This French city is the most beautiful in the world according to this famous guide, and it's not Paris!

A famous world guide has placed this French city at the top of its 2025 ranking.

Every year, the famous travel guide Lonely Planet crowns the trendiest destinations of the coming year. In its paper guide “Best in Travel”, a reference for travelers around the world, Lonely Planet has drawn up its global ranking of the best cities to visit, evaluated by experts who select destinations according to the criteria of cultural richness, tourist attractions, innovation, sustainability and accessibility. For the year 2025, it is a nice surprise for France, because it is one of its cities that is at the top of the ten cities to absolutely discover.

Located in the heart of southwest France, this city “combines an exceptional heritage, cultural wealth, and unique gastronomy” explains Lonely Planet in a press release. It is “known for its pink bricks, medieval streets, the banks of the Garonne, its private mansions reminiscent of the golden age of pastel, and the majestic Place du Capitole”, the tourist guide describes. It is easily visited on foot, by bike or by boat on the Canal du Midi. You guessed it ? It's Toulouse!

For Lonely Planet, its architectural gems such as the Basilica of Saint-Sernin and the Jacobins, its lively terraces, its guinguettes, its high-flying cuisine – foie gras, duck breast and confit, Toulouse sausage, cassoulet – which can be enjoyed while strolling through the city's markets, as well as its sites dedicated to scientific culture such as the Cité de l'Espace make this “Paris in miniature” an attractive destination.

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“The Guardian of the Temple – Opus II” will transform Toulouse into a giant open-air stage © Lonely Planet 2025

But if the edition "Best in Travel 2025, Top City" l&#39 has risen to the top of its ranking of the best cities to visit, it’s also because the pink city getting ready to go to repeat a grandiose event and that other surprises await him for the year & ;coming soon. From this Friday October 25th until October 27th, the Opéra Urbain monumental “The Guardian of the Temple – “Opus II”, an artistic performance by the Compagnie La Machine, will make nearly a million visitors dream in the streets of Toulouse. It will This is a most unusual experience and a perfect outing idea for the All Saints' Day holidays!

Finally, in 2025, the city will celebrate several emblematic anniversaries, which once again underline the attractiveness cultural heritage of the city: “the 500th anniversary of the Capitole dungeon, headquarters of the Toulouse tourist office, and the 30th anniversary of the collection of the Bemberg Foundation housed in one of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings in the city,” Lonely Planet details.

You will have understood. Toulouse, this city where life is good, is preparing to shine on the international stage, and it starts now with its great Urban Opera. It is high time to enjoy its captivating art of living. As for ; the expression “Paris in miniature” used by the famous Anglo-Saxon guide, we will let you judge… No doubt that 39;she will create the debate between Parisians and southerners!