Lourdes

A small city at the foot of the Pyrenees, Lourdes has been a place of Catholic pilgrimage since 1858, when the Virgin Maryappeared several times to Bernadette Soubirous.

The "Marian city" welcomes more than 6 million pilgrims and visitors from all over the world each year.

The heart of the site of the sanctuaries is the grotto of Massabielle and the basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, overlooked by the basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

It also includes the impressive Basilica of Saint Peter X.

Other places to discover:

• The fortified castle of Lourdes
• Old Lourdes
• The Gavarnie Tower
• The Nativity Museum
• The Lourdes Museum
• Lourdes Lake

The Pic du Jer, recognizable by its large cross illuminated at night, offers a magnificent panorama over Lourdes, Tarbes, Pau, the Argelès Gazost valley and the Pyrenean peaks.