Toul has anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb). The average annual temperature in Toul is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 761.1 mm (29.96 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 18.6 °C (65.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 1.3 °C (34.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Toul was 37.9 °C (100.2 °F) on 11 August 1998; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 9 January 1985.
Climate data for Toul (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1968−1998)
Toul was the seat of thebishops of Toul; the diocese was founded around 365 and existed until 1807.
During thesiege of 1870 during theFranco-Prussian War, the last time that Toul's defenses were used as a classic fortress, 64 guns opened fire at 6:00 a.m. on 23 September, and the fortress surrendered at 3:00 p.m. after 2,433 shells had been fired.
The most striking features are the impressive stoneramparts. Those that exist today are the work ofSébastien Le Prestre de Vauban,Louis XIV's military engineer. In 1698 he designed a new enclosure and work began in 1699-1700. Several ofVauban's fortifications in France are listed as a combinedUNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the fortifications at Toul are not in that list they do follow the generaldefiladed fortification pattern for whichVauban is known.[6] There appears to have been a fortified town at this location since the earliest recorded history. Today, the ramparts encircle and define the old town. They are built of dressed white stone, and topped with grass, and in places are over five metres high.
The old town's architecture is dominated by past glories in various states of decay, including a major Gothiccathedral, which is in a poor condition and is being slowly restored. Many of the houses were built as canonical residences in theLate Middle Ages and bear vestiges in the form of ornamental stonework. The gothic chapel of the Knights TemplarCommandery of Libdeau is undergoing a major restoration.
There is no trace of the monastery, however its wine-cellars still exist, under the shops on the north side of the Rue Gambetta. (Access is possible via the Camera Shop).
Toul is at the intersection of the riverMoselle (which divides into the river proper and theMoselle Canalisée just outside the town) with theCanal de la Marne au Rhin, and was once, consequently, an important port. The barges known aspéniches still navigate these watercourses commercially, typically carrying steel, though in the summer much more of the water traffic is for pleasure.
There is a main-line railway station at Toul, the last major station before the (once vast, and still very large) marshalling yards atNancy. However, the Paris-StrasbourgTGV line, completed in 2016, passes about 20 km north of Toul, approximately midway betweenMetz and Nancy.
