Lourdes city guide · TripCatholic

Lourdes is a shrine town at the foot of the Pyrenees, and almost everything in it turns on one hollow in the rock. Between 11 February and 16 July 1858 a poor girl of fourteen, Bernadette Soubirous, saw a lady there eighteen times; on 25 March the Lady said, "I am the Immaculate Conception." The Grotto of Massabielle is open to all, and the spring Bernadette dug out feeds the baths and the fountains beside it. Above the Grotto stand the Crypt, the Upper Basilica and the Rosary Basilica; across the esplanade lies the underground Basilica of Saint Pius X. In the pilgrimage season, from April to the start of November, the day is built around the Eucharistic procession at 17:00 and the torchlight procession at 21:00. Up in the old town are the Boly Mill where Bernadette was born, the Cachot where her family lived in one room, and the parish church that keeps her baptismal font. Entry to the sanctuary is free, and it is built for the sick: wheelchairs, ramps and volunteers are everywhere.

Fly over Lourdes in 3DA tour of the grotto and the town Bernadette came fromStart the tour

HistoryA Catholic History of LourdesLourdes was a small castle town in the diocese of Tarbes until 1858, when Bernadette Soubirous, the daughter of a ruined miller, saw the Lady eighteen times at Massabielle. The bishop recognized the apparitions on 18 January 1862. A chapel, three basilicas, a medical bureau and the great national pilgrimages followed, and the sick came first from the start. Bernadette left for Nevers in 1866 and was canonized in 1933. Four popes have come as pilgrims, the latest being Pope Leo XIV on 26 and 27 September 2026.Read the full history

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Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de LourdesLourdes, FranceSite of the 18 Marian apparitions of 1858, housing the miraculous spring and baths, where 72 Church-recognized healings have occurred.

Les Piscines du Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de LourdesLourdes, FranceBath complex within the Sanctuary of Lourdes, fed by the miraculous spring Bernadette Soubirous uncovered in 1858, where pilgrims are fully immersed in the cold spring water in response to Our Lady's command to drink and wash.

Basilique Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée-ConceptionLourdes, FranceGothic Revival minor basilica built above the Grotto of Massabielle in direct fulfillment of Our Lady's request to Bernadette Soubirous, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and housing the Crypt, the oldest chapel in the sanctuary.

La CrypteLourdes, FranceThe first church built at Lourdes in direct fulfillment of Our Lady's request, housing relics of Saint Bernadette and the original altar of the Grotto of Massabielle.

Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire de LourdesLourdes, FranceRomano-Byzantine minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Lourdes, built over the apparition site, housing 15 mosaic-filled chapels each devoted to a Mystery of the Rosary.

Basilique souterraine Saint-Pie XLourdes, FranceUnderground minor basilica built for the centenary of the Lourdes apparitions, housing relics of Saints Pius X, John Paul II, Hildegarde of Bingen, and Bernard of Clairvaux in its Pax Christi chapel.

Chemin de Croix des EspéluguesLourdes, FranceMonumental hillside Way of the Cross within the Lourdes sanctuary, featuring 15 cast-iron stations, a devotional Scala Santa ascent, and a 1,500-meter wooded route above the three basilicas.

Chapelle de la RéconciliationLourdes, FranceDedicated confession chapel within the Sanctuary of Lourdes, fulfilling Our Lady's call to penance, housing confessionals in multiple languages across three floors with a Saint John Vianney chapel on the upper level.

