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There are several trains and buses connecting Lourdes to other French cities. It is also easily accessible by car, and close to the border with [wiki=907eba32d950bfab68227fd7ea22999b]Spain[/wiki].
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By car
Lourdes is about 9 h from Paris via [wiki=66d73a5c118ed4653630c2fe3464cf2d]Toulouse[/wiki] and the A64. Lourdes is easily accessed by car, although the narrow streets around the holy sites can become quite congested at weekends and holy days. Roads from the South-West of France and from Spain are also good. On your satnav, make sur that you put the silent s with no apostrophe or you may end up in a village far away (there are several of them). Many foreigners make mistakes to the amusement of the other villages.
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By train
Lourdes train station is just a few hundred metres from the town centre, and offers easy access and clear signs to the Domaine area(look for signs indicating "La Grotte" and "Massabielle"). For information on trains to and from Lourdes, visit the SNCF website [url=http://www.sncf.fr/indexe.htm].]
Several trains travel to Lourdes, including TGV service from [[Paris[/url]] (six hours) and many trains to and from [wiki=79fe6d5e658a2b2302aacd146c7bfb62]Pau[/wiki], [wiki=c1a946a544b2e2b45c714162b40786ec]Bayonne[/wiki]/[wiki=1727a2d933d817a65127c8e02cebeb43]Biarritz[/wiki], and [wiki=66d73a5c118ed4653630c2fe3464cf2d]Toulouse[/wiki]. The small SNCF station offers minimal services, but there are free toilets, a small coffee/pastry counter, vending machines, and an adjacent cafe and quick service restaurant (service can be rather surly, even for France). Accessibility is excellent due to the large number of infirm and disabled pilgrims who visit Lourdes and many trains passing through Lourdes offer special services for the disabled.
Night trains from [wiki=9b6b4233a624fd66f3218841d617f3b1]Tours[/wiki] and [wiki=e20d37a5d7fcc4c35be6fc18a8e71bfa]Paris[/wiki] are available; however, these can be quite uncomfortable as they feature standard, non-reclining seats rather than berths or beds, and lights remain on throughout the trip. However, one can book a couchette, and travel in first class allows for a T4 compartment (2 bunkbeds). Lourdes is a stop rather than the terminus, so know what time you are supposed to arrive and listen for the announcement for Lourdes (there will probably be many others going to Lourdes, especially the elderly or infirm, so you can watch rather than try to decipher the often-unintelligible PA announcements).
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By coach
Coach arrivals from the UK and Ireland into Lourdes are charters, run by specific travel agencies for organised Pilgrim groups.
The main organisation is ACROSS who travel weekly by special coaches designed for the purpose. www.across-uk.org
Across cover the whole of the UK and can also arrange pick up locally. These special coaches are fitted out with hoists, special hospital beds and can take several wheelchairs. Medical care is available for the duration of the trip provided full disclosure is given to Across in advance of the trip. Costs are fully inclusive on a full board basis. Importantly for disabled the Insurance is also included in the cost. Trips for disabled to other destinations can also be arranged. ACROSS is a registered charity.
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By plane
The nearest airport is Tarbes-Lourdes [url=http://www.tlp.aeroport.fr/en/traveller/],]approximately twenty minutes' drive from the town itself. Air France operate a daily scheduled service from Paris, while a large number of charter flights from all over Europe use the airport also. During the summer season, Ryanair operates flights to Tarbes-Lourdes from [[London[/url]] (Stansted) and [wiki=437d461430ecc08e2d51abbcf5ce9b3c]Milan[/wiki]. Bus number 2 operated by Maligne [url=http://www.transports-maligne.fr/index.php?rub=1&ss=1]]runs regularly between Tarbes-Lourdes airport and Lourdes town centre (2€ per person for a one-way ticket).
