Lourdes holidays

How to reach Lourdes

Flight time: Flights to Juillan from London are just shy of 2 hours.

Transfer time: Lourdes’ town centre is within a 15–25-minute drive of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport.

Price: The shuttle bus from the airport to Lourdes costs around €3 one way; a ballpark figure for a taxi would be €30–€60.

Best time to visit Lourdes

Finding the right time for your Lourdes holidays depends on your reasons for coming: something spiritual or less lofty outdoor adventuring.

High season: Lourdes’ high season runs roughly from April to October. These are the best months for pilgrimages, especially if you want to participate in the religious processions at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The spring months tend to be fickle, swinging from cool to chilly with quick showers. If weather is a priority, June to October is drier and warmer, with average high temperatures around 22–24°C until September, dipping to 18°C in October.

Less crowded times: To avoid crowds, visit between November and March (February is a bit of an outlier on the busy scale due to the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes). This is Lourdes' cool season, with high temperatures between 13 and 10°C. The likelihood of rain is pretty high these months (in all honesty, a degree of rain is part and parcel of holidaying in the Pyrenees whenever you go), so make sure to have a few rainy-day activities lined up. The sanctuary is open year-round for pilgrimages, but there will be reduced services.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: French is the official language, but English, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch are also spoken at the sanctuary to accommodate non-French-speaking visitors. A translation will likely come in handy if you plan to explore the Hautes-Pyrénées more broadly.

• Currency: France is in the eurozone.

• Getting around: A few steep hills and streets notwithstanding, Lourdes is easy enough to navigate on foot, but there’s also a comprehensive and inexpensive urban bus network.

• Electricity and plug types: Standard mains electricity is 220–240V, 50Hz. Plugs are two-pin Type C and E.

• Time zone: France keeps Central European Time (GMT+ 1 hour) but switches to Central European Summer Time (GMT+ 2 hours, British Summer Time + 1 hour) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

Best things to do in Lourdes

There's no shortage of things to do on holidays to Lourdes, whether visiting for religious reasons or simply to experience the peaceful atmosphere and stunning scenery.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Pic du Jer: Rising 951m, the 360-degree summit views of Lourdes and the central Pyrenees are breathtaking. The century-old funicular railway is a bonus.

• Le Béout: Peaking at 719m, the Béout isn’t as high as the Pic du Jer, but the views over Lourdes and the Batsurguère Valley are just as fantastic.

The best districts

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes: Spanning some 50ha and with 22 places of worship, including the famous Massabielle Grotto, where St. Bernadette had her visions of the Virgin Mary, this is the spiritual heart of Lourdes.

• Downtown Lourdes: If you head away from the sanctuary, Lourdes’ town centre offers a charming selection of local shops and cafés. It’s the perfect spot to grab a coffee or pick up some souvenirs.

Parks and gardens

• Pibeste-Aoulhet Massif Nature Reserve: Offering superb scenery and supporting a wide variety of plants and wildlife, the reserve is a top spot for nature lovers, especially birders.

• Pyrenees National Park: A 20-minute drive away, stretching along the Franco-Spanish border, this high-altitude national park is even more spectacular, with immense limestone massifs, granite mountains and hidden wooded valleys.

Museums

• Maison Paternelle de Sainte-Bernadette: The Soubirous’ home after the apparitions, preserved in the style of the time and run by St Bernadette’s descendants, is worth a flying visit to see the collection of family memorabilia.

• Château Fort Musée Pyrénéen: Lourdes’ imposing medieval hilltop fortress turned museum combines history, folk art and views.

Historical monuments

• Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception: Crowning the rock above the Massabielle Grotto and overlooking the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, this Gothic Revival-style church is a showstopper. Look closely at its stained-glass windows, which detail the apparitions.

• Basilica of St Pius X: This strikingly modern, almost entirely subterranean 1950s building is the biggest of the sanctuary’s churches (it can accommodate 25,000 people). Its sheer size and design are impressive, even if you’re not there for a service.

Day trips in the area

• Cauterets: Neighbouring Pyrenees National Park, a spa town and ski resort with belle époque style Cauterets, has plenty to offer year-round.

