Lourdes Pilgrimage

Upon your arrival, you will be met at the train station and transferred to your hotel. You will stay 2 nights in Lourdes, the fortified town which lies on both sides of the Gave de Pau River. In 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous experienced 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at the Gotte Massabielle. Her visions were authenticated by Pope Pius IX, and Lourdes became major religious shrine and pilgrimage center. Today, Lourdes receives approximately 5 million visitors searching for a miracle cure each year. In the afternoon travel to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette's Palaces. Your guide will recount the story of this small Pyrean town and the rich history behind it. Visit the three basilicas (immaculate Conception, The Rosary Basilica, and the Underground Basilica). Continue to the grotto where the virgin appeared 18 times while discovering the baths and water taps. Join the 6 million pilgrims that visit this beautiful town each year.

Start your Gavarnie Circle Tour after breakfast. The imposing Pyrenees are most impressive seen from this tour. Upon reaching the village of Gavarnie, you will be reminded of the words of Victor Hugo: "It is a mountain and a mural at the same time... the coliseum of nature, it is Gavarnie." There will also be time to view the highest waterfall in Europe. In the afternoon join a tour to Cauterets and Pont d Espagne. Famous for the thermal baths, ski slopes, and delicious berlingots, Cauterets is a wondrous place. Waterfalls line the scenic road winding through the pines to a natural site known as Pont d Espagne, gateway to the Pyrenees National Park. Admire the panoramic views and majesty of nature. (B)

After eating breakfast, you will be transferred to the train station. (B)