Office de Tourisme de Lourdes

© GOANDA 10
Lourdes
Press release 2015
like you’ve never seen her…
> Press Contact
Corine Laussu
T : 00 33 (0)5 62 42 77 44 c.laussu@lourdes-infotourisme.com
© M. PUJOL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lourdes, open to the worldp. 3
Lourdes, return to the origins
p. 4
Lourdes, a refuge far from the crowd
p. 6
Lourdes, cosmopolitan and generous
p. 9
Lourdes, the art to amaze you
p. 12
Lourdes, important events of 2015
p. 14
Lourdes, to know it allp. 15
Lourdes, how to get there p. 15
Lourdes, in figures p. 16
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© Sanctuaires ND Lourdes/P. Vincent
Lourdes, open to the world
Far beyond the breathtaking landscapes, the city owns that extra touch of
charm one cannot find elsewhere.
Lourdes, one of the Great Sites of Midi-Pyrénées is a little mountain town
with everything to compete with the best. Coming here is like escaping one’s
daily life, making a trip within the trip, a destination to keep in memory for a
long time.
Cosmopolitan and benevolent like a lighting house for hope, Lourdes welcomes
each year millions of travellers coming from more than 140 countries, from all
continents, to share histories, encounters or even emotions.
At first a place of fraternity and spirituality, the Marian city is also a natural
paradise, a departure point for numerous walks, an authentic and noble
country, discreet and intimate where shivering meets mere contemplation.
Free and original routes will immerge you into the discovery of a heritage,
of exceptional fauna and flora, told by impassioned and generous men and
women.
A place of an out of ages beauty with its benevolent landscapes, its quiet
back roads, its castle standing like a fortress and the warm welcoming of its
inhabitants, Lourdes invites you to experience a great trip to the luxury of
simplicity.
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© P. Vincent
Lourdes, return to the origins
Lourdes is a little mountain town bathed by the Gave of Pau, at the crossroads
of the Argelès-Gazost, Luz-Saint-Sauveur and Cauterets valleys.
From prehistoric ages, the man has been living on the rock of Lourdes as it
is witnessed by flint axes and cut stones found in the caves of Espélugues.
Gauls, Romans, Barbarians and Moors have successively fortified the rock of
Lourdes where still stands today the fortified castle (11th and 12th centuries).
Alternately English and French possession, Lourdes comes back into the
Kingdom of France in 1607, goes through the Revolution without too many
damages, to become a little town without troubles in the 19th century, living
off the surrounding marble and slate quarries, but also as a stop for people
taking the waters attracted by the mountain thermal stations (Cauterets,
Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Barèges…).
Everything changes forever in 1858 in this quiet town of the Pyrenees of
less than 4 000 inhabitants at that time…
Bernadette Soubirous, a young girl of a family with living difficulties, is collecting
fire wood near the Massabielle grotto when appears on the 11th of February,
a “wonderful lady”, all dressed in white. She will introduce herself only at her
16th apparition, on the 25th of March, under the name of “the Immaculate Conception”.
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© Studio GP Photos
The crowd begins to rush to the place of the apparitions, melting believers
and non believers. The authorities try to stop this movement but nothing
will help! The grotto becomes then a sanctuary. There will be a total of
18 apparitions between the 11th of February and the 18th of July of 1858.
The apparitions will be officially recognised by the Church in 1862. Numerous
pilgrims will come incessantly to that place. According to the wish expressed
by the Virgin Mary to Bernadette, the priests organise processions and build
a chapel (13th apparition).
The first pilgrims’ train arrives in Lourdes station in 1866. This is the beginning
of the economical and spiritual development of the city.
Thus, Lourdes becomes a pilgrims’ city with the emergence of a new city near
to the place of the apparitions and very different from the historic city, the
“high” city, nestled around the fortress.
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© M. PUJOL
Lourdes, a refuge far from the crowd
Deliciously quiet…
Far from agitation, the “upper” city has kept its architecture of ancient times
with its Bigorre houses. One can wander about on slightly steep streets,
glancing to the Bigorre slate roofs.
Inaugurated in 1900 and restored in 2007, the “Halles” (covered market),
inspired by the architect Baltard, house each morning a happy market devoted
to gourmands. There are displayed all the specialties: foie gras, confit, breast,
black ham, and beans of Tarbes, cow or goat farmhouse cheese, but also
the delicious roasted pie (“Gâteau à la broche”) and of course the Madiran,
famous red wine…
The castle, an impressive fortress modified according to Vauban’s instructions,
has been successively the residence of the Bigorre counts, mercenaries’
hideout, then royal prison and finally garrison before housing since 1921, a
Pyrenean Museum which has managed to save all its charm.
