Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes tickets: which one to buy

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes lies in the town of Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenees in south-western France, and entry to the sanctuary, including the grotto, the basilicas and the processions, is free. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world, receiving millions of pilgrims each year, many of them sick or disabled, accompanied by volunteers. Lourdes is served by trains from Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, and by a small airport.

Most visitors stay at least a night to attend the processions. Organised pilgrimages come from all over the world, and the sanctuary offers free guided visits and an information centre. The town also has Bernadette's birthplace, the Boly Mill, the former prison cell where her family lived, and a medieval castle museum. Modest dress and quiet are expected in the sanctuary. The information centre at the Saint Michael gate provides maps and schedules in many languages.

Visiting Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes: what to see

In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen-year-old girl from a poor family, reported eighteen apparitions of a lady in white in the Grotto of Massabielle, beside the river Gave; the lady identified herself as the Immaculate Conception, and a spring appeared where Bernadette dug in the ground. The grotto, with its statue of the Virgin, is the heart of the sanctuary, and pilgrims pass through it touching the rock. The spring water can be taken from taps, and pilgrims can bathe in the baths nearby. Above the grotto rise the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, completed in 1871, with the crypt beneath it, and the Rosary Basilica, completed in 1889, whose domed front is decorated with mosaics.

The underground Basilica of Saint Pius X, built in 1958, can hold twenty-five thousand people. Bernadette became a nun and died in Nevers, where her body is kept; she was canonised in 1933. The Rosary Basilica's mosaics show the mysteries of the rosary, and the crypt beneath the upper basilica was the first chapel built at the site. Along the river opposite the grotto, rows of candles burn continuously in special shelters. A Way of the Cross with larger-than-life statues winds up the hillside above the sanctuary. The prairie on the other side of the river is used for open-air masses.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes opening hours and the best time to go

The sanctuary is open all year, and the grotto is accessible day and night. The main pilgrimage season runs from April to October, when the Eucharistic procession takes place in the afternoon and the torchlight Marian procession every evening, with thousands of candles. The anniversary of the first apparition on 11 February, the feast of the Assumption on 15 August, which brings the national pilgrimage, and Easter are the busiest times. Winter is quiet, and many hotels close. Allow at least half a day for the sanctuary and the processions, and visit Bernadette's birthplace in the town. The funicular up the Pic du Jer, a mountain above the town, gives views over Lourdes and the Pyrenees.