Augustinian convent

The Augustinian convent is a brick Gothic building with double-column pillars surrounding a central cloister garden. Romanesque galleries run along all four sides of the courtyard, creating covered walkways that connect the different sections.

The Augustinian order founded the convent in 1269 outside Toulouse's city walls and relocated it inside the city between 1310 and 1341 with papal permission. The structure was rebuilt after a major fire in 1463 and took its present form over the following decades.

The name reflects the Augustinian order that founded this as a religious community hub. Today visitors walk through spaces that still carry traces of monastic life while viewing the art collection that now fills these rooms.

Access to the convent is through Rue de Metz on the southeast corner, where visitors descend steps to reach the cloister. The Darcy Staircase provides a way up to the upper galleries for a complete circuit through the building.

The building survived the devastating fire of 1463 that destroyed much of Toulouse, standing as one of the few structures that endured intact. Its reconstruction took four decades and was not finished until 1504.