Visit Lourdes, France – one of the holiest Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world
Looking to take a trip to Lourdes, France and wondering what the top things to do and see? In the southwest region of France is the holy site of Lourdes. Lourdes is a Catholic pilgrimage site visited by over six millions annually. While planning our trip to France, my mom had mentioned if we could visit the holy site. And, I decided to add Lourdes on to our trip. Lourdes is a small rural town in the Pyrénées region of France. The reason why people come to Lourdes is not to sightsee like in Paris or the French Riviera. Visitors come with the hopes of getting healed from the blessed water from the grotto. While, others come to visit a place where the Virgin Mary was seen. Lourdes became famous due to a poor peasant little girl named Bernadette Soubirous who saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Our Lady of Lourdes – The Marian Apparition
Bernadette was a simple peasant girl who herded sheep and lived in the village of Lourdes. She could not read or write either. The story goes that one day in 1858 the 14- year old Bernadette while gathering firewood along the river saw the first apparition of a young girl in the grotto called Massabielle.
Bernadette said the young girl was in a white dress with a blue belt around her waist and golden roses at her feet holding a rosary. The first time Bernadette saw the apparition it didn’t speak to her. She tried to tell the other adults what she saw, but no one believed what she saw. She saw the apparition again, and finally, the apparition said: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
The Virgin Mary told Bernadette to come every two weeks to visit with her. She explained to Bernadette that the grotto’s water had healing properties. Then, Bernadette was told by The Virgin Mary where to dig in the grotto to reveal clean water from the spring.
Our Lady of Lourdes told Bernadette to tell others to, “drink at the spring and bathe in it”. Bernadette saw Our Lady of Lourdes for a total of 18 times. Finally, four years later in 1862 after the Catholic church investigated they declared that Bernadette had truly seen the Virgin Mary. Bernadette was made into a Saint in 1925 ( 46 years after her death).
As of 2018 there have been 70 miracles recognized by the Catholic Church from people who claimed to have been healed while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
There have been Marian apparitions all over the world. The two other famous ones are Our Lady of Fátima in 1917 in Fatima Portugal, and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531.
When to go to Lourdes,France?
People typically visit Lourdes from April to October.
How to get to Lourdes?
When I went to Lourdes I was flying in from Nice. So, I booked a flight from Nice airport to Tarbes-Lourdes airport. The flight I took had to transfer to Paris-Orly and then from there I had the connecting flight to Tarbes-Lourdes airport. The whole flight with the connection took three hours. And, from the airport, we got a taxi to our hotel in town.
#1. Train: If you are in a town not far from Lourdes you can take a train to Lourdes train station. If I had taken a train from Nice to Lourdes, it would have taken about 9 hours. It is worth taking the train to Lourdes if you are in a town less than 3 hours away. Or, if you really enjoy train rides.
#2. Plane: I would guess most people would come by plane. The closest airport to town is the Tarbes-Lourdes airport which is a 15-25 minute drive to the center of town. If you are flying to Lourdes from within France, only a handful of airplane lines fly into the airport. Air France Hop and Ryan Air are two main lines within Europe that fly into the airport. If you are flying from somewhere else in the world and want to go directly to Lourdes, you may have to fly into another city to transfer to an Air France Hop/Ryan Air plane to continue to Lourdes.
Where to stay in Lourdes, France
Being that it is a small town you are not going to find any big name hotels. But, Lourdes has plenty of hotels to choose from for your visit.
I picked the Grand Hotel Moderne which is a fantastic hotel located within a three-minute walk to the grotto. And, it is located right by the entrance to the sanctuary area. The staff at the hotel were excellent. I had already researched the top things to do and see in Lourdes, France but the hotel staff was great at recommending extra activities to do in town. I thought the room was comfortable and clean. The bathrooms were renovated, and we had a lovely balcony of view of the street. http://www.grandhotelmoderne.com/
Several restaurants and cafes surround the hotel. But, my favorite meal I had in Lourdes during our three-night stay was the dinner at The Grande Moderne. I would highly recommend if you stay at the hotel to try the dinner during your stay. I didn’t care for the other cafe’s we went to in Lourdes. But, we only walked around the area of our hotel when looking for a place to dine. If we went to the other parts of town further away from the center of it, we might have found different restaurants. If I ever came back to Lourdes, I would stay again at this hotel.
My top things to do and see in Lourdes, France
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is the main area that encompasses the Shrine and all the major sites for the pilgrims.
1. The Healing Baths
I would recommend the first thing you do in the morning is to do the healing baths. Usually, there is a long wait. I went with my mom early in the morning to the baths. The volunteers take you behind a blue/white striped curtain area. Then, they have ladies that cover you with a sheet while you remove all of your clothes. After, they wrap you into the sheet, so you are covered. The ladies have you say a prayer to yourself if you wish and proceed to dunk your whole body back into the freezing cold tub of water. The water is piped from the spring. There is a separate area for men and women.
2. Grotto of Massabielle
The whole reason why people come to Lourdes is to see the site where Bernadette first saw the Virgin Mary. People line up to get a chance to touch/kiss the grotto walls, and to collect the water dripping from it. Alternatively, they have taps around the cave where people can fill up water bottles or jugs to take home.
3. Basilica of The Immaculate Conception
It’s the church that is on top of the rock above the Grotto. It is beautiful on the inside, and they offer mass in many languages.
4. Torchlight Marian Processional at 9pm Night
For the processional, you need to buy a candle at one of the many gift shops. During the processional everyone walks around the sanctuary. It is beautiful to watch. I would recommend if you get a plastic to holder to put around the candle. Because, the paper I had around my candle kept on catching on fire. And, at a certain point my candle wouldn’t light, and I didn’t want to burn myself with melted wax. Try to do the processional the first night when you arrive. We did it the second day we arrived, and on our third day it rained.
5. Moulin de Boly
The Moulin de Boly is the birthplace of Saint Bernadette, and where she grew up with her family.
6. Le Petit Train
My favorite thing to do in every small town is to take a little train tour of a town. The train takes visitors around the city for 45 minutes. I didn’t get to explore the town much, so this tour gave me a nice overview of the town.
What I thought of Lourdes
I have gone to the Vatican before, and have been to famous churches. Never have I gone to a holy place before where people go in masses to in hopes to get healed. I think it speaks volumes about people’s faith. It is a sad sight to see people who have to be brought to Lourdes on a stretcher. Visitors can see hundreds of people being pushed on wheelchairs; both young and old.
On the other hand it is beautiful to see that people believe in something bigger than themselves. People who are sick are desperate to be healed; which is understandable. Bernadette is quoted as saying, “One must have faith and pray; the water will have no virtue without faith.” People who come here put their faith in God, and in the Virgin Mary to heal them.
People see Lourdes as a place where their healing may occur. For many people who have incurable health issues going to Lourdes may be their last hope. Who really knows if the grotto’s water are truly miraculous to those who have faith. But, the main thing that Lourdes does for those who are sick is provide hope. And, hope is something that can keep a person fighting. Having hope in your heart can create miracles.
Overall, it was a lovely trip to a holy place. If you are an outdoor lover, I feel like the region around Lourdes has a lot to offer for visitors to explore.
Have you ever been to Lourdes?
Top Things to To Do And See in Lourdes, France.Top Things to To Do And See in Lourdes, France