The Lourdes City Guides answer what most visitors only work out on their last day: how to see the Grotto and the processions without the worst of the crush, where Bernadette’s family really lived, where to eat garbure and Barèges lamb instead of a pilgrim menu, and how to reach Gavarnie, Pont d’Espagne or Pau without booking a tour. Each guide is a short, honest list that tells you why a place deserves your time, what to order or look for and one practical tip, and it opens in your browser as soon as you have paid.
About the Lourdes City Guides
- 82 places
- 4 guides
- 7 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The four Lourdes guides
Food guide
22 places
Garbure, black Bigorre pork and duck at small owner-run tables, mountain inns up the valleys, Cauterets sweets, Pau’s market hall and bistros, and Jurançon wine.
Things to do guide
20 places
The Grotto, basilicas and baths, Bernadette’s mills and the old jail cell, the fortress museum, the Pic du Jer funicular, a lake walk and sights in the valleys.
Day trips guide
20 places
Gavarnie, the Tourmalet and the Luz valley, the lakes and waterfalls above Cauterets, royal Pau by train, then Tarbes, Bagnères and the Comminges.
Budget guide
20 places
The free Sanctuary and Bernadette’s town, picnics from the market hall, a greenway on an old railway line, cheap buses into the valleys and free mountain walks.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Chez Louisette – Auberge du Lienz
Plateau du Lienz, above Barèges, 50 min by car
A timber inn where the ski runs and hiking trails begin, with a fire going when the weather turns cold. Come in your boots for garbure or a shoulder of Barèges lamb and leave room for the bilberry tart; mains run about €20 to €28. From the food guide.
Moulin de Boly
12 Rue Bernadette Soubirous, old town
Bernadette was born in this water mill in 1844 and spent her first ten years here, until her father’s business failed. The rooms are small, with family photographs and a plan of the Grotto from before any basilica stood there. Ten to fifteen minutes is plenty. From the things to do guide.
Château de Pau
Pau, 30 min by train
Henry IV was born here in 1553, and a turtle shell said to have been his cradle still sits among the royal rooms and Gobelins tapestries. Visits are guided, mostly in French, with English sheets in every room; entry is about €8 and an hour is enough. From the mountains and day trips guide.
Plan your days in Lourdes
Day one: start in the old town with Bernadette’s birthplace at the Moulin de Boly and the tiny room of Le Cachot, buy lunch at Les Halles, spend the middle of the day at the Grotto and the basilicas while the small museums close, and come back after dinner for the torchlight procession. Day two: take the liO bus or drive up to Cauterets, walk from Pont d’Espagne to Lac de Gaube with a picnic, and rest tired legs at Les Bains du Rocher before heading down. For a rainy or slow day, take the train to Pau for the château, lunch upstairs at the Halles and the view from the Boulevard des Pyrénées, or stay in Lourdes for the Pyrenean museum in the Château Fort.
Questions about the Lourdes guides
What do the Lourdes City Guides include?
Four guides covering 82 places: food, things to do, mountains and day trips, and budget. Every entry tells you why it is worth going, where it is, notes on opening and one tip you can actually use.
How do I get the guides after paying?
The links appear on your order confirmation page and in the email that follows. They open in the browser of any phone, tablet or laptop, with no app to install and no account to set up.
Can I use the Lourdes guides without internet?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it keeps working offline afterwards, ticks and notes included, which helps up in the valleys. Sending a place to maps needs mobile data.
Which languages are the Lourdes guides available in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
How much do the Lourdes guides cost?
One guide is €4.99, two are €8.99 and the full set of four is €15.99.
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