Lourdes, France
Lourdes Holiday Rental Houses, Gites and Cottages
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France. Lourdes is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of Aneto, Montaigu, and Vignemale (3,298 m), while around the town there are three summits reaching up to 1,000 m (3,280.84 ft) which are known as the Béout, the Petit Jer (with its three crosses) and the Grand Jer (with its single cross) which overlook the town. The Grand Jer is accessible via the funicular railway of the Pic du Jer.
Rent self catering holiday accommodation in Lourdes, France and you’ll be enjoying what is actually a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Most people visit Lourdes because of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes that are reported to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. At that time, the most prominent feature of the town was the fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its centre.
When you stay in Lourdes holiday rental gites or cottages, you’ll be residing at an altitude of 420 m and in a central position through which runs the fast-flowing river Gave de Pau from the south. On land bordered by a loop of the Gave de Pau is an outcrop of rock called Massabielle. On the northern aspect of this rock, near the riverbank, is a naturally occurring, irregularly shaped shallow cave or grotto, in which the apparitions of 1858 took place. The natural beauty of the area can only be appreciated when you take a self-catering holiday home in Lourdes.
Following the reports that Our Lady of Lourdes appeared on a total of eighteen occasions, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of alleged miraculous healings. The 150th Jubilee of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims.
Today Lourdes is the joint seat of the Diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes and is the largest pilgrimage site in France, the second site being the Basilica of St. Thérèse (Lisieux), in Normandie.
Travelling to your rental property in Lourdes, France; It is served by Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport, which offers flights via bmi baby and Ryanair although many visitors also fly to Pau Pyrénées Airport – which is also served by Ryanair from the UK. The town's train station is served by SNCF and TGV trains, including some that provide overnight 'sleeper' services. The journey from Paris to Lourdes by train lasts five hours by TGV high speed trains.
Lourdes enjoys warm summers and cool winters. Profound rainfall can be expected at any time of the year although autumn is the wettest season and summer the driest. Snowfall can occur in winter and is a common sight in the higher elevations around the town during the winter months.