Description:

Lourdes is a market town, lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees that is famous for the sightings of Our Lady of Lourdes at the Grotto de Massabielle.  Believed to be the Virgin Mary, the sightings were made by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.  During that year she reported 18 individual sightings and despite initial scepticism, the Catholic Church later declared them worthy of belief. 

The water from the Grotto is believed by many to have healing powers and the Catholic Church has officially recognised 67 miraculous healings attributed to the healing powers of the water.

The area around the Grotto is called the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and has become more commonly known as the Domaine.  The area contains several churches and Basilicas, the Grotto and the taps dispensing Lourdes water plus the Lourdes medical bureau.

Tours to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes are organised throughout the year, but particularly between March and October and since 1860 around 200 million people from all over the world have visited making it Frances largest pilgrimage site.

Away from the Domaine, the town is dominated by the fortress, rising up on a rocky outcrop in the centre of the town.  The fortress has had many uses from a state prison to the seat of the Counts of Bigorre and during these times has undergone numerous alterations.  It now contains the Pyrenean Museum, displaying typical Pyrenees costumes and other items from the area detailing Pyrenean life.

Other attractions include the Pic de Jer, accessed via a chair lift, that gives a fantastic view of Lourdes and its surrounds.  There is also a tourist train tour, lasting 45 minutes, which will give you an overview of the town.

The town has around 270 hotels, second in number only to Paris.  Despite this, it is advisable to pre-book during the summer months as around 5 million people visit the town each year.

One side effect of the popularity of the pilgrimages is that the town centre has been taken over by gift shops, mostly selling very similar items.  They range from the downright tacky to beautiful pieces of art and everything in-between.

For more information about the Domaine and the attractions of Lourdes, have a look at the Lourdes tourist office website.

Check out Guide2MidiPyrenees for Property in Midi-Pyrenees, Events, News, Classifieds, Places to Stay, Midi-Pyrenees Attractions and Business Directory.