Lourdes and around

Sport, relaxation and culture

Lourdes became famous after the Virgin Mary appeared to young Bernadette while she was gathering firewood in the Massabielle cave. From then on small family guesthouses, comfortable and sometimes luxurious hotels sprang up, to satisfy the growing numbers of pilgrims. The development of the town and surrounding area, was launched.

But there is the other Lourdes, the “Gateway to the Lavedan valleys”. The Gave de Pau river which crosses the sanctuary town flows straight down from the Gavarnie Cirque, and Lourdes turns out to be an ideal base for exploring nearby valleys and discovering all their secrets.

So what’s holding you back !

Special features

History
Culture and heritage
Tasty food
Thermal traditions
Astronomy
Sport
Relaxation
Away from it all
Vitality
Mountain sports

Discover

Lourdes and its religious heritage
The castle
The museum of Pyrenean Traditions
The wonderful view from the Pic du Jer (funicular railway)
The 7 neighbouring valleys: Batsurguère with its drinking fountains and wash houses where the laundry women would take care of the linen from Lourdes hotels, Argelès-Gazost, Val d'Azun, Cauterets, Gavarnie, Luz-Saint-Sauveur and Barèges
Argelès-Gazost and its weekly regional market
Saint-Savin and its abbey church
Saint-Pé de Bigorre
The Bétharram caves
The Donjon des Aigles birds of prey show
The Pyrenees animal park
Good restaurants
Traditional Pyrenean singing

Get moving / Year-round opportunities

Mountain sports: hiking, skiing, paragliding, horseback riding, adventure sports, cycling, mountain biking, fishing, motorbiking, canyoneering and white water sports, swimming, ...
Unforgettable moments: the pilgrimages, the Mountain Bike World Cup

Don’t miss

The Pyrenees National Park
The Pibeste-Aoulhet Regional Nature Reserve to observe local wildlife
The Green River Trail from Lourdes to Cauterets
The famous Pyrenean passes
The Great Sites : Cauterets - Pont d'Espagne, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre and its observatory, the Gavarnie cirque

Ski resorts

Hautacam

Nearby

(30 – 60 mins away)

The Soulor-Couraduque Nordic skiing area
Barèges-La Mongie - Grand Tourmalet, one of the largest skiing areas
in the Pyrenees
Cauterets le Lys
Luz-Ardiden
Gèdre-Gavarnie

A little further away

Tarbes, the horse capital
Pau, the city of King Henri IV
Toulouse and its Space City