Free walking tours in Lourdes and what to see

Must-sees

Lourdes is a major Marian pilgrimage centre and revolves around the Grotto of Massabielle, where Bernadette Soubirous said she saw the Virgin Mary in 1858. The sanctuary grounds, beside the Gave river, bring together the grotto, the springs and several basilicas: the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, built on the rock, the crypt and the Rosary Basilica, with mosaics on its façade. The huge underground concrete Basilica of Saint Pius X hosts the big masses.

At night, in season, the torchlight procession crosses the esplanade with thousands of pilgrims and is the best-known image of Lourdes. In town you can see the places linked to Bernadette, such as the Boly mill, where she was born, and the old cachot where her family lived. The fortified castle, on a rock, houses the Pyrenean Museum. To see the valley from above, a funicular climbs the Pic du Jer.

Free tours and guided visits

Lourdes has no regular free walking tours. The sanctuary organises its own welcome for pilgrims and visitors, and the tourist office has information on visits around town. What you will find on offer is a food tour of Lourdes to taste Pyrenean produce. For the mountains, people usually go on their own or on trips to Gavarnie, Cauterets or the Pont d’Espagne.

How long to spend

Allow a full day for the sanctuary, with the grotto, the basilicas and the evening procession. With a second day you can see the castle and the Bernadette sites and go up the Pic du Jer. If you want mountains, stay three or four days and head out to the nearby valleys. Outside the pilgrimage season the town is much quieter.

Where to stay

Lourdes has a great many hotels, most of them on the streets leading down to the sanctuary, convenient for walking to the grotto and the procession. The centre, by the castle and the market, has more local life. If you prefer nature and calm, Argelès-Gazost and the Lavedan valley, a short distance away, offer country cottages and mountain hotels.