Tourist information:
Lourdes, small Pyrenean town of 15,000 inhabitants, is one of the cities that attract the most visitors in the world, not less than 6 million a year! This is the spiritual side of the city which seduces, whether you are a believer or not, but also its traditional Pyrenean aspect and both its natural and architectural heritage.
Until the mid-nineteenth century, Lourdes was a peaceful town that lived around its castle from the Middle Ages and whose activity was defined by fairs and exhibitions. However in February 1858, the history of the city changed the day Bernadette Soubirous saw the first appearance of Virgin Mary. She had gone to fetch wood along the gave (name given to the Pyrenean torrents) when she saw a young girl surrounded by light who smiled. The appearance of Bernadette Soubirous was the first of eighteen apparitions of Virgin Mary in Lourdes.
Bernadette Soubirous entered as a nun in the convent of St. Gildard at Nevers in 1866 and died there in 1879. It is from this time that Lourdes became a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Virgin Mary. Thousands of pilgrims come to visit the town and the Shrines gathered around a large square. They also visit the Miraculous Cave, where Bernadette saw the Virgin.
In addition to the pilgrims, Lourdes is a town which charms all visitors with its magnificent religious buildings, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the underground Basilica of St. Pius X, but also with its medieval castle, and its Pyrenean Museum which represents the region in an archaeological, popular and artistic point of view.
On the nature side, Lourdes offers us to take the air on the Gaves Greenway, a 17 km path, only for pedestrians and cyclists, which follows an old railway. The location of Lourdes, at the foot of the Pyrenees, gives it the advantage of offering many mountain activities.
For animal lovers, do not miss the large Lourdes aquarium: it is the largest freshwater aquarium in South-West France.
Lourdes is a multi-faceted spiritual city .