It is the works of Louis and Margalide Le Bondidier who have exerted an intense
passion to highlight the variety of our mountains cultures throughout suits, farming and pastoralism tools, furniture or even moments of life pieced together...
The creator of the museum has built herself the Pyrenean model houses at
the scale 1/10, wonderful illustration of architecture we still can discover with
curiosity in the botanic garden. The castle is classified Historic Monument.
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©P. Vincent
Still higher, the Pic du Jer…
The most wonderful panoramic view of the Pyrenees from Lourdes at
1 000 meters high!
The Pic du Jer, overlooking the city, offers a unique belvedere with a breathtaking view at 360° over Lourdes, Tarbes, Pau, the Argelès-Gazost valley and
the Pyrenean summits.
With a one hundred years old and totally charming funicular, inaugurated in
1900, one can climb up to the summits to be in harmony with an XXL nature,
like returning to the origins, where the time seems suspended…
After visiting the caves remounting to the melting of the ice caps, a few
minutes walk on a little path leads to a charming restaurant with wood tables
outside and a stunning view... the most sensitive to the cold will savour the
specialties inside the “Haut de Lourdes”, the highest restaurant of the city!
To continue the adventure, the most curious will take advantage of the
Hélène’s passion, a nice nature guide who will show you the botanic path
strewed with boxwoods, hawthorns, little brooms, hazel trees…
The Pic du Jer funicular celebrates this year its 115th birthday. It is so well
rooted in its natural landscape that we almost forget that this construction
required, when it was built, a genuine technological expertise.
This is why in order to pay tribute to this accomplishment, the City of Lourdes
and the Pic du Jer team revisit this fabulous epic to the summit. As usual, the
Pic will propose to the visitors numerous activities, successful events such
as “la Culture s’invite au sommet”, “les Journées natures”, etc. but this year
they will focus on the funicular and its amazing construction. A human and
technical adventure which will constitute the guiding thread of the season to
celebrate with dignity the funicular 115 candles.
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© P. Vincent
Through a pedagogical and recreational exhibition of records, the audience
whether young or old will have the opportunity to revive the history of its
construction and to live the adventure of the funicular engineering secrets:
machinery, building processes, speed of the works, driving force …
The exhibition “Funiculaire du Pic du Jer: l’épopée vers le sommet” is awaiting
visitors for an amazing trip in 1900!
The lake, a pure world…
At 3 km far from the city centre, a huge glacial lake is extended over 50 ha in
an extremely pure nature, a source of quietness but also of open air activities
such as walk, mountain bike, fishing or even canoeing…
The 18 holes golf course on the southern edge dominates the limpid water of
the lake, swings in the heart of the Pyrenees guaranteed…
Around the lake, every thing is peaceful and protected, a perfect place for a
picnic or even an aperitif drink on the huge wooden terrace of the pier with a
panoramic view… So great!
And from last summer, Lourdes Plage to be delighted with a bath into the
open thanks to the creation of a floating pond of 280 m2, safe, supervised
and free. And for idleness, sun beds, for children a sandbox and for smokers
pocket ashtrays so that the site will remain clean.
The “Voie Verte des Gaves“ is also a natural playground for a great escape
through the medieval tower, the natural reserve, the summits, the edges of
the Gave of Pau, the fortress, the abbey…
A soft invitation to discover all along its 17 km this remarkable heritage
walking, riding or rollerblading…
This is the 1st Green Way in France to get the certification “Tourisme et
Handicap” for the 4 impairments (motor, mental, hearing and visual).
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© Studio GP Photos
Lourdes, cosmopolitan and generous
Spiritual retreat to regain strength, beneficial ritual to be transmitted from
generation to generation, return to the origins, writing in lighting a new
page of one’s life, being a passing visitor or for a simple break, curious for
the atmosphere of the most famous city, coming here is feeling the spark…
Cosmopolitan and benevolent, Lourdes welcomes each year 6 million people
from all the continents, of all religions to experience a unique and personal
trip while sharing histories, encounters and emotions.
Separated from the rest of the city by a loop of the Gave, on the western
side of the city, the Grotto domain, also called the Sanctuary of Our Lady
of Lourdes, is a private estate of 52 ha. It is open every day of the year,
24 hours a day.
In Lourdes, every thing is a sign…
The water is omnipresent in Lourdes, it runs into the Gave, it falls from the
sky but it is above all the water of the source discovered by Bernadette on
the 25th of February of 1858, which is the symbol of purification.
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© M. PUJOL
The heart of Lourdes beats into the Massabielle Grotto, the rock is also the
symbol of solidity.
The light is a sign too, the light of the church candles, of course. The candle
light procession which takes place every evening at 9 pm, from April to October,
is also a moving witness. It is the most popular moment in Lourdes and the
most important event each day.
