Eurostar to Lourdes

Lourdes is a mystical town in France that lies at the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Everyone should visit Lourdes at least once in their lifetime, whether it's on a sacred pilgrimage, or just for the incredible natural beauty of the area. Lourdes is one of the connection services available on the Eurostar trains, and train travel times take aound 8 hours, which makes Lourdes an ideal destination for a longer city or weekend break.

About Lourdes

Lourdes has a fascinating mystical history. In 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant girl in the Massabielle cave on the mountainside. Bernadette Soubirous was 14 years old at the time, and in total, the Virgin appeared to Bernadette eighteen times, asking her to build a sanctuary by a natural spring as a sacred spot. Since then, millions of people have visited the sanctuary on pilgrimages, including invalids and people who are ill who hope to be cured by the healing waters. An estimated six million people visit the site each year, believers and non-believers, to see this holy place.

The road to the cave itself is fascinating. The Basilica of Notre-Dame of the Rosary is a gorgeous church, which can be found on the Espélugues Cross path. This is also the location of the International Festival of Religious Music. Another beautiful church is the Basilica of St. Pius X. It is a wonderful example of neo-gothic architecture, and is right next to the holy cave, where thousands of candles are left by worshippers where the Virgin Mary first appeared. Further inside, you can bathe in the healing waters.

Once you've seen the spectacular religious sights, you'll definitely want to visit the equally spectacular landscapes. If you're into water sports, head across to Lac de Lourdes. It's a gorgeous lake where you can kick back and relax, be a bit active, or just do some fishing. There's also a golf course close by. Or perhaps you might go to the Bétharram Caves. Only twenty minutes away from the centre of Lourdes, you can explore underground passageways. And if you're taking the kids with you, why not go on a day trip to the Animal Park of the Pyrenees? It's about thirteen kilometres away from Lourdes, but definitely worth a trip to see the fantastic local fauna.

Lourdes by Eurostar Trains

Lourdes is a wonderful place to visit, and so easy to get to these days by train, with one of the Eurostar's connection services. This means you'll have to change trains at some point. Eurostar trains depart from St Pancras International, a very easy-to-get-to destination in London. With speeds of 186 miles per hour, it's an easy journey. Your simplest option of connection services after getting on the train at London is to change at Paris Gare du Nord, which will only take two hours and fifteen minutes. From here, you'll need to get to Gare de Montparnasse. You can either grab a taxi or take the Metro. Once you arrive, there are a number of TGV services that will take you to Lourdes. All in all, if you travel from London, you can expect the journey time to be about eight hours.

Visit the official Eurostar web site to book your train tickets to Lourdes.