Markets
Most students never set foot in one, which is a shame, because the markets are where Toulouse is cheapest and best at the same time. Three covered halls run six days a week, and on Sunday the whole city goes to Saint-Aubin. None of it requires much French.
The rhythm of the week
Days and hours are the city's own, checked market by market on toulouse.fr in August 2026.
Why bother, when there is a supermarket downstairs
The four worth knowing
Victor Hugo, the big one
The covered hall in the heart of the protected old town, and one of the city's landmark places. Opens at 6am and runs to 2pm, Tuesday to Sunday, public holidays included. Everything is here and it is not the cheapest of the four, but it is the one to see first. Upstairs on the first floor sit the market restaurants, which cook the produce sold on the ground floor beneath them.
Les Carmes, the neighbourhood one
A smaller covered hall in one of the oldest and liveliest quarters, with bright stalls of fruit and vegetables, meat and charcuterie, bread and pastries. Tuesday to Sunday, 7am to 1.30pm. The surrounding streets are full of restaurants and bars, and there is a covered car park in the same building if you are picking up something heavy.
Saint-Cyprien, the real one
On the left bank, the only hall in Toulouse still in its original state, which gives it a worn, unpolished feel that matches the mood inside. Tuesday to Sunday, 7am to 1pm, right by the Saint-Cyprien metro station on line A. Locals will tell you this is the one they actually shop at.
Saint-Aubin, the Sunday one
Not a hall but an open-air market along boulevard Michelet, food and general stalls together, with a lot of small producers selling their own crop. Sunday only, 7am to 2pm. It is as much a Sunday morning ritual as a shop, and it is the one market most students end up going to with friends rather than alone.
Where and when
- Marché couvert Victor HugoTuesday to Sunday, public holidays included, 6am to 2pm. Food and flowers, with restaurants on the first floor.Place Victor Hugo, 31000 Toulouse (metro A or B: Jean Jaurès)
- Marché couvert des CarmesTuesday to Sunday, 7am to 1.30pm. Fruit and vegetables, meat and charcuterie, bread and pastries, with a car park in the same building.Place des Carmes, 31000 Toulouse (metro B: Carmes)
- Marché couvert Saint-CyprienTuesday to Sunday, 7am to 1pm. The only hall left in its original state, on the left bank.Place Roguet, 31300 Toulouse (metro A: Saint-Cyprien)
- Marché de Saint-AubinSunday only, 7am to 2pm. Open-air food and general market with many small producers.Boulevard Michelet, 31000 Toulouse
- Every other market in ToulouseThe city's own directory. Nearly every neighbourhood has its own market on a fixed weekday, and one of them is almost certainly closer to you than the central halls.
How to shop one
Frequently asked questions
Victor Hugo, to see what a French covered market is, and then Saint-Cyprien or the Carmes for the one you will actually use week to week. If your first free morning is a Sunday, go to Saint-Aubin instead: it only happens once a week and it is the most enjoyable of the four.
Barely. Bonjour, a number, a weight or a quantity, and merci will get you through any stall. Pointing is entirely acceptable. Traders deal with visitors constantly and are used to filling in the gaps, and a market is a far gentler place to practise than a phone call to an administration.
For seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheese, fish and eggs, usually yes, and clearly so at the end of the morning. For packaged goods, cleaning products and anything out of season, no: that is what the discounters are for, and they are covered on Everyday Food along with the rest of the weekly shop.
Earlier than you expect. The Carmes stops at 1.30pm and Saint-Cyprien at 1pm, Victor Hugo and Saint-Aubin run to 2pm, and traders start packing before that. A market is a morning, not an afternoon, and everything is closed on Monday.
At Saint-Aubin yes: it is a mixed food and general market, so clothes, household goods and bric-a-brac sit alongside the producers. The covered halls are food and flowers. For furniture and kitchen kit, see Shopping.
Sunday morning?
Come with us
This page is written and kept current by AEGEE Toulouse, the volunteer association that's welcomed international students to Toulouse since 2025. A market is better with company, and Saint-Aubin on a Sunday is a standing fixture for plenty of members. Ask in the AEGEE Toulouse WhatsApp group who is going, and go with people who already know which stall to queue at.
Join the WhatsApp group