This “magical” sharing moment gathers all the nations, populations and
languages, of all religions, as well as non believers.
The “feutiers”, an occupation existing only in Lourdes
The “feutiers” manage the church candles stocks and clean up the melted wax
in the votive stands. With their leather gloves and their blue aprons, these
workers behind the scenes watch out these thousands of church candles
(500 tons per year) burning incessantly since 1858.
They are some ten “feutiers” guarantying for the pilgrims an available place
all along the votive stands. The church candles that cannot be lighted are
stored and consumed outside pilgrimages periods.
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© Sanctuaire ND Lourdes/INCA
2015: The Grotto Project, the Heart of Lourdes
Mgr Nicolas Brouwet, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes had announced it on the
occasion of the publication of his Orientations for the Lourdes Sanctuary, «we
need» he wrote «to take care of this place of mercy».
He evoked the great and wonderful project to redevelop the Grotto area. This
project provides over two years for a set of works in order to make more coherent the pilgrims’ path, to favour silence and meditation into the Grotto, to
find solutions for groups flows during the season and to offer more harmony to
the whole site.
Far beyond the Grotto in itself, made more silent, proper for meditation, a major
innovation of the Project consists in displacing the fountains «to find again the
water gesture and to be able to preach there»: they will be set up between the
Grotto and the baths, where are at the present time the candle burners that will
be transferred on the other side of the Gave, the right bank. The pilgrims will
access to this area by a new bridge built on hydraulic cylinders and which can be
raised in case of Gave flooding to let way to log jams.
Another innovation is the creation of a new Grotto sacristy, bigger, where is at
the present time the feutiers’ local.
As for the baths, there will be no change inside, but their canopy will be totally
rebuilt including a protection device for the building in case of raise of waters
from the Gave to avoid the total flooding.
As for the relocation of the candles deposit area, on the right bank, the burners
surface will be doubled to allow the burning of all the candles thus with no need
to store them during the summer time to burn them entirely during the winter
season.
All the information is on the devoted site: projetgrottecoeurdelourdes.com
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© P. Vincent
Lourdes, the art to amaze you
Once the apparitions have been recognised by Bishop Laurence in 1862,
a first “chapel” is built above the grotto: the crypt. It is blessed in 1866 in
the presence of Bernadette Soubirous, just before her departure to Nevers.
The crypt was rapidly too small to accommodate all the pilgrims therefore in
1871 the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception called “the superior basilica”
is erected.
Its capacity became quickly insufficient and the construction of a biggest
neo-byzantine basilica, Our Lady of the Rosary, will be completed in 1889.
It is known for her Venetian mosaics repertory of the undisputed master
of the 19th century, Facchina, extending her prodigious mantel over near
to 2 000 m². There is in each of her 15 chapels one scene of the Mysteries of
the Rosary, restored between 2000 and 2004.
This artist has made, among other artworks, in Paris the frescos of the Opera
Garnier, those of the Kyoto Imperial Palace or even the Basilica of Our Lady
of Zion in Jerusalem.
For the 150 th anniversary of the apparitions (in 2008), and according to
the wish of Pope Jean-Paul II on his last visit in Lourdes in 2004, Father
Rupnik has made on the front and the porch mosaics representing the
5 “luminous mysteries”.
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©OT Lourdes
For the basilicas of the 19th century appeared to be too small to accommodate
the expected crowds for the centenary anniversary of the apparitions, the
architect Pierre Vago builds in 1958 the underground basilica called St-Pius X.
With its shape of an upturned ship hull and conceived to accommodate up to
25 000 people, it is considered as one of the biggest worldwide: 81 metres
wide, 201 metres long, with a surface of 12 000 m2.
The conception of its vault in one piece and of its pillars on each end has been
possible owing to the technique of the pre-stressed concrete usually used for
bridges construction.
In the inside, 52 gemmail pictures, works of Denys de Solère, represent the
15 Stations of the Cross. On the west side, the 15 Rosary Mysteries are the
works of Falcucci. Lower, on the east side, stands the “Bernadette’s Light
Path” conceived by the painter René Margotton, winner of the International
Sacred Gemmail Biennale in 1979 and made up by Jean-Paul and Germaine
Sala-Malherbe.
Composed by the words “gemme”, precious stone and “email”, enamel fixing
the glass fragments, the “gemmaux” are transparent paints living into the light.
The ‘gemmail technique has interested the most famous artists and among
them Picasso. He shares his discovery with Georges Braque, naturally conquered by the colours richness, the subtlety and the matters achieved!
Lourdes remains today the witness of these precursors and audacious artists’
work, using a technique which seduced the most famous!