The Saints of Lourdes

Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Born at the Boly Mill on 7 January 1844 and baptized two days later, she was fourteen and living in the Cachot when she saw the Lady eighteen times in 1858. She left Lourdes on 4 July 1866 for the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, died there on 16 April 1879 and was canonized on 8 December 1933. Her body rests at Nevers. France keeps her feast on 18 February.
Moulin de Boly | Maison natale de Sainte Bernadette Le Cachot Église Paroissiale du Sacré-Cœur de Lourdes +14 more
Our Lady of Lourdes
The title of the Lady of Massabielle, kept on 11 February, the day of the first apparition, which is also the World Day of the Sick. The statue in the niche of the Grotto shows her as Bernadette described her, in white with a blue sash.
Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes Basilique Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée-Conception +12 more
Immaculate Conception
The name the Lady gave herself on 25 March 1858, in the local dialect, three years after Blessed Pius IX defined the dogma on 8 December 1854. The Upper Basilica is dedicated to her under this title, and 8 December is one of the sanctuary's great feasts.
Basilique Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée-Conception Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The eighteenth and last apparition fell on her feast, 16 July 1858, when Bernadette knelt across the river. The Carmelite nuns entered their monastery facing the Grotto on 16 July 1876.
Église Sainte-Bernadette de Lourdes Monastère du Carmel de Lourdes
Holy Rosary
Bernadette was praying the rosary when the Lady first appeared, and the Lady prayed it with her. The Rosary Basilica keeps the mysteries in mosaic, the Rosary is prayed at the Grotto every afternoon, and the Dominicans' Rosary Pilgrimage comes each October.
Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire de Lourdes Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes Monastère des Dominicaines de Lourdes
Assumption of Mary
15 August is the fullest day of the Lourdes year, with the International Mass on the Prairie facing the Grotto and the French National Pilgrimage in town. In 2027 it falls on a Sunday.
Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes
Visitation of Mary
The sanctuary's theme for 2027 is the Visitation, "In those days Mary set out in haste." The Visitation nuns have had a monastery on a height above the Grotto since 1934.
Monastère de la Visitation de Lourdes
Blessed Pius IX
Defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and authorized the crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, done on the esplanade on 3 July 1876.
Basilique Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée-Conception
Saint Pius X
Extended the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes to the whole Church in 1907. The underground basilica bears his name because he opened First Communion to children, and Bernadette came home from Bartrès to make hers.
Basilique souterraine Saint-Pie X
Saint John XXIII
As Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice and papal legate, he consecrated the Basilica of Saint Pius X on 25 March 1958, seven months before he was elected pope.
Basilique souterraine Saint-Pie X
Saint John Paul II
The first pope to come to Lourdes as pope, on 14 and 15 August 1983. He came back on 14 and 15 August 2004, on his last journey abroad, and slept at the Accueil Notre-Dame among the sick.
Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes Accueil Notre-Dame +2 more
Pope Benedict XVI
Came for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions, from 13 to 15 September 2008, walked the first stages of the jubilee way and said Mass on the Prairie.
Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes
Pope Leo XIV
Came on 26 and 27 September 2026. He said Mass on the Prairie, met the sick and staff at the Accueil Notre-Dame and walked in the torchlight procession behind the statue.
Grotte de Massabielle | Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes Accueil Notre-Dame
Saint John Vianney
The patron of confessors gives his name to the chapel above the Chapel of Reconciliation, where confessions are heard all year.
Chapelle de la Réconciliation
Saint Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
The founder of the Religious of the Assumption bought their Lourdes house in 1884 as a boarding school, where Bernadette's nieces studied. It is now the Assumption House, which takes pilgrims.
Maison Assomption Lourdes
Saint Clare of Assisi
Her Poor Clare nuns opened their monastery on the rue de la Grotte on 2 July 1877 to surround the Grotto with prayer; the chapel is open for Mass and the Office.
Monastère des Clarisses de Lourdes
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
The Polish Catholic Mission's pilgrim house, Bellevue, on the hill toward Bartrès is dedicated to him.
Maison de la Mission Catholique Polonaise "Bellevue"

Beyond the churches

Views, walks and the town between the churches.

Bartrès on foot
Bartrès is the village where Bernadette was nursed as a baby and where she kept sheep in the months before the apparitions. The sanctuary says it is 1 hour 15 on foot across the fields, or 10 minutes by car; our own routing from the Grotto gives about 4 kilometers. The church visit, with its altarpiece and relics, takes about an hour and is accessible; the path up to the sheepfold has a climb and is not, and the visit takes about 1 hour 30 with it. Mass can be arranged and a picnic room booked through La Pastourelle (+33 5 62 94 10 41). Opening hours are not published, so call ahead.
Bergerie Sainte-Bernadette

