Sanctuaires Notre Dame de Lourdes

The development of the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes began within a decade of Ste Bernadette's apparitions in 1858. The main site is approached via one of two gateways; the Porte St-Michel and Porte St-Joseph or the Entrée des Lacets.

The most dramatic approach is via the Port St-Joseph, from where a broad boulevard sweeps west towards the Byzantine Basilique du Rosaire (Basilica of the Rosary), and the Basilique Supérieure (Upper Basilica), topped by lavishly gilded turrets and tiled frescos depicting Bernadette's visions. Beneath the basilica is Lourdes' most revered site, the Grotte de Massabielle (sometimes known as the Grotte Miraculeuse or the Grotte des Apparitions), where Bernadette allegedly experienced her famous visions.

The Esplanade des Processions, lined with enormous flickering candles left by previous pilgrims, leads along the river to the grotto's entrance, where people line up patiently for the chance to enter the cave itself, or take a chilly dip in one of the sacred baths. The baths are open to people of all religious persuasions, but they're definitely not for wallflowers: once behind the curtain, you'll be expected to strip off before being swaddled in a sheet and plunged backwards into the icy water.

From Palm Sunday to mid-October, nightly torchlight processions start from the Massabielle Grotto at 9pm, while at 5pm there's the Procession Eucharistique (Blessed Sacrament Procession) along the Esplanade des Processions.