Other airports that can be used to access Lourdes are:
*Pau [url=http://www.pau.aeroport.fr/en/home.php[/url].]CityJet, an Air France subsidiary offers three return flights a week between London City Airport and Pau, three return flights from Dublin (one direct and two via London City), and two return flights a week via Amsterdam. Pau airport is approximately 40 minutes' drive away from Lourdes, with potential for train connections.
*Toulouse-Blagnac airport [url=http://www.toulouse.aeroport.fr/us/default.asp[/url]]is a bigger airport that is two hours away by train.
*Biarritz airport [http://www.biarritz.aeroport.fr/indexen.html[/url] is accessible from Lourdes by train and has flights from the UK and Ireland by Ryanair.
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By minivan
- If you arrive in Toulouse there is also the possibility of a transfer by minivan. Ophorus [url=http://www.ophorus.com/]]also organises day tours departing from Toulouse towards the holy city of Lourdes with a guided tour included.
- Another possibility is the shuttle TOURSUD [http://www.toursud.com[/url], which can take up to 7 passengers from Toulouse to Lourdes (or Lourdes-->Toulouse). Look at the website to find out all the excursions organised by the driver-guide Arnaud (in English, Spanish, French).
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On foot
Lourdes is a pedestrian friendly city with several pedestrian only streets and it is very easy to get around the town centre. It really is worth walking and exploring. The town is also used to disabled visitors, help is also readily available.
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By car
Lourdes has a complicated one-way street system around town and, because many streets are pedestrian only, it can be confusing and time-consuming getting around town. There are many places to park on the outskirts of the city (especially off the rue de Pau) and walking to the grotto is easy so, if possible, park and walk is the easiest way to get around.
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The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception - Situated on top of the rock above the Grotto, it was designed by Hippolyte Durand and was constructed between 1866 and 1872.
* The Rosary Basilica - The Basilica was designed by the architect Leopold Hardy and built between 1883 and 1889. It was consecrated in 1901.
* The Grotto of Massabielle - On Thursday 11th February 1858, Bernadette heard a noise that sounded like a gust of wind and she saw a light. She saw a small girl, dressed in white, with a blue belt, a yellow rose on each foot and a rosary beads on her arm: It was the Blessed Virgin Mary.
* The Wax Museum - Discover the life size wax figures. Relive the fascinating story of St. Bernadette’s life and Jesus Christ.
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Visit the sacred sites, including the Grotto where St Bernadette saw Mary. Attend mass (dozens on offer in almost every language in the world) somewhere in or around the holy sites. Visit one of the many Bernadette attractions (several museums, her former home, etc.) and best of all: watch the astonishing numbers of pilgrims from all over the world. The Underground Basilica of St. Pius X, a church constructed entirely underground, is especially interesting architecturally.
Especially interesting is the International Mass, held in six languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch) simultaneously in the Underground Basilica of St. Pius X Sunday mornings. Arrive early to get a seat. One wonderful experience is to arrive about 1 1/2 hours early to be part of the choir (open to anyone who arrives early to rehearse). You get to sing with people of all 6 languages and have a excellent view of the Mass.
Don't miss the nightly candlelight procession (buy your candle beforehand from one of the souvenir shops) in front of the Basilica and around the main square, with singing, prayer and a rosary said in many languages (alternating half-decades in English, French, Italian, etc.). The procession of the sick to the Underground Basilica each afternoon is particularly moving, as well. Other religious activities available include confession (available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch), adoration, stations of the cross (in the underground basilica), candle lighting near the Grotto, and rosary in front of the Grotto each afternoon (in French) and at other times/places in other languages.
If you have a car, spend a day in the wonderful Pyrenees. Roadtrips to Pont d'Espagne, Gavarnie or de Col de Tourmalet offer breathtaking mountain scenery and lots of opportunities for hiking. There is a historic chateau on a hill visible from the town, as well.
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Lourdes has an enormous number of shops selling all sorts of kitsch and religious souvenirs like statuettes of saints, rosaries, candles, containers for storing the water from the source near the Grotto, mugs and fridge magnets. If items like these are your thing, the large Palais du Rosaire offers an enormous selection and will wrap items for you to take home.