Itineraries

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In Lourdes

1 day · 5 sitesHalf a Day at Lourdes: The Grotto and the Two ProcessionsAn afternoon and an evening in season, from the English Rosary to the torchlight procession

1 day · 5 sitesOne Day at LourdesThe Grotto at dawn, Mass in English, Saint Bernadette's streets, the blessing of the sick at five and the torchlight at nine

Longer trips

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10 sitesSaint Bernadette's Lourdes, From the Mill to the CryptTen places in and near Lourdes where Saint Bernadette lived, prayed and saw Our Lady

6 sitesThe Churches of Lourdes, From the Crypt to Saint Pius XSix churches raised for the chapel the Lady asked for and the crowds who followed

5 sitesThe Pilgrim Gestures of LourdesFive places to touch the rock, bathe, confess, walk the Cross and follow the Eucharist

6 sitesHidden Gems of Lourdes: Six Places Most Pilgrims MissSix quieter places beyond the Grotto, each with a clear reason to go

5 sitesLourdes of the Sick and the PoorFive places where Lourdes receives the sick, honors the healed and welcomes the poor

Featured Events

Good to know

From April to the start of November the sanctuary's day runs on fixed points: Mass at the Grotto at 10:00, the Rosary at the Grotto at 15:00 in English and 15:30 in French, the Eucharistic procession at 17:00 and the torchlight procession at 21:00. In winter the processions give way to a torchlight Rosary at 20:30. The grounds are open 6:00 to 1:00. Checked on 31 October 2026 against lourdes-france.org; check the official app or the timetable page for your day.

Article · 7 minThe Daily Program at the Sanctuary of LourdesRead

The Marian torchlight procession starts at 21:00 every evening from April to November, and on 7 and 8 December and 10 and 11 February. From November to April a shorter torchlight Rosary is prayed at the Grotto every evening at 20:30, except that from 4 January to 6 February it is held only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Entry is free. Checked on 31 October 2026 against lourdes-france.com.

Article · 5 minThe Torchlight Procession at LourdesRead

Every day from April to November at 17:00. It usually leaves from the Podium on the Prairie across the river and ends in the underground Basilica of Saint Pius X, where the sick are blessed with the Blessed Sacrament. Those who cannot walk wait inside the basilica from the start. On some days it becomes adoration in Saint Pius X instead, so check the day's timetable. Checked on 31 October 2026 against lourdes-france.com.

Article · 5 minThe Eucharistic Procession and Blessing of the Sick at LourdesRead

Individuals do not book: go to the baths and the volunteers will receive you as the day allows. Since 2026 the baths are for full immersion only. Hours are 9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:30 from April to November, and 10:00 to 11:30 and 14:00 to 15:30 in winter, except Sunday morning. Nothing needs to be brought. Arrive early. Checked on 31 October 2026 against lourdes-france.com; the live timetable is narrower on some days.

Article · 6 minThe Baths at Lourdes: Hours, the Queue and What to ExpectRead

Yes. Fill bottles at the taps by the arcades near the Grotto; the water is free and may not be sold. It is spring water, not holy water, until a priest blesses it, and you can ask a priest to do so. The sanctuary warns that only lourdes-france.com and lourdes-france.org are its own sites. Checked on 31 October 2026 against the sanctuary's water page and internal rules.

Article · 5 minLourdes Water: Where to Drink It, Fill Bottles and Take It HomeRead

Yes. Mass in English is said every day at 9:30 in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the Upper Basilica, all year, with a second English Mass at 18:00 in the Adoration Chapel on some season days. The International Mass in Saint Pius X, in several languages, is at 9:30 on Sundays and Wednesdays from April to November. Checked on 31 October 2026 against the sanctuary's English timetable.

Article · 7 minMass in English and Other Languages at LourdesRead

At the Chapel of Reconciliation, all year. The sanctuary's English page gives 10:30 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 from April to November, and 10:30 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 17:00 in winter; the French page gives longer hours. Come in the English hours and ask which priests hear in English. Checked on 31 October 2026 against lourdes-france.com.

