Manatour - Let's visit Airbus — Attraction in Toulouse

I was so eager to visit the Airbus factory, but it was such a disappointment and a rip off! I tried to book the tour of the factory + the A380 assembly line tour in English as my partner doesn’t speak French and it is basically impossible to have them both tours in English on the same day. They have them scheduled in such way that if you want them in English, you need to go in two separate days. Therefore, we had to take both visits in French. I was there on June 22nd, 2016. I stayed at the city center and it is not that easy to get there on public transportation. The tram takes about an hour from Jean Jaurès Station to Beauzelle-aeroscopia Station (line T1) and then you have to walk for another 20 minutes. Uber charged us 35 Euros. The guide was friendly, polite and knew her script quite well. Duration of visit: 1h30, each tour, on a bus. No, you don’t get off the bus at all! A380 Assembly line Actual time at the A380 Assembly line site: 30-40 minutes shared in two different balconies (one inside the A380 hangar overlooking the planes behind a glass and the other one overlooking the runways with the planes in the distance supposedly having external tests). This is as close as you will get to the aircrafts. In the glass balcony the guide would run several videos about the A380 assembly, testing and painting processes (the very same you see on YouTube). Then, you are taken to the other balcony overlooking the airport. Nothing else is visited and no photos are allowed at all. The rest of the time is spent on the bus and at Aeroscopia Museum where they put you in a fake telemetry room simulating the real one and they run once again some videos (the same you see on Nat Geo channel). Suddenly, the tour is over. Nevertheless, you do get a brochure as a souvenir…! ¬¬ I reaaally thought we would see much more… Airbus Factory Tour You spend the entire tour on a bus, overlooking the hangars from the outside and having a look at aircrafts from the distance (A320, A330, A350). You get to see some aircrafts standing on the runways or parking spots and the guide fairly explains why they are standing there. You don’t get to see any facility from the inside. We were really lucky to catch a Beluga and it added some excitement to the tour. The guide pointed at the distance the A320, A330, A350 hangars and that’s all you get. This is why I think it is such a scam, waste of money and time and a huge disappointment. I expected more. It doesn’t worth...

We recently joined the Let’s Visit Airbus tour in Toulouse as part of a family trip, mainly for our son who is a big aviation enthusiast. While the experience had its highlights, there were also a few disappointments that affected the overall visit.

✅ Positives: Excellent Guide: The tour guide was friendly, very knowledgeable, and kept the group engaged with interesting facts and interactive questions throughout the visit. Definitely a highlight of the experience!

Aviation Enthusiast Environment: It was great to be part of a group of fellow aviation fans. The enthusiasm and participation from the group added to the experience.

Souvenir Discount: If you take part in any Let’s Visit Airbus tour, you get a 10% discount at the souvenir shop inside the Aeroscopia Museum.

Fair Refund Policy: We had unknowingly booked two similar Airbus tours on different days. The team was understanding and refunded the cost of one, much appreciated.

⚠️ Improvements Needed: Factory Shutdown Not Communicated: Unfortunately, the visit took place during a factory shutdown, and we weren’t informed in advance. There were no workers or active assembly lines - we could only view stationary equipment from behind a glass cabin, which was disappointing.

Uncomfortable Transport Conditions: The bus that took us from the museum to the factory had poor air conditioning - a real issue given it was around 40°C that day. One co-passenger even experienced dizziness and refused to return by bus. Thankfully, the team arranged a car for them.

Limited Visual Experience: Without any live production happening, the tour felt more like viewing a display than visiting a working factory. If it had been a working day, we would have rated...

This review is from an aviation lover and commercial pilot perspective and I hope it gives you a good idea on what to expect. We were offer at the front desk the option to have the tour in French, I was a bit surprised because I don’t speak French, I asked for the English version but they didn’t have any for that week, so she offered us the French version and I was doubtful if that was to be ok, then the girl at the front desk said that she could provide us a sheet of paper with the tour info that we were going to see in the visit to the factory. My advice is , if you are NoT a French speaker you shouldn’t take the tour in French, yes I know , common sense however the person selling us the tickets for the tour said that it was enough if we could just read the things from the sheet of paper she gave us, so I’m writing this for any person who is offered the same option so they know what to expect.

On the other hand the tour starts with a video inside a room that last almost for 20 minutes, after that you spend lot of time inside a bus and drive around the Airbus factory. The closest you’ll be from the assembly line will be when you get to a room with an awful view to where they are building the A350 (see the pictures attached) and after that you go back to the bus and drive back to the main office and access the A400M that is parked in the front.

And that’s it …

If you have the opportunity go to Seattle and visit the Boeing factory tour, is 10 times better .

Hope...