I was always told that Lourdes was very commercial, but when I visited there last year, I did not find it like that. It is true that a few hundred metres from the basilica there are shops selling rosary beads that glow in the dark, or plastic bottles for holy water, but that's pretty harmless. I bought some of it myself.
Assisi is a holy place because of St Francis and St Clare, but there are many more tourists here to do sightseeing than at Lourdes. There are also expensive shops, fine dining and art exhibitions that make it a little difficult to find St Francis behind it all.
I suppose one reason is that the Assisi of St Francis is much older than the Lourdes of Bernadette. There have been centuries of building and hangers on who came after St Francis. At Lourdes, the big basilica looks like an underground car park and no one would go there except for a Mass.
Anyway, I'm now off to see the church of St Damian, about a kilometre out of town and hopefully away from most of the tourists.
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My opinions of Lourdes and Assisi are almost exactly the opposite but it obviously depends on the time you go there. 16 years ago my tour group arrived in Lourdes on the 15th August - the Feast of the Assumption - along with half of Europe!! The candle light procession was beautiful and iinside the basilica the next day was so serene and spiritual ...but I hated the tourist shops, the memorabilia and the crowds around them. I arrived in Assisi 30 years ago in mid winter in January and thought it was just perfect - beautiful old buildings on hilly streets and so peaceful and respectful of the legacy of St Francis back then. Have you seen the tiny church inside the big one? When do you start your trekking? Elaine.
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