Many shops will close for 1 1/2 - 2 hours around lunch; be prepared to be shooed out of the store or hurried along with your purchases if you are shopping around 12:30pm.
Shops often have flags or signs outside indicating the languages (besides the obvious French, usually English, Spanish, and Italian, although sometimes German and Dutch) spoken there.
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Good food is available in Lourdes, although you do have to look for it. The dining options are broken into 4 broad categories:
* Cafés - All the Cafés around the town provide reasonable inexpensive food, concentrating on the standard snacks of pizzas, croques monsieur & madame and sandwiches. Many also offer larger meals, with duck, steaks and chicken regularly on the menu. For good food close to St Joseph's Gate, try the Café au Roi Albert, on the Pont Vieux, the Little Flower Café on the Rue de la Reine Astrid or the New Orleans Café on Rue Sainte-Marie.
* Hotel restaurants - Many of the hotels around the town have restaurants available to non-residents, both on a fixed-menu and a la carte basis. Enquire at the Reception desk or view the menu boards outside the hotel. Meal times in most hotels are fixed, as the majority of guests stay on a full-board basis, with lunch at midday and dinner at 7pm.
* Local restaurants - There are not many local restaurants in the tourist area of Lourdes, but there are some in the town itself. The closest ones to the Domaine are:
:*Pizza da Marco - on the Rue de la Grotte, at the top of the hill. A standard Italian pizzeria, with good food but erratic service, especially when busy.
* Restaurant Alexandra - on the Rue de Fort, off the Rue de la Grotte. This small family-run restaurant specialises in local delicacies, and has an intimate atmosphere.
* Brasserie de la Grotte - on the the Rue de la Grotte, part of the four-star Hotel de la Grotte. A good brasserie with a pleasant atmosphere, dishes are excellent, but expensive.
* Restaurants outside the town - If you have transport, it's worth your while travelling outside the town itself to eat, as several restaurants in the locality are excellent. In the small village of Bartrès, there are two recommended restaurants, the Restaurant Au Bon Accueil and La Petite Bergère. Both are family-run and specialise in good food from the local region. This sleepy village is a ten-minute drive from Lourdes and also has associations with St Bernadette.
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The famous water, of course (free!). Bring your own bottles, or buy one of the thousands containers or jerrycans (or one of the tasteful plastic bottles in the shape of a Mary statuette) available at almost every shop in town.
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Lourdes offers dozens, if not hundreds of hotels in and around Lourdes. There is a special youth village on the left side of the Gave river offering accommodation and facilities to young people.
Because of the large supply, accommodations can be found for extremely cheap, with double rooms in hotels rivaling hostel prices (for example, 40 euros for a double room, 20 split between two people).
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[wiki=5e4d467c3bab4a8f2c2868c897f44536]Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre[/wiki]
*[wiki=79fe6d5e658a2b2302aacd146c7bfb62]Pau[/wiki]
*[wiki=acab3e9146c20f7b13fbe3dfe0bbf532]Gavarnie[/wiki], [wiki=256a2920bdf977f2cab594a2671a3bab]Parc National des Pyrénées[/wiki]
[wiki=0cd83b07455bdeaba71a549ea1c429cc]de:Lourdes[/wiki]
[wiki=c5083ab5a2d42984a185bb40f7a579a5]fr:Lourdes[/wiki]
[wiki=561507e6cecdcb5ab6095283fdb188a1]nl:Lourdes[/wiki]
[wiki=4951e4800b1232f1362cfacf2c115f2f]ro:Lourdes[/wiki]
[[WikiPedia:Lourdes]]
[wiki=5a13a16ea2e792fad57d4cc0e3313e6e]Dmoz:Europe/France/Regions/Midi-Pyrenees/Hautes-Pyrenees/Localities/Lourdes/[/wiki]
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