultureToulouse

15:00–17:30

Film Soulèvements with discussion at Médiathèque Grand M, Toulouse

Médiathèque Grand M

On Sunday 15 November 2026 at 15:00 the Médiathèque Grand M in Toulouse screens the documentary Soulèvements, directed by Thomas Lacoste, a French film from 2025 running 106 minutes. The screening is part of the Mois du film documentaire and is held in partnership with the FREDD, the international environmental film festival. The listing describes the film as a choral portrait of sixteen people and a movement of resistance led by young people who struggle against land and water grabbing, industrial damage and political repression, drawing on the Soulèvements de la Terre. After the film comes a discussion with Antonin Haddad, director of the festival, and Nicolas Potin, a cinema speaker. The listing does not give a price, and no end time is stated, so a finish around 17:30 is an estimate. A film screening followed by a shared discussion is easy to attend alone, since the audience is gathered around the same film. «Séance en partenariat avec le FREDD (Festival international du film d’Environnement) suivie d’un échange avec Antonin Haddad» Starts 15:00, ends about 17:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèques de Toulouse (open data). The listing gives no end time, so the end shown is estimated. The listing gives the film as 106 minutes long, followed by a discussion with two guests.

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Sun15Nov

CultureToulouse

15:00–16:20

Découvrir l'écho des signes, author talk, Toulouse

Médiathèque José Cabanis

On Sunday 15 November 2026 at 15:00 the Médiathèque José Cabanis in Toulouse presents Découvrir l'écho des signes in its Grand auditorium on level -1, as part of the EXplorations series run by the Bibliothèques de Toulouse. The author Stéphanie Fontez worked with Florence Houmad, a deaf actress, to write the book of the same name. The novel tells of the meeting between a deaf woman and a hearing woman, the path of each towards the other, and their shared journey through learning sign language and the wish to discover. The two women will talk about their collaboration and introduce the culture of the Deaf community. An interpreter for French Sign Language and French will be present. The session lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. The listing does not give a price. A library talk is easy to attend alone, since the audience is simply there to listen and discover. «Ce roman est l'histoire de la rencontre entre une femme sourde et une femme qui ne l'est pas» Starts 15:00, ends about 16:20. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèques de Toulouse (open data). The listing gives a duration of 1 hour 20 minutes, an interpreter in French Sign Language, and no price.

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Sun15Nov

CultureToulouse

15:30–17:30

Des ricochets en eau douce, film and talk, Le Cratère, Toulouse

Le Cratère

On Sunday 15 November 2026 at 15:30 the cinema Le Cratère in Toulouse shows the documentary Des ricochets en eau douce by Roberto Della Torre, a French film of 56 minutes, followed by a meeting with the director. The synopsis explains that for about twenty years, in the lower Ariège valley along the Toulouse-Pamiers axis, the extraction of gravel from the water table has taken on industrial proportions. According to the listing, this extraction is carried out at the expense of land considered among the best farmland in the Ariège and, above all, of one of the region's most important groundwater reserves. The listing does not give a price, and it points to the cinema's own film page and an online ticketing link for booking. The screening and the conversation afterwards are planned to finish around 17:30. A documentary screening with a discussion is easy to attend alone, since the audience shares an interest in the subject and the talk invites questions. «dans la vallée de la basse Ariège, sur l'axe Toulouse-Pamiers, l'extraction de graviers dans la nappe phréatique a pris des proportions industrielles.» Starts 15:30, ends about 17:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Le Cratère (open data). The listing gives the film as 56 minutes long, followed by a meeting with its director Roberto Della Torre, and states no price.

