Cities are never one-dimensional. They aren’t defined by a single aspect, or one industry. And yet, for some – even for some truly major cities – there is one things that stands out above all others for which they are known. Los Angeles and the entertainment industry comes to mind, or Frankfurt and finance. Here in Toulouse, it is the air and space industry that tends to dominate those early thoughts, because this city is home to one of the most major aerospace companies: Airbus.

Airbus was founded here in Toulouse in 1970 with one task: to create a wide-body passenger plane (meaning those with two aisles as we think of them) to compete with American aerospace companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and McDonell Douglas. It was a multinational project between France, Germany, the UK, and Spain, with each country’s national aerospace company having a share. (France and Germany had the largest pieces.) Likewise, operations and manufacturing would be spread between the countries.

The result was the A300, which took to the skies in 1972. And the rest is history, with the Airbus line having today overtaken Boeing as the largest passenger aircraft company in the world.

But why Toulouse? For the answer to that question – and so many more – we visit the city’s Aeroscopia museum.

Aeroscopia was founded in 2015. The museum consists of a huge aircraft hangar (it was built to be a museum but that’s really what it looks like) and two sections of tarmac, occupying a tiny corner of the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport campus. That airport is small compared to its footprint since it also includes Airbus’ facilities, from the final assembly factory (individual parts are manufactured elsewhere and sent here for that assembly) and painting hangars, to repair and test flight centers.

Tickets can be purchased for the museum itself, or including an experience called “Let’s Visit Airbus,” which apparently consists of a bus across the airport to a viewing platform over the factory. (I did not do this. Reviews aren’t great – most reference the majority of the experience being on the bus – and once this factory stopped churning out the massive A380 double decker craft in favor of the small A320, it became less interesting.)

Inside, the top level of the museum focuses on airline history with a distinctly European bent. There are no Wright Brothers. Company histories are European – and mainly French. And so we learn the answer to why Toulouse is so important to the aerospace industry.

In 1920, the first airmail route was launched from Toulouse, to Casablanca and then Dakar. Soon after, the service was opened to allow a few passengers. The founder, Pierre-George Latecoere, created a company named for himself here in Toulouse to manufacture aircraft. One of his lieutenants, Emile Dewoitine, spun off a new company, again here in Toulouse, to design specific passenger airplanes. His D338, holding 22 passengers, would be the first mass produced, entering production in 1935. And Toulouse has been at the center of French – and then European – aerospace ever since.

In addition to an A300, Aeroscopia has several aircraft that visitors can board. Those have been specifically laid out for the experience, with some having see through platforms in place of flooring that allows a view of the electronics, hydraulics, and cargo holds; with varying seating and furnishings like presidential compartments; and with a variety of videos and signage that speaks of design elements. These range from a movie-screen-holding Skylink “Super Guppy” transport craft (with its nose cone opened up) to a full A380.

But the highlight for most visitors – myself included – is Aeroacopia’s two Concorde supersonic aircraft, one inside and one outside on the tarmac. The interior one can be boarded.

Other exhibits discuss fighter aircraft (the Mirage III is especially cool), weather aircraft, helicopters, and more!

One can also enjoy a board of futuristic aircraft concepts. While mainly from Airbus – not surprisingly – a supersonic American jet under research (if not construction) by Lockheed Martin is also featured. Here, we learn about composite materials, new wing designs, new cabin interiors, and other features that have the potential to revolutionize air travel, and to make it significantly more efficient. (In that vein, visitors can also seek out a video about using hydrogen fuel on board the A380 on the tarmac.)

But Toulouse’s modern aerospace experience doesn’t end at Aeroscopia. On the other side of the city is the Cite de l’Espace. This museum is dedicated to European astronomical science and products, focusing on the EU’s counterpart to NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA).

Highlights are the above Ariane 5 rocket (155 feet tall) and training modules identical to what went to space as the Russian Mir space station.

So many cities are known for specific industries. So it’s nice when a city like Toulouse offers touristic experiences celebrating that. Here, by enjoying Cite de l’Espace and Aeroscopia (with or without the accompanying visit to Airbus), one can do just that, celebrating the connection between Toulouse and air and space.

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