Fill up a container with spring water that Bernadette dug during the apparation of Mary. Your patience will be tested as the water drops slowly and you have to touch the tap multiple times to keep it on. While it doesn't have any minerals unique to other springs, people are reported to be healed both physically and spiritually with its water, which is why those visiting bring this memento to their loved ones who cannot make the pilgrimage. There is also a water fountain behind the taps if you wish to drink it directly or to also fill up your container, but they also have low pressure.
The largest church of the compound, with a spire 70 m tall. Above the entrance is a mosaic depicting Pope Pius IX, who defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. The clock plays the Ave Maria hourly, and chimes the hours with a 2-tonne bell called Jeanne-Alphonsine.
A Byzantine style church finished in 1899. The nave, surmounted by a dome, contains the fifteen decades of the traditional Rosary. Surrounding the nave are each of the traditional mysteries of the Rosary (from left to right, Joyful, Glorious, and Sorrowful mysteries), each featuring a mosaic incorporated with smaller images of related themes and Latin scripts. A mosaic of Mary, whose appearance is based on Bernadette's depiction, can be seen in the upper wall of the sanctuary and written Par Marie a Jesus which means "From Mary to Jesus".
A basilica almost entirely underground, with a capacity of 25,000 people, and usually used for major events and notably, the International Mass (see Do). On the walls are 52 images in the gemmail style of overlapping stained glass. On the west ramp are the 15 traditional Mysteries of the Rosary, and on the east ramp are the 15 Stations of the Cross, designed by Denys de Solère. On the lower part of the east side is the series "Bernadette's Way of Light", based on sketches by René Margotton, which depict the eighteen apparitions together with two scenes from her life. There are two further images, one on each side of the entrance to the sacristy.
The most modern church, across the river from the basilicas. It was built on the exact spot where Bernadette stood during the final apparition.
Down the large basilica is where Bernadette saw Mary, and out comes the spring water. People young and old, healthy and sick, flock from around the world to drink or wash with the miraculous water, or obtain the water for their keepsakes. You are asked to be respectful, however, to the people praying for their wishes to come true, by not speaking.
A thousand-year-old castle at the tallest hill within the town, offering magnificent views of the valley and informative objects that tell the story of Lourdes and the Pyrenees settlers.