Lourdes Travel Forum

My husband and I are planning a vacation to Europe this summer. Our primary destination is Lourdes & Paris, and surrounding area(if possible). We plan to leave the US on Jun 25, return on Jul 4, 2009.
We're Catholics, so we want to experience all we can have in Lourdes.
So, can anyone give us ideas about our itinerary?
Also, is it possible(or better) to have the fligt from US --> Barcelona and Paris --> US? Since Lourdes is closer to Barcelona than to Paris.

Thanks

Here is another suggestion:

Fly straight to Paris and then go to Toulouse by train (TGV: http://www.tgv.com/FR/). From there rent a car and drive to Lourdes and surroundings. There are so many things to do and see in the immediate area and beyond.

If you book your trains ahead of time, it should be probably cheaper than getting an open-jaw ticket. If you fly with Air France or one of its partners, you may also want to look into flying to Toulouse. The difference may be worth it.

you had good advise, the beauty is the TGV train to Toulouse, then by car or bus service to Lourdes;you will see nice pretty areas of France.And you can go back the same way to Paris. Toulouse is fantastic too as well as Lourdes for its meaning.
Toulouse to Lourdes take the A64 expressway easy well marked and excellent road

Whilst the suggestion to drive from Toulouse is an excellent one, you may not want to do any driving on your trip. If so, then it is well for you to know that the train to and from Barcelona takes approximately 9+ hours with several changes required whilst the TGV to and from Paris can be done in under 6 hours with no changes at all. So unless you particularly want to go to Barcelona, you would be better off flying in and out of Paris.

Thank you for your advice.
We decided to fly to/from Paris. We're looking into a train to Lourdes.
Any suggestions? Any experience with the overnight train? How comfortable or tiring is it?
Any suggestions about places to stay & things to do in Lourdes are welcome, too
Thanks in advance.

The TGV goes from Gare Montparnasse in Paris at approx. 10.10am daily. It is less than 6 hours to Lourdes with no changes and so really there is no need to go by overnight train. Accommodation in Lourdes is quite reasonable. You can pick from the many options on www.venere.com or www.bookings.com. I can recommend for budget pricing, the Hotel Aneto or the Hotel Andre. Both are very adequate for the price which should be considerably less than 50 Euro for a single. You can get cheaper if you like to look on those websites,but these I know from personal experience. If you want something with a lot more class and a fabulous location right acrosss the street from the Sancutaries, then I would recommend Hotel Moderne, which, when I stayed there in 2005 was owned by the Soubirous brothers (descendants of the family of Bernadette Soubirous). It has an old world charm that is really special, although you will pay quite a bit more for it.
In Lourdes, your first port of call should be the Sancutary including the Grotto at Massabielle. Here you will find the famous spring and the healing baths, and of course the Basilica which is part of three churches one on top of the other. There is the underground church and the stations of the cross spread through the hill behind the sanctuary. It is a very peaceful and joyful place with no commercialism whatsoever. You will be astounded at the hundreds of shops selling rosary beads and religious statues in the village itself, but don't be put off by them. Just remember that the local people have to make their living somehow and this is how they do it.
A ride on the Pic de Jer to the top of the Pyrenees is well worth the effort as is a visit to the castle. You can also visit two of the homes of St Bernadette ( Le Cachot and the Boley Mill) and visit the little parish church where she was baptised. If you want to venture a few kms further afield you can visit Bartres and the home she was sent to live in when the family were experiencing financial difficulty.
The highlight of every day in Lourdes, however, is the Torch Light Procession which happens every night from March to November in the Sanctuary at about 9pm. I like to see it twice on each visit. One night to walk in the procession and the second night to watch it from the walkway above the Basilica.
It is a magical sight and is best seen on the weekends when the crowds are biggest. Buy your candle at one of the souvenir shops before you go to the Sanctuary. Enjoy Lourdes. I always do.

Thank you very much for your very valuable reply.
Our plane arrives in CDG Paris at around noon on Thurs June 25.
We'd like to go directly to Lourdes from the airport, but we want to have plenty of time to get to the train. We don't want to stay in a hotel for 1 night in Paris, so that's why we were thinking of taking the overnight train from Austerlitz. Does this plan make sense to you? Or should we take the 5:45 PM TGV from Montparnasse and arrive in Lourdes at midnight?

How far & how long does it take to get from CDG to Montparnasse or Austerlitz?
And what is the best way from CDG to Montparnasse/Austerlitz?

Thank you very much.

CDG to Montparnasse is easily covered by the Air France Shuttle or by RER and Metro (not sure of the exact connections as I don't like struggling with luggage on the Metro - too many steps involved). I would think that CDG to Austerlitz would similarly be reached by RER and Metro, but I would like to think that someone else will chime in and give you the exact details. If you get to Lourdes at midnight, you will still be paying for a hotel room overnight (or what's left of it). Most hotels have night desk clerks who will check you in and I would imagine that there would be taxis to meet the train at that hour. It's just my feeling but I would prefer to do that than to spend all night in the train from Austerlitz, but you may be younger and more resilient than I am. Your timing is unfortunate as there is a TGV from Montparnasse at approx 1pm (if memory serves me correctly) but you certainly won't get from CDG in time for that. If I were you I would bite the bullet and get a hotel in Paris for the night. The Timhotel Montparnasse is right across the street from the Montparnasse train station and apart from rude desk staff, I can recommend it for being clean and superbly located especially for the TGV to Lourdes. It's also reasonably priced for Paris.

Thank you very much for your reply.
As we continue to research to find options, we have found that airfares from Orly Paris to Lourdes Tarbes are about the same price as the train. We are now considering staying in Paris for the first 3 days, and then leaving for Lourdes on Sunday at about 4PM. And returning to Paris on Wednesday afternoon.
What do you think about this plan? Do you know how far Orly is from Notre Dame? We'd like to go to early Sunday mass at Notre Dame and then participate in the procession in Lourdes that evening. Any thoughts or suggestions are very much appreciated. Thanks.

Orly is in excess of 30km from Notre Dame, so even though the airfare might be similar to the train fare, you will have to pay for a shuttle or train or taxi to get you to Orly and likewise to Lourdes from Tarbes. There is a Vigil Mass at 6.30pm on Saturday evening in Notre Dame. Why not think about attending that and then getting the train from Montparnasse at 10.10am on Sunday morning. This will get you to Lourdes and all settled in to your hotel in good time for dinner before the procession. The train station in Lourdes is very close to all the hotels etc. There are shuttle buses from the station or a cab will only cost you a few euros. I am glad you have decided to stay in Paris, you will really enjoy it.