Getting in / out of Lourdes

To get from Barcelona to Lourdes by train you have a couple of options, neither hugely convenient.

1) Get the TGV from Barcelona to either Perpignan or Montpellier, get a train from there to Toulouse and then Toulouse to Lourdes.

2) Use the very scenic but extremely slow direct rail line from Barcelona to Toulouse over the Pyrenees. You need to change trains at the border station, which is known as La Tour de Carol to French people and La Tor de Querol in Barcelona, as the railway lines in Spain and France are different gauges. Another wrinkle in this is that it doesn't show up on many international rail sites as, despite the huge distance, the line from Barcelona to La Tour de Carol is officially considered a Barcelona suburban train by Spanish railways. As I mentioned, very scenic, but it will take all day and probably shouldn't be attempted unless you are confident in European rail travel.

Personally, I think Paris will be better.

I suspect the best way from Lourdes to Rome might be train to Bordeaux and then a flight, but it would depend on how well the rail and air schedules mesh. And it's possible there are no non-stop flights between Bordeaux and Rome; I haven't checked.

That’s a long way to go just to see the grotto and church, and spend probably a couple hours at most. It’s about 83 miles from Toulouse to Lourdes and geographically the closest. I’ve had a car the couple times I’ve been there and the roads are rural 2-lane getting there, but an easy drive. If you get to Toulouse, maybe rent a car for a day if there are no great public transportation options.

Lourdes is in a remote area on the North side of the Pyrenees, which are a major obstacle to travel from Spain. It is literally at the base of the Pyrenees with the mountains rising up just south of the town.

Lourdes is not near any major city so getting there is tricky.

The Pyrenees are worth a visit and the whole area of Gascony is very rural, so a rental car might be the best way to visit. The nearest big city is Toulouse. You can get a rental car there. There is a small airport about 20 miles North of Lourdes. I am not sure what airlines go there. Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport

Lourdes is one of the great Pigrimage sites and is well worth visiting.

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Barcelona really was just an option. It's just so difficult to plan around Lourdes because, like what you all said, it's in a pretty remote area. But my mom really wishes to go there so off we go! :)

I only included Toulouse because I was told that it has better flights than the Lourdes airport. Maybe it's more convenient to just do a round trip train to Paris, fly to Rome from there and just skip Barcelona altogether?

I only picked Paris and Barcelona because they appear to be the two biggest airports close (meaning 6-7 hours) of Lourdes. But I'm open to any suggestions or itinerary shuffles. :)

According to skyscanner.com, both easyjet and Alitalia have direct flights from Toulouse to Rome.

Option 1 and skip Barcelona seems the more feasible, of your described options

Rome2rio.com shows train travel from Toulouse-Lourdes is about 2 hours. Bus about 3 hrs.

With 4 weeks to spend, Barcelona could be worked in, if you can tolerate the convoluted route to get there.