Article · 4 minConfession at Lourdes: the Chapel of ReconciliationRead

Yes, more than almost any shrine. The sanctuary lends wheelchairs at its Information Center, the Grotto route is adapted, both processions are accessible, and there are ramps, lifts, induction loops and adapted toilets. The hillside Way of the Cross is not accessible, but the Prairie Way is. Sick pilgrims who need care usually come with a diocesan pilgrimage. Checked on 31 October 2026 against the sanctuary's accessibility page.

Article · 7 minLourdes for the Sick and Pilgrims with Limited MobilityRead

Her birthplace, the Boly Mill, the Cachot where her family lived in 1858, the Sacred Heart church with her baptismal font, the hospice where she made her First Communion, and the Lacadé Mill all lie within about 2 kilometers of streets above the sanctuary. Boly and the Cachot are free. Bartrès, where she kept sheep, is about 4 kilometers away on foot. Her body is at Nevers, not Lourdes.

Article · 7 minSaint Bernadette in Lourdes and NeversRead

Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport is about 15 minutes away and has flights from Paris Orly all year; a €3 shuttle meets the international flights, and the TL bus meets the first and last Orly flights. The fastest direct train from Paris Montparnasse takes just under 5 hours, and a night train runs from Paris Austerlitz. Pau airport is about 40 minutes by road. Checked on 31 October 2026 against the airport and SNCF Connect.

Article · 8 minHow to Get to Lourdes by Plane, Train and CarRead

Most doubles in the tourist office's 2026 guide run about €60 to €130 a night, and many hotels sell full board. Most hotels close from November to late March; a few stay open all year and some reopen just for 11 February. The sanctuary has a partner hotel booking service, and the Cité Saint-Pierre welcomes pilgrims in hardship. Checked on 31 October 2026.

Article · 7 minWhere to Stay in Lourdes: Hotels, Religious Houses and the Cité Saint-PierreRead

From April to the start of November, when both daily processions run. August, and 15 August above all, is the fullest; 11 February, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, fills the town in midwinter. Winter is quiet, with a torchlight Rosary at the Grotto each evening but most hotels closed. In 2027, 11 February is a Thursday and 15 August a Sunday.

Article · 7 minThe Best Time to Visit LourdesRead

One full day lets you see the Grotto, take part in both processions and go to Mass. Two days add the baths, the Stations of the Cross and Bernadette's town. Three days give time to walk to Bartrès and to pray without hurrying. Plan around the 17:00 and 21:00 processions, which run from April to the start of November.

Article · 6 minHow Many Days Do You Need in Lourdes?Read

The sanctuary's rules ask for decent clothing and ban beachwear. Eating, smoking, bicycles and scooters are not allowed on the grounds, and there is silence at the Grotto. Photographs for private use are allowed, but not inside the baths, the Chapel of Reconciliation or the Accueil Notre-Dame, and drones need permission. Checked on 31 October 2026 against the sanctuary's internal rules.

Article · 5 minWhat to Wear at Lourdes, and the Rules on PhotosRead

Only the sanctuary. Its fraud warning says no one without its authorization may take intentions, light candles, arrange Masses or collect donations for it, and that only gifts made on its own website reach it. Its only sites are lourdes-france.com and lourdes-france.org. Masses can be requested at the Mass Office in the sanctuary. Checked on 31 October 2026.

Article · 6 minCandles, Prayer Intentions and Souvenirs at Lourdes, and Praying from HomeRead

Catholic stays

Lourdes has Catholic houses that take pilgrims, but most of the sanctuary's own lodgings are for groups: the Accueil Notre-Dame houses sick pilgrims who come with organized pilgrimages, and the Youth Village takes youth and Scout groups. We checked the regional tourism listings and the houses' pages on 31 October 2026. The Assumption House of the Religious of the Assumption has 170 places, speaks French, English and Spanish, and was open from 30 March to 1 November 2026. Bellevue, the house of the Polish Catholic Mission, has 100 places and was open from 26 March to 31 October 2026. The Cité Saint-Pierre of the Secours Catholique welcomes pilgrims in financial or personal hardship from early February to the end of November, for 2 to 6 nights, with full board at €41 a day for individuals from 2027; it says that money must not be an obstacle. Dates and prices for 2027 at the other houses are not published, so ask when you book.