Lourdes City Info

Lourdes is situated in the Southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in a verdant basin, leaning on the first Pyrenean foothills. It has 15,043 inhabitants.
At an altitude of 420m, Lourdes is a central point around which radiate the valleys of Batsurguère, Castelloubon, Arcizac, Pau and Tarbes, towards the plain.
In the south some crest of famous Pyrenean peaks stand out: Montaigu, Aneto, Vignemale (3,298m), and against the city, there are three summits reaching between 800 and 1,000m, the Béout, the Petit Jer with its three crosses and the Grand Jer with its huge cross watching over the town. Lourdes' urban area is crossed in a south-north direction by the Gave coming from Gavarnie, into which flow several torrents from Barèges and Cauterets. The Gave then branches off to the west towards the Béarn, rippling past the banks of the Massabielle grotto.The Fortified Castle rises at the middle of the city, leaning on the escarpment.

In the heart of the Pyrenees, Lourdes receives more than 5 million visitors from all over the world every year. Spirituality, whether belonging to history or legends, is part of the present through the depth and beauty of the sight, the marks of the past, the serenity of the Sanctuaries. Lourdes was just a small market town on the 11 February, when Bernadette Soubirous met, along the Gave, the "Lady" that made the town a Marian city.
Today Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France with 270 establishments. Its geographical position, at the foot of the mountains makes it an ideal starting-point of excursions to the Pyrenees.

From the end of March to end of October, the Sanctuary of Lourdes experiences exuberant and continuous activity. Pilgrimages from all nations live and cooperate together there and follow one another according to a definite calendar. 11 the February, the anniversary of the first Apparition, is the great test of Our Lady of Lourdes, which has been proclaimed the World Day of Prayer for the Sick by Pope John-Paul Il to signify the spiritual life of Lourdes. All the religions feasts and especially the Feast of the Assumption attract huge crowds to Lourdes.