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© P. Vincent
Lourdes, important events of 2015
21st of March - 5th of April
Lourdes Music Festival - Vivaldi, Purcell, Bach & Mendelssohn
10th - 12th of April
Mountain Bike World Cup - Pic du Jer
15th – 17th of May
International Military Pilgrimage
16th of May
European Night of the Museums at the Fortress
26th - 28th of May
Pilgrimage of Gastronomy Brotherhoods
20th - 21st of June
Bikers’ Pilgrimage
July-August
Lourdes Plage - Lake of Lourdes
15th of July
Tour de France: Pau - Cauterets-Vallée de Saint Savin
19th of July
Medieval Falconry show at the Fortress
15th of August
11th - 13th of September
6th - 8th of November
8th of December
Feast of the Assumption
Street festival «Festival de Rues Barrées»
Pilgrimage of Ancolies (National Organisation of Liturgical Choirs)
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
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© P. Vincent
Lourdes, to know it all…
Tourist Office of Lourdes
www.lourdes-infotourisme.com - T: 00 33 (0)5 62 42 77 40
Sanctuary Our Lady of Lourdes - T: 00 33 (0)5 62 42 20 08
www.lourdes-france.org
Lourdes, how to get there
BY PLANE: 2 international airports
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport (10 km far from Lourdes)
The airport has a strong charter activity. It is connected to more than 80 hubs
(Europe and worldwide), operated by near to 50 airlines.
> Paris-Orly: 3 flights per day with HOP/Air France
> London Stansted: 2 weekly return flights with Ryanair
> Brussels: 2 weekly flights from May to September with Jet Air Fly and Thomas Cook Airlines
> Milan Bergamo: 3 weekly flights from 31st of March to 24th of October with Ryanair
> Rome: 2 weekly flights from 22nd of June with Albastar
> Madrid: 2 weekly flights from 31st of March to 24th of October with Air Nostrum
Pau-Pyrénées Airport (45 km far from Lourdes)
> Paris-Orly: 6 flights per day with Air France
> Paris Roissy-CDG: 3 flights per day with Air France
> Lyon: 3 flights per day with HOP/Air France
> Marseille: 2 daily flights from Monday to Friday with Twin Jet
> Bastia and Ajaccio: 1 flight on Saturday from 06/27 to 08/29 with HOP/Air France
> Naples: 2 weekly flights from 28th of April to 29th of September with Mistralair
> Bari: 2 weekly flights from 28th of April to 29th of September with Mistralair
BY TRAIN: SNCF Station in Lourdes
> TGV Paris-Montparnasse station: up to 5 roundtrip connections per day (5h30)
Sleeping cars every night
> Direct railway connections:
Bordeaux/Toulouse/Montpellier/Marseille/Nice/Lyon/Hendaye/Geneva/Irun
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© OT Lourdes Studio GP Photo
Lourdes, in figures
Number of inhabitants: 14 282
In 1858: 4 134 inhabitants.
Seasons:
From Easter to end of October.
Accommodation:
Accommodation total capacity: 32 117 beds
Hotels:
2nd city after Paris for its hotel capacity.
169 hotels from 5 stars to unclassified,
representing 24 067 beds.
Distribution by category
•
5 stars: 1 hotel, representing 76 rooms
(158 beds);
• 4 stars: 14 hotels, representing 2 057 rooms
(4 612 beds);
• 3 stars: 75 hotels, representing 6 648 rooms
(13 642 beds);
• 2 stars: 40 hotels, representing 1 626 rooms
(3 379 beds);
• 1 star: 8 hotels, representing 212 rooms
(535 beds);
• Unclassified: 31 hotels representing 857 rooms
(1 741 beds).
Other types of accommodation:
• 9 tourists’ resorts, representing 653 flats
(2 018 beds);
• 12 campings (723 spaces);
• 450 beds in furnished accommodations, holiday
cottage and guestrooms classified or certified;
• 3 323 beds in collective and specific
accommodations (religious houses).
Frequentation for the year 2014:
In hotel type accommodation (Figures provided
by the INSEE)
• 2 150 617 overnight stay
• Occupancy rate for one year: 47 %
• 1 319 227 foreigners’ overnight stays
First nationalities staying in hotels:
France : 43 %.
Foreigners: 57 %, among which:
Italy: 22 %
United Kingdom: 5 % ;
Spain: 7 %
Americas: 3 % ;
Belgium: 4 %
Germany: 3 % ;
Netherlands: 2 % Switzerland: 2 % ;
Asia, Oceania, Australia: 1,5 % ;
Others: 7,5 %.
Stay duration:
an average of 3 nights.
Shops/Restaurants:
•
220 souvenirs shops, representing one
shop for 30 000 visitors (rate lower that the
average rate of major French sites like NotreDame de Paris, the Mont Saint-Michel, the City
of Carcassonne);
•
One hundred of restaurants (local and
international cooking).
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