The Museums of Lourdes: A Guide for Visitors and Pilgrims

Lourdes is home to four complementary museums: the Pyrenean Museum, set within the fortified castle and devoted to the arts and traditions of the Pyrenees; the Petit Lourdes Museum, a scale model of the town in 1858; the Wax Museum, which stages the life of Christ and of Bernadette; and the Saint Bernadette Museum, run by the Sanctuary. Each sheds light on a different facet of the town and its pilgrimage.

Which museums can you visit in Lourdes?

Lourdes offers four main museums. Two belong to the public heritage, two are privately owned, and the last is managed by the Sanctuary.

They fall into three families. The first is heritage-related: the Pyrenean Museum, a municipal museum awarded the “Musée de France” national label, preserves the cultural legacy of the Pyrenean valleys. The second is commemorative: Petit Lourdes and the Wax Museum recreate the town and the life of Bernadette Soubirous at the time of the 1858 apparitions. The third is devotional: the Saint Bernadette Museum gathers objects and documents linked to the saint and to the Message of Lourdes.

Geographically, these sites are close together. The Pyrenean Museum overlooks the town from the fortified castle, in the heart of the historic centre. The Wax Museum and Petit Lourdes lie in the Grotto district, a few minutes’ walk away. The Saint Bernadette Museum stands beside the entrance to the Sanctuary. A small tourist train links these points for visitors who wish to spare their steps.

To place these museums within the wider town, see our overview of the town of Lourdes. Other sights, such as the lake of Lourdes, round off a day pleasantly.

The Fortified Castle and its Pyrenean Museum

Housed in the fortified castle since 1921, the Pyrenean Museum holds the “Musée de France” national label. It presents the popular arts and traditions of the French and Spanish Pyrenees.

The museum grew out of the passion of two founders, Louis and Margalide Le Bondidier, who from 1921 gathered collections on the mountain cultures of both sides of the Pyrenees. The town of Lourdes had bought back the castle, decommissioned from its military role, in 1894. The museum was granted municipal status, then the “Musée de France” label in 2002 (source: Lourdes Tourist Office; Catalogue collectif de France / BnF, accessed 17 June 2026).

The collections cover the domestic, rural and pastoral life of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The route presents reconstructed interiors, festive costumes, objects of popular belief, and a fine collection of 18th-century Samadet faience. In the castle chapel, Baroque furnishings from the former parish church of Lourdes bear witness to regional religious art. The botanical garden, dotted with models of traditional Pyrenean architecture made by Margalide Le Bondidier, extends the visit outdoors. The Musées en Occitanie network sums up its purpose: the museum “preserves an important heritage, the memory of daily life in the Pyrenean valleys” (accessed 17 June 2026).

The castle itself, a fortress more than a thousand years old and a listed Historic Monument, deserves a visit in its own right. Its history, defensive architecture and panorama are detailed on our page devoted to the medieval fortress of Lourdes.

Petit Lourdes and the Wax Museum: the town in 1858

Petit Lourdes recreates the town of 1858 in miniature, while the Wax Museum stages the life of Bernadette and of Christ. Both carry the visitor back to the time of the apparitions.

Petit Lourdes, a model of Bernadette’s town

Open since 1954, the Petit Lourdes Museum presents a reconstruction of the town as it appeared in Bernadette’s day. This 1/30-scale model, built in real masonry, spreads across an open-air garden of about a thousand square metres. It features the old houses, the streets whose names remain unchanged, and the former mills of the Lapacca stream.

The whole is the work of an artist, Georges Simonin, who devoted some twenty-five years to it (source: Petit Lourdes Museum, musee-lourdes.fr, accessed 17 June 2026). The route follows the young girl’s life, from her birth in Lourdes in 1844 to her departure for the convent of Nevers in 1866 (historical background: R. Laurentin, Vie de Bernadette). It is a fine complement to our account of the full life of Bernadette.

The Wax Museum, scenes from the life of Bernadette

Located at 87 rue de la Grotte, the Wax Museum offers eighteen scenes and more than a hundred life-size wax figures, modelled using the techniques of the artisans of the Grévin Museum in Paris. The route, spread over five floors, retraces the life of Christ — from the Nativity to the Resurrection, by way of a Last Supper inspired by Leonardo da Vinci — as well as the life of Bernadette: the apparitions, the interrogations and her trials.

