As my long-suffering loved ones will attest, making decisions is not my strong suit. The words “What shall we have for dinner?” send me into a cold sweat. And when choosing a European city to spend a long weekend in, I tie myself in knots – do I want elegant French boulevards or sun-soaked Spanish squares? As it turns out, you don’t have to choose.

Enter Toulouse. With all the rich history, chic shopping streets and impressive architecture you’d expect from an ancient French city, it also sits just 75 miles from the Spanish border and has soaked up a laid-back Latin feel by osmosis. The view from my room at the Hotel Des Beaux Arts sums it up: the snow-capped Pyrenees seemingly photoshopped behind sunbathers sipping pastis on the banks of the Garonne. The hotel itself is part boutique bolthole, part contemporary art gallery, with a reception full of quirky pop art (including a gold gnome making a rude gesture) and each of the 18 rooms decorated by a different French artist. It’s also minutes from the old quarter, where quiet streets explode onto buzzy squares and wrought-iron gates open onto private mansions that once belonged to rich merchants – the most famous, the Hôtel d’Assézat, is open to the public.

Hotel Des Beaux Arts review: Fall in love with this boutique hotel in rose-tinted Toulouse