Lourdes Travel Forum

Hi There

I'm taking my mother to Lourdes for 4 days next week but I've been told we really only need 1 or 2 days over there. Just wondering if there are any other good sites to visit in and around Lourdes to cover the other 2 days.
Thanks

How long you will stay in Lourdes depends on whether you will go there as a tourist or as a pilgrim. If you go as a tourist, I agree there can be little to see in Lourdes. However, the town is surrounded by the mountains and you can certainly find a beautiful location to stay. Around 80 kms far from Lourdes there is Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, a village with a wonderful monastery.

After reading a historical novel I have been doing considerable research on visiting Carcassonne and I think this could be a wonderful place to spend a couple of days, reachable by train. Lots of history and perfectly walkable.
See http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/France/Languedoc_Roussillon/Carcassonne-131886/Things_To_Do-Carcassonne-BR-1.html

Good destinations :-) Especially Carcassonne is magic, whenever I am in the wider area I try to make a detour to visit the Cité.

However, it is a bit of a drive from Lourdes. A wonderful city nearby is Pau, with a fabulous town centre, castle, and a promenade that offers a view of the chain of the Pyrenees. The next really big city is Toulouse, called "La Rouge", the city centre is absolutely amazing.

Depending on your preferences, you could drive down south into the Pyrenees, for a walk to the Cirque du Gavarnie (rocky area, waterfall), or drive on the high mountain roads where the Tour de France passes. The Tourmalet is not far. You could make your own tour through the valleys and over pass roads, down to Luz St. Sauveur, over to Barèges, La Mongie, Tourmalet, and if you have enough by then, back to Lourdes, or carry on over the next pass to Bagnères de Luchon, and then back. It makes you appreciate what the riders have to endure - with or without drugs... ;-) And the landscape and views are breathtaking.

Of course, the latter would only be good on a great day. In all other cases I would go to one of the cities and towns. Especially Carcassonne is magic in rain, and in Pau and Toulouse you could still do some shopping.

Ah, and nearly forgot: The coast is very close. Especially Bayonne is very nice, and the have a Basque museum there, so you could do a cultural study of the region.

I agree with all of the previous suggestions and being a Lourdes buff, I can assure you that two full days is plenty to see all that the town and the sanctuaries have to offer. You just need to see the Torch light procession twice, once from above and once walking in the procession. That will bring tears to your eyes I promise you. Anyway, if you want to pop off somewhere else I can also recommend St Jean Pied de Port at the foot of the Pyrenees not far down the road from Lourdes. This is where many of the pilgrims leave from on their journey along the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. It is a fascinating little place. Accommodation in Lourdes is really reasonable so another thought would be to base yourselves in Lourdes and do day trips to some of these other places. For instance, you could do Pau and St Jean Pied de Port in one day no trouble at all. I am assuming of course that you are driving. If so Carcassonne is also within reasonably easy reach. The Mid Pyrenees is a truly beautiful part of France, so see as much as you comfortably can.

Be careful with St Jean Pied de Port ... the magic of the Camino is too much and you may just end up walking to Galicia! he he