Magic And Machines: Toulouse's Must-See Museum (7 Pics)

Halle de la Machine, a steampunk enthusiast’s wet dream. A warehouse filled to the brim with wacky machinery and the antics of the staff having more fun than you could imagine using inventions with no practical purpose. If you like massive moving automatons, instruments that play themselves, and pyrotechnic displays, then this exhibit is a must-see.

Opening its doors to the public in 2018, Halle de la Machine was created as an extension of Francois Delaroziere’s company, La Machine, which had been producing street shows in conjunction with urban revitalization projects. It only made sense for La Machine to make its permanent home along La Piste des Géants, The Path of the Giants, during a rehabilitation project in the area with the blessing of the city of Toulouse.

Before you even step foot in the building, you will be awestruck by the ginormous displays of The Minotaur and The Spider standing guard. These are some of the most impressive feats of artistic engineering that are truly one of a kind. If you’re lucky, you might even spot The Great Minotaur circling the museum with a troupe of sightseers peering down from the Parthenon he keeps upon his back. You can even take a ride yourself.

Across the street, looking like something straight from the movie SAW, twirling and making great screeching noises, is The Menagerie. A merry-go-round with, instead of cute ponies, swamp creatures with wild yellow eyes. Everyone seemed to be having a blast, so I wouldn’t judge this book by its cover.

Finally, making your way in, just past the literal red curtains, is a dining set for a party of 20 that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast if the living teapots and dishware came straight from hell. Machines for pouring and swishing your wine, bread catapults, and automated cake slicers await your arrival.

Most extensive in the mishmashed collection of steel contraptions are those made for the purpose of music or, at the very least, for making sound. A spinning tornado of guitars, machines made from cookery that jumped around, a saw that could be bent at different degrees to produce a different pitch when it was struck by a manically flapping steel rod. There was even a synth stood upright that could be played by someone being strung up like a marionette and dancing wildly. Best of all, the flamethrowers. Giant flamethrower barrels were surrounded by hollow tubes that would bellow like an organ when jets of fire and gas were blasted through them. The demonstration put on while I was visiting was like the strangest EDM concert I had ever been to.

If you're more of a hands-on kind of person, then you're in luck. You could suit up, grab a firework launcher with your friend, and blast away to your heart’s content. As a bystander, however, watch out, fireworks were being thrown all over the building, that paired with the flamethrowers going off like dubstep jet engines, you might’ve thought you were thrown into a warzone.

When I walked into Halle de la Machine, my liaison let me know to seek out “A Comedian:” one of the demonstrators. It said “Machinist” on their jackets, so this may have been a translation error, but I prefer to refer to them as The Comedians. Each one was fantastic, showcasing all the wondrous contraptions strewn about the warehouse. If you want to bring the family somewhere awesome, this is the place, plenty of the demonstrations needed a young volunteer to show the audience how it was done.

I could not recommend Halle de la Machine enough. This was my favorite activity in Toulouse and may have even been my favorite activity in all of France. Whether you have kids, are into art or engineering or architecture, if you like pyrotechnics or maybe 10 euros are just burning a hole in your pocket, Halle de la Machine should be on your to-do list.