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Autoroute to Lourdes
I will be accompanying my mother to Lourdes in April/May and I will hopefully have some free time to do what I love to do when abroad: checking out the shops. I love to go to grocery stores, pharmacies (where in france I know you can get nice toiletries), and children's clothing and toy stores. Do any of these exist there or is it all religious items? Thanks!!
You can find some shops but Lourdes is not at all a shoping place, 90% of the shops are related to religious articles. The nearest city is Tarbes and that's about a 18km drive up north from Lourdes.
You will have no trouble finding grocery stores and pharmacies. Another good place to look for unique gifts is the local hardware store.
Yes, there are many many stores selling religious items of wildly varying quality. Your mother may wish to purchase a small bottle to get the water from the spring. The water is free so if she has her own bottle, she will not need to purchase one. All the gift stores sell them but most take their own bottles.
My favorite item for family is French chocolate from the local grocery! It is always appreciated. We've gotten soaps and terrific wine bottle openers at hardware stores. They are the same items you find in boutiques but they cost about half in the local shops! I suspect you shop like I do. LOL
Have a great trip. We were warned Lourdes is horribly commercial and were prepared for it. We were very pleasantly surprised. Once inside the grounds of the basilica, it is a very inspiring place. It is all run by volunteers and you see them in long lines helping the pilgrims. The river runs through the grounds and the town and it is very peaceful and charming. It's like going into another world . . . as, in effect, I suppose you are.
When you go shopping, avoid the religious shops directly across the street from the basilica and walk into the town. Anyone can give you directions. Lourdes is an incredibly friendly place.
Thank you Beausoleil. I just love going into ordinary places and finding fun and different things that you don't find in LA!! I have done it in England, Germany, the Czech Republic, southern France, mexico, etc. I bought the silliest little toys in Germany, my kids loved them and I think they cost me 2 euros each.
However, is it far to get to Tarbes for an afternoon?
As I told you it's not that far to go to Tarbes, it's about 18 km ( 14 miles ?)
You can take a local bus to get there. Take care for the prices in Lourdes, they are not religious at all!!
As Beausoleil said, it's a place you must have visited in a life time. Be aware, Lourdes is very crowdy and busy in May. It's called the Month of the Holy Maria.(free translated)
I wish you good luck.
Thank you Northsea, for the information. I know that there is much to do in Lourdes, but as my mother is going as a "malade" and I am going on a tour with other "malades", I might need a breather from all of the goings on! I am excited for my trip though. It is a part of France I have never been.
Do be sure your mother has a container for the water then. She will want to take some home, I'm sure.
You will get to meet some of the wonderful volunteers there. We went only as tourists but were very impressed. Hm . . . haven't been sick since now that I think of it!
There was a particular need for a lot of introspection and praying on this day, 13Sep01. This was an appropriate spot for that. Young Bernadette could hardly imagine what she began here, so many years ago.
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