Since 2012 the museum has also presented a scene of the Cachot where the Soubirous family lived, together with a reproduction of the shrine where the body of Saint Bernadette rests in Nevers. These representations are figurative works meant to tell a story; they have no value as relics. An audio-guided visit is offered in eight languages. The museum has counted more than two million visitors since it opened (source: Wax Museum of Lourdes; Tourisme Occitanie, accessed 17 June 2026).

The Saint Bernadette Museum, in the footsteps of the visionary

Run by the Sanctuary, the Saint Bernadette Museum retraces the life of Bernadette, the Message of Lourdes and the building of the Sanctuary. Admission is free.

The word visionary here means the person to whom apparitions are attributed: according to her own statements, Bernadette Soubirous declared that she had seen the Virgin Mary eighteen times at the grotto of Massabielle, between 11 February and 16 July 1858. The Message of Lourdes gathers the words and requests reported by Bernadette — a call to prayer, penance and procession. It was during the sixteenth apparition, on 25 March 1858, that Bernadette reported the best-known words of this message. In Gascon she said: « Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou » [in English, “I am the Immaculate Conception” — Pyrenean Gascon, 25 March 1858] (Bernadette’s statements; cf. R. Laurentin, Logia de Bernadette).

Located at 93 boulevard Rémi Sempé, a few metres from the entrance to the Sanctuary, the museum brings together a rich iconography and objects that belonged to the saint (source: Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, lourdes-france.org; Lourdes Tourist Office, accessed 17 June 2026). Notable among them are the various effigies of the Virgin that were submitted to Bernadette for her judgement. Admission is free, though offerings remain welcome.

Nearby, in the underground Basilica of St Pius X, one can admire a series of gemmaux — backlit superimposed fragments of coloured glass — devoted to the life of Bernadette. This is not a separate museum, but works of sacred art displayed within the Sanctuary. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) recalls that “sacred art is true and beautiful” when it evokes and glorifies the mystery of God and leads the faithful to prayer (CCC § 2502).

Visiting the museums of Lourdes: hours, prices and access

Most museums in Lourdes are open from spring to autumn, the season of the great pilgrimages. Hours and prices vary from one establishment to another; it is best to check them before visiting.

Hours and season

Museum activity in Lourdes follows the pilgrim calendar, busier from May to October. Several museums reduce their hours off-season, or open only by appointment or as part of the Sanctuary’s guided tours. As exact hours change each year, please consult the official websites listed in the sources before your visit. (Detailed hours and prices will be the subject of a dedicated update — V2.)

Prices and tickets

Admission to the Saint Bernadette Museum is free, though offerings remain welcome. The other museums charge admission, with prices specific to each establishment. Exact amounts should be checked on the official websites.

Access and accessibility

The four museums are reachable on foot from the town centre and the Sanctuary. A small tourist train serves the main sites during the season. To plan a stay, see where to stay in Lourdes.

These museums are only part of everything there is to see in the town of Lourdes: the fortified castle, the lake and the surrounding area naturally complete the visit.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and references

Magisterium (vatican.va)

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, editio typica 1997 — § 2502 (sacred art)

Lourdes and official sources (accessed 17 June 2026)

• Lourdes Tourist Office — lourdes-infotourisme.com
• Fortified Castle – Pyrenean Museum — chateaufort-lourdes.fr
• Musées en Occitanie network — musees-occitanie.fr
• Wax Museum of Lourdes — musee-de-cire-lourdes.fr
• Occitanie Regional Tourism Board — tourisme-occitanie.com (Wax Museum attendance)
• Petit Lourdes Museum — musee-lourdes.fr
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes — lourdes-france.org
• Catalogue collectif de France (BnF) — founding of the Pyrenean Museum in 1921

Bernadette corpus

• René Laurentin, Vie de Bernadette — historical background to the life of Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)
• René Laurentin, Logia de Bernadette — words of Bernadette (the words of 25 March 1858)