We will be staying in San Sebastian for 4 days and are interested in taking a day trip to Lourdes. There are several tour companies who do a day trip (4 hours roundtrip driving and 4 hours at Lourdes). That sounded good until I priced them......euro 550 for the 4 of us. So I decided to check on a one day car rental, which worked out to a little over $100 for 24 hours. I have heard that it is difficult to travel to Lourdes, find parking, see the sights on your own. Just wondering if anyone has had experience doing that, and, if so, how it worked out. Would love to save the money for elsewhere, but don't want to shortchange our trip to Lourdes.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
With 4 people to fill the car, we would drive. Staff in our office who have visited Lourdes say that the pilgrimage attractions are all centrally located and well signed, leaving "nothing to explain." I see large parking areas on Google Maps. See free brochure downloads from the Tourist Office at http://www.lourdes-infotourisme.com/web/EN/300-documentation.php. The Michelin Green Guide Atlantic Coast also covers Lourdes (a couple of pages with a couple of maps).
Posted by
San Jose, CA
1994 posts
I took the train both times I went to Lourdes. Certainly visiting the domain on your own is no problem. In fact, it's not particularly suitable for"tours" (vs pilgrimage).
Parking would be the one challenge I see. I'm not aware of any parking structures near the domain. However, there are a number of large hotels very close to the domain; you could search booking.com for hotels with parking, and contact them to see if you could pay to park in one of their lots. Alternatively, I presume there's parking at the train station, and it is an inexpensive taxi ride from the station to the entrance to the domain.
If you are going for religious reasons (versus touring) I would suggest staying overnight in one of the hotels near the domain. The evening candlelight procession is both powerful and beautiful. It's also a very moving demonstration of "the last shall be first..." However, it would be hard to drive somewhere else after it ends--it's pretty late. In addition, the grotto is amazingly beautiful very early in the morning before the crowds arrive. Finally, if you have time and are up to it, you might consider walking the HIGH stations of the cross. It takes you up a nearby mountain, and the views are quite striking. It's also a very nice oasis of quiet.
Finally, check their official website. It has great information, including detailed maps of the domain – which is quite large.
Posted by
OP
Reno, Nevada, USA
195 posts
Thank you both for your very helpful information! We are going to Lourdes for touring reasons, but our friends who are traveling with us are going for religious reasons. My husband would be the driver (and he LOVES driving) so we are fine with going on our own, if all you say is correct (and I am sure it is!!). We weren't too keen on spending the $550 for the tour guide/driver though, so on our own would be more appealing, as well as cheaper by far!! As for spending the night, that sounds lovely, but we have an apartment reserved in San Sebastian, so will have to skip the beautiful candlelight procession and the grotto in the morning.