a city on the Garonne River in southern France southeast of Bordeaux; a cultural center of medieval Europe

Toulouse (pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent) (Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced ) is a city in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne River, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With close to 1.1 million inhabitants in 2006, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth largest in France and the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Alenia Space and EADS Astrium, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S..