Lourdes Travel Forum

Am travelling with elderly mother to the see the Grotto and sanctuary. What is the best way to travel to Lourdes from Paris? IS Pau the best/closest airport to the grotto? Does anyone have a good hotel to recommend that is close to the Grotto?
Tks.

Yes, Pau is the nearest airport for Lourdes. I would advise you to travel by train as French trains they are quick and comfortable. Although there are hotels everywhere, I'm sorry I'm unable to recommend one.

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-376296-1-1-Travel-0-0-Lourdes-discussion.html

This recent Q&A on the same subject recommended a Taxi from Pau and mentioned an Hotel at Lourdes.

I have stayed in Lourdes many times (most times not for the grotto, I must admit...) and can recommend the hotel Christ-Roi. It is not too far away from the grotto, at a very quiet location overlooking the town.

You can check review on my France page, I have only posted hotels there up to now.

Sissi

The TGV train from Paris Gare Montparnasse will get you to Lourdes in under six hours without any changes. There is a train every morning at 9.55am that gets you to Lourdes before 4pm which is great timing.
The best hotel near the Grotto by far is the Hotel Moderne which is across the road from the Main Gate to the sanctuary. When you get off the train just get a cab to the hotel. It will cost you about 8-10 euro. venere.com is the best website to check for hotels. I have also stayed at the Hotel st Andre and Hotel Aneto and they were less expensive than the Moderne but were very small and a bit of a walk uphill from the Sanctuary. I don't know when you are planning to go but if it is next month expect to have problems booking accommodation as it is the 150th anniversary of the apparitions. Any other time you will be pleasantly surprised at just how inexpensive the hotels are.

tks for your useful info!
Will definitely check on your hotel suggestion. I am flying into Paris and found that there is another airport called Lourdes-Tarbens- is that far from the grotto? Also found flight to PAU quite expensive.Hence I am wondering if it is worthwhile to take a train as you mentioned?IS the train station far fm the PAris airport? Will it be difficult to drag all our luggage fm airport into the city to catch the train? How much is the taxi to the train station from the airport?

tks so much

tks for your useful info!
Will definitely check on your hotel suggestion. I am flying into Paris and found that there is another airport called Lourdes-Tarbens- is that far from the grotto? Also found flight to PAU quite expensive.Hence I am wondering if it is worthwhile to take a train as you mentioned?IS the train station far fm the PAris airport? Will it be difficult to drag all our luggage fm airport into the city to catch the train? How much is the taxi to the train station from the airport?

tks so much

Here is an extract from an answer I gave on this question just a few days ago. Hope it helps. I can't comment on the flights to Pau and Tarbes because I've never gone to Lourdes that way. I've left the info about hotels in Paris in as well, as you may need to stay overnight in Paris before you go on to Lourdes. There is also a TGV at 11.20am with one change involved. This gets into Lourdes at 19.11hrs. and another at 14.40hrs with no changes gets into Lourdes at 20.21hrs.

