My wife and I paid a quiet visit to Lourdes just two months ago . Arriving on January 1 (a Marian feast) of this sesquicentennial year, we found Lourdes a cold, dark, and mostly empty place. To be sure there were pilgrims, but only a modest trickle. It was quite a privilege to have uncrowded access to the sanctuary and the grotto, especially saying our rosaries there at night by candlelight, for which I’m very grateful and which hope I never forget.
I don’t mean any disrespect to those who visit Lourdes in warmer months when the processions take place, but I’ve now been to both Lourdes and Assisi in the dead of winter and would enthusiastically recommend the experience.
The sparse numbers of pilgrims didn't seem to do much for the humor of the local retailers and the highlight of my stay was being evicted from a Catholic book shop by a most disagreeable owner (despite being the only customer) when he realized I was not a native French speaker and thus unlikely to buy any of his merchandise.
I was a young man in my '20s with a rucksack on my back and little money in my pocket and trying to discern if I had a vocation. Mercifully for the Church, the answer was in the negative.