1-What does Toulon mean?
Today, a dynamic city of 170,000 souls spread over 4,200 hectares, Toulon was, in ancient times, a small fishing port named Telo. The name comes from Tol, meaning low mountain ground.
2-What is Toulon's motto?
The city's motto is "Concordia parva crescunt" (small things grow through concord) and its inhabitants are called Toulonnais(es).
3-Why is lily of the valley the RCT (Rugby Club Toulonnais) emblem?
Félix Mayol, one of the club's patrons, always wore a sprig of lily of the valley on the lapel of his suits, which he considered a good luck charm. In his honor, the lily of the valley became the RCT emblem.
4-Toulon is the third-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille and Nice.
5-Toulon figures prominently in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. It is the location of the infamous prison, the bagne of Toulon, in which the protagonist Jean Valjean spends 19 years doing hard labour.
6-Ratatouille, Daube provençale, Petits farcis, Piedspaquets, Grand aïoli, Artichoke barigoule, Fish soup, Daube du cannonier, Mediterranean fish... are just some of the generous, gourmet dishes and desserts you'll want to discover when you visit Toulon.