Ever since the young French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, witnessed a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in a grotto in the village of Lourdes back in 1858 the town has become a destination for pilgrims from all over the world.
Lourdes is situated in the Dept 65 of the Haute Pyrenees in the region of the beautiful Midi Pyrenees.
In 1858 14 year old Bernadette Soubirous experienced 18 visions of a 'beautiful lady' who revealed herself to be the 'Immaculate Conception' - it was accepted that the young girl had seen the Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle. Within one year thousands of people were visiting the location; in 1864 a statue of Our Lady was erected at the site.
Today millions of pilgrims, young and old, the sick and healthy, visit Lourdes to experience the same sense of wonder that young Bernadette experienced all those years ago. Many come simply to be healed. Despite your beliefs either way, it must be remembered that many of those people spend their life savings to come to Lourdes in the hope of a cure - a miracle - that medical science can not give them.
Sanctuary of our Lady of Lourdes:
Between the months of March and October the location is a place of mass pilgrimage where people come to pray and sample the holy water. A torch light procession takes place each evening at 8.45pm which you can take part in. Since 1860 200 million people have visited the Shrine and the Roman Catholic Church have officially recognised 67 miracle healings since the first apparitions.
The Town:
The town of Lourdes is maximum-density tourism. There are more hotels per square kilometre than any other place in the world and if you like souvenir shopping you will find more shops, both good and extremely tacky, than you will have time to actually visit. The shops follow the usual opening hours except Sundays. The restaurants close quite early - about 9pm.
How to Get Here:
By car - A 64 Toulouse-Bayonne RN 117 from Toulouse, Bordeaux or Bayonne.
By Train - Direct rail connections Paris via Nantes and Bordeaux (TGV Atlantique : 5 hours) Axe Irun - Bayonne - Lourdes - Toulouse - Montpellier - Lyon - Geneva or Nice - Genoa.
By Air - There are two International Airports Tarbes-Ossun-Lourdes 10 km Pau-Pyrenées 40 km Flights all year around from Paris, Lyon, Lourdes Marseilles, Nice, Nantes and charter connections during the season from all main European cities.
Photo courtesy of Lourdes Tourism