"The TGV is a great way of travelling from Paris to Lourdes. It leaves from Gare Montparnasse and it takes about 6 hours to get there. There's a TGV that leaves at around 9.55am and gets to Lourdes at around 4pm. If you are flying into Paris CDG, it would be a good idea for you to travel to Montparnasse on the Air France Shuttle which will drop you off right near the Station. Then if they find a hotel nearby it is so much easier to get on the train to Lourdes when ever they are ready to leave. There are many many hotels of all shapes sizes and costs in the Montparnasse area and can best be checked out on venere.com. Look for hotels in the 14e arondissement. I stayed at the Hotel Timhotel which is right across the road from the Gare Montparnasse, (the TGV station). It was a 3 star hotel and quite OK for the price but the staff were horribly rude so I would not be returning there. There is an Ibis nearby as I recall so that maybe worth a try. In any event just look for a hotel which has a description saying something like "at the foot of the Montparnasse Tower" or "very close to the TGV station". There are many of them within a few hundred meters of the Gare Montparnasse. The Montparnasse area is fabulous and has many many restaurants and cafes all around. It is also a very easy place to start your Paris sightseeing from as the Metro Station (Montparnasse Bienvenue) has lines going in all directions. The Eiffel Tower is actually within walking distance but if you're feeling lazy, it is only a few short stops on the Metro. I have stayed in several different areas of Paris, but I like Montparnasse best and I only discovered it by accident when I was looking for a hotel close to Gare Montparnasse so that I could get to Lourdes easily, but which was also easy to get to from CDG Roissy airport when I flew in. I can recommend these suggestions as I did the same as you are going to do only a few short months ago and had no problems at all. Just go to Gare Montparnasse the day before you leave for Lourdes and reserve seats on the TGV.
Now on to Lourdes. Once again venere.com is best for hotels. I have been to Lourdes 3 times and found the best hotel to be the Hotel Moderne which is situated right across the road from the Main Entrance to the Sanctuary. It is a beautiful "olde worlde" type hotels with big rooms which are beautifully appointed and spotlessly clean. I believe it is still owned by the Soubirous family. The other 2 hotels I can recommend especially if you want something more economical are the Hotel St Andre and the Hotel Aneto which are about ten minutes from the sanctuary. The rooms in these two hotels are quite small but once again they are spotlessly clean and the service is good.
The best way to get to your hotel from the Train Station in Lourdes is by cab. It will cost you around EUR10 maybe less. I am quite envious of you going on this trip and I hope you have a wonderful time."

Like I said, hope it helps.

Tks so much Mary, your info is invaluable! I fly into CDG and have only managed to find reasonable fares from ORLY to Lourdes. Do you know if ORLY airport is close to CDG airport?
If I can't figure a way to get to ORLY in time for the connection to Lourdes then we will have to travel via the train- just as you did!I am bit concerned that the train option would be difficult for my mother. CAn you tell me how to reserve tickets on the TGV if we choose the train?
tks for the info on hotels near the train station- will definitely follow your advice

have you looked at using Accross anna

There is an Air France shuttle that goes from CDG to Orly.. It might even be the same one as you get to Montparnasse but without stopping now to look it up I couldn't say for sure. Suffice to say that there is definitely an Air France Shuttle between the two airports. They go about twice an hour (if memory serves me correctly). I would assume that there is a shuttle from Pau or Tarbes airports to Lourdes, but once again I would only be guessing. The flying option could be good if as you say, you can make the connections fit in with your timetable but that applies also to the train. To book TGV from Montparnasse is really simple The booking desks are well signed once you get into the Station. The TGV trains are lovely as well. Very comfortable, good dining car etc. Probably worth a few extra dollars for your Mum if you book first class. I don't know what second class is like on that particular train but because it was a longish journey I opted for first class and I am very glad I did. Please keep in touch I would love to hear your travel tales when you return. The Sanctuary at Lourdes really is a little piece of Heaven on Earth. Good Luck!

I forgot to tell you that the fare on the Air France Shuttle is about 14 euro. I can't tell you train fares as I was travelling on a Pass and only had to pay a supplement to reserve the seat. There really is no need to book your train seat before you leave home. Just go to the booking desk when you get to Paris. The day before would be good for peace of mind. But they don't usually book out. I only booked a few hours before we left and had no trouble. Just be aware of the 150th anniversary if you are travelling in February. The actual feast, as you probably would know, is Feb 11.

sfangel make sure u fly to Lourdes/Tarbes airport it is much closer than Pau only 10mins by car in to LOURDES. Also have a look at hotels close to the sanctuary and on the flat..i have taken pilgrims here for over 20 years + used Hotel san Saveur Hotel Chapelle Hotel la Solitude all succesfully these are all less than a5 min walk from the gates of the sanctuary. U will find them under hotelvinuales if you wish to look them up