When planning your stay in Lourdes, you can find a hotel for your trip.
Culture
The Sanctuary of Lourdes welcomes individual visitors, groups and organised pilgrimages regardless of their geographical, religious, cultural or social background. Visitors can touch the rock of the grotto within the sanctuary.
The present-day parish church of Sacré-Cœur was built between 1875 and 1936. It houses Bernadette’s Romanesque baptismal font from the former Church of Saint-Pierre.
The Halles de Lourdes bring together local producers, craftspeople and traders offering Pyrenean specialities. Their late-19th-century metal architecture was inspired by market halls in the Baltard style.
History
Bernadette Soubirous was born at the Moulin de Boly on 7 January 1844. Her birth room, the kitchen, the old mill and its millstones, restored in 2012, can be seen there. After the apparitions, the Moulin Lacadé was Bernadette’s family home and contains furniture, objects and photographs belonging to the Soubirous family. The Cachot was the 16-square-metre home of the Soubirous family from the winter of 1857 to the autumn of 1858.
The Musée Sainte-Bernadette presents the life of Saint Bernadette, the message of Lourdes and the construction of the sanctuary through numerous visual documents and objects attributed to Bernadette.
The Chemin de vie de Bernadette is a themed walking route that conveys Lourdes’ cultural heritage. The circular route shows Lourdes as Bernadette Soubirous knew the city in its social and historical context.
Paths and nature
The Subercarrère Forest, also known as Bois de Lourdes, lies on the outskirts of the city and is a popular walking area. Several paths from the upper station of the Pic du Jer funicular lead towards the summit cross. The funicular climbs 438 metres between its lower and upper stations.
At Pic du Jer there is a black mountain-biking trail as well as a blue trail that is accessible to everyone. The Voie Verte des Gaves is a 22-kilometre route from Lourdes to Cauterets via Argelès-Gazost. Its first section runs from Lourdes to Pierrefitte-Nestalas and is accessible to bicycles, roller skates, pedestrians, roller skis, handcycles and wheelchairs.
The GR78, the Chemin du Piémont, connects Béziers with Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and passes through Lourdes.
Water
The approximately 6-kilometre path around Lac de Lourdes is suitable for walking, cycling or running. Stand-up paddleboarding and canoeing are possible on the lake.
The wetland west of Lac de Lourdes has been classified as a Natura 2000 site since 2006. It is home to the large copper butterfly and the rare carnivorous plant sundew.
The Gesture of Water invites pilgrims to drink from the spring and wash themselves with its water. It can be performed independently at all the sanctuary’s fountains throughout the day.
Other destinations: Gèdre, Cauterets, Peyresourde-Balestas, Arreau, Gavarnie, Viscos, Loudenvielle, Guchen
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