• Bagnères-de-Bigorre: A half-hour drive away, this small town is well-known for its thermal spas, making for a relaxing retreat after the hustle of Lourdes.

Activities for families in Lourdes

Lourdes may be best known as a pilgrimage site, but there are also plenty of secular activities to enjoy.

• Swimming pools: The Lourdes Aquatic Complex, with its indoor and outdoor pools, sauna and steam room, is ideal for family downtime.

• Playgrounds: Located in the town centre, the Jardin de l’You is fantastic for kids, with a spacious, colourful playground with all the usuals. Further afield, riverside Lourdes Woods offers plenty of space to run around and a lovely kids’ play area.

• Aquariums and zoos: For animal lovers, bordering Lourdes Woods, charming La ferme du Bon’air is home to everything from alpacas to dwarf zebu.

• Interactive museums: Perfect for a pint-size adventure, the Musée du Petit Lourde is Lourdes but in miniature.

Free things to do in Lourdes

Lourdes offers several free activities, particularly for those visiting on a spiritual retreat.

• Free sites: All Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes sites are free to visit.

• Free events: Religious processions are staged daily at the sanctuary between April and October. The Eucharistic Procession departs at 5 pm, followed by the evocative candlelight Marian Procession at 9 pm.

• Annual festivals: The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated on 11th February to mark the anniversary of the first apparition. This is the most sacred day on Lourdes’ calendar, with pilgrims flocking to the Massabielle Grotto.

• Free guided tours in Lourdes: Following in the footsteps of St Bernadette, sanctuary-run walking tours depart from the Information Centre at 2 pm Monday to Saturday.

Nature and outdoor activities

• Hiking: Surrounded by the Pyrenees and with national reserves and parks at your boot tips, you won’t have to go far to find a great hiking spot. The loop around Lourdes Lake and the point-to-point Chemin Henri IV are popular trails, but the possibilities are endless.

• Cycling: The 18km Gaves Greenway, running along the Gave de Pau between Lourdes and Pierrefitte-Nestalas, is a good starting point if you’re not quite Tour de France-ready.

• Fishing: Home to black bass, carp, pike, perch, roach and trench, Lourdes Lake offers fishing opportunities for anglers of all levels. However, you’ll need to arrange a fishing licence.

• Whitewater rafting: As long as you're not expecting the Colorado River-level thrills, you’ll enjoy paddling on the Gave de Pau. With Class II and III rapids, it’s ideal for beginners.

Local dishes in Lourdes

One of the great delights of holidays to Lourdes is experiencing the hearty and rustic flavours of traditional French Pyrenean cuisine.

Some typical dishes

• Garbure: Usually made with salty meat, cheese, stale bread and an assortment of vegetables, this traditional stew-like soup isn’t the most visually appealing thing you’ll ever eat, but it has great flavours and textures.

• Jambon noir de Bigorre: Made with pork from Gascon Noir de Bigorre pigs, this artisanal ham holds its own against Spain’s best Ibérico hams.

Meat dishes

• Cassoulet: Flavoured with garlic and animal fat, this rich and warming meat-and-bean stew is perfect for chilly night suppers.

• Confit de Canard: Quintessentially French, salted duck meat slow-roasted in its fat.

Fish and seafood dishes

• Fario: An emblematic fish of the Pyrenees, fario is guaranteed to crop up in some form or other on restaurant menus, from en papillote (in parchment) to à la meunière (dredged in flour).

Sweets and desserts

• Gâteau à la Broche: Slow-cooked over an open flame on a rotating conical-shaped mould, this unique spit cake is hard to come by outside the Occitanie region. Look for it being made at fairs and markets.

• Pastis Gascon: Made with Armagnac-soaked caramelised apples, this boozy French tart is a classic.

Local drinks

• Madiran: A well-kept French secret, these robust reds are a must for wine lovers. Based on the local Tannat grape and blended with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon or Fer, Madiran wines have an earthy, dark-fruit flavour that pairs beautifully with rich dishes like cassoulet or foie gras.

• Armagnac: A local grape brandy from the Gascony region, Armagnac is typically drunk as a digestif but is also great in cocktails if brandy is not your usual tipple.