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Mon16Nov

CultureToulouse

14:30–15:30

Guided tour La visite parfumée, Musée des Augustins, Toulouse

Musée des Augustins

On Monday 16 November 2026 at 14:30 the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse offers a guided tour of its collections titled La visite parfumée, Parcours 1. The tour is led in French by the museum's guide-lecturers and focuses on the paintings and sculptures. The listing compares composing a perfume to composing a painting, and invites visitors to breathe in the works and feel emotion through fragrances such as musk, cinnamon, grapefruit, vanilla, patchouli, jasmine, blackcurrant, tobacco, root and chocolate. Routes 1 and 2 are two complementary itineraries through the painting and sculpture salons, while Route 3 wanders through the medieval rooms, the cloister galleries and the garden. The tour runs from 14:30 to 15:30, and the listing does not give a price. Tickets are booked through the museum's online ticket office. A guided museum visit is easy to do alone, since the group follows the guide together. «Invitation à respirer les œuvres, pour vivre l’émotion par les fragrances de musc, cannelle, pamplemousse, vanille, patchouli, jasmin, cassis, tabac, racine, chocolat» Starts 14:30, ends about 15:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Musée des Augustins (open data). The listing describes a one-hour guided tour in French with a ticketing link but no price.

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Wed18Nov

CultureToulouse

14:30–15:30

Arbres, un voyage immobile, film at Médiathèque Cabanis, Toulouse

Médiathèque José Cabanis

On Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 14:30 the Médiathèque José Cabanis in Toulouse screens the documentary Arbres – un voyage immobile in its grand auditorium on level minus one, as part of the Mois du film documentaire. The film was directed by Sophie Bruneau and Marc-Antoine Roudil, runs for 47 minutes and was made in 2002 as a France, Switzerland and Belgium production. It follows baobabs from Madagascar, giant sequoias from California, bristlecone pines, date palms and acacias, trees the listing calls constantly surprising heroes that communicate, walk and turn out to be mad or shy. The filmmakers invite viewers to look at the tree rather than the animal on its branch and draw parallels between trees and humans. The screening is followed by a conversation with Nicolas Potin, a cinema speaker, and the session runs from 14:30 to 15:30. The listing does not give a price. A documentary screening with a discussion is easy to enjoy alone, since everyone is there to watch and talk about the same film. «Séance suivie d’un échange avec Nicolas Potin, intervenant cinéma.» Starts 14:30, ends about 15:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèques de Toulouse (open data). The listing gives the film details, the discussion with a cinema speaker and the auditorium location, but no price.

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Wed18Nov

Free

MusicToulouse

17:30–20:30

Piano master-class with Bertrand Chamayou, Conservatoire, Toulouse

CRR-Espace Varèse

On Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 17:30 the CRR-Espace Varèse in Toulouse hosts a piano master-class given by Bertrand Chamayou. The listing says it belongs to the series Master-classes d’exception au Conservatoire for the 2026-2027 season, organised with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse. It describes Chamayou as a French pianist and an internationally recognised virtuoso, noted for his interpretations of works by Ravel and Liszt, who has won five Victoires de la musique classique. The master-class runs from 17:30 to 20:30. Entry is free within the limit of the places available, and the listing mentions no ticket or booking. Watching a master-class is easy to do alone, because the audience simply listens to the teaching and the playing, and anyone interested in piano music will find others there for the same reason. «Piano Master-class organisée dans le cadre des « Master-classes d’exception au Conservatoire » (saison 2026-2027)» Starts 17:30, ends about 20:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Toulouse (open data). The listing gives entry as free, subject to available places, and the time as 17:30 to 20:30.

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Wed18Nov

CultureToulouse

18:00–19:00

Les Échapées, staged reading, Médiathèque Saint-Cyprien, Toulouse

Médiathèque Saint-Cyprien

On Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 18:00 the Médiathèque Saint-Cyprien in Toulouse hosts Les Échapées, a staged reading of the play 7 minutes by Stefano Massini. The text is directed by Maëlle Poésy at the Théâtre de la Cité in December 2026, and the library offers this reading as a way to step into the artistic world of that production. Two actresses perform the reading, which is followed by a time for discussion. The session lasts one hour. After the production, the library plans a workshop of exchanges on women and work, drawing on its collections and on the experiences of the public, in January 2027. The event is organised in partnership with the Théâtre de la Cité. The listing does not state a price. A short reading followed by a talk is easy to attend alone, as the audience shares the same curiosity about the play. «Une lecture théâtralisée du texte, suivi d'un temps d'échange, vous est proposée par deux comédiennes» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèques de Toulouse (open data). The listing gives a duration of one hour, a staged reading followed by a discussion, and no price.

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