Summer trip to France Catholic pilgrimage sites

Looking at Bahn.com, I see a direct train from Paris S Lazare on certain days, taking less than 2 hours. When you go to the website, select UK/Ireland as your country of residence; if you select the US, it will route you to third-party vendor. You can't buy tickets at bahn.com, but it's really good for finding routes. You then need to go to the national rail website to buy the tickets (or buy them at the station in France).

I don't know of an organized tour to Lisieux from Paris but it is an easy trip by train. There are direct trains from Gare Saint Lazare and the trip takes less than 2 hours. Right now, the morning trains leave at 6:45, 7:45, 8:45 and 11:45. Some of the sights are within a mile or so of the train stations and so could be walkable but I would probably just hire one of the taxis that meet the train and get a tour that way.

Thank you for the information...It appears part of the trouble I was having had to do with the fact my trip doesn't take place until June 2015 and the rail website doesn't let me book those local trains so far in advance.

Any ideas about Lourdes?

Unless they add extra trains in the summer, Paris to Lourdes will take you much of the day, with a few train changes. (I've only done it in the late spring and early fall.) The trip in the spring was pretty, with lots of wildflowers in some sections along the way. If you take the train, make sure you have a reasonable amount of time to change trains at transfer stations – particularly since you mention having children along. Train changes will typically require getting off the train, figuring out the next track, and going down the stairs through an underground tunnel and back up on the other side to catch the new train. That takes time.

The other option is to fly. I've taken Ryanair, and it was one of the more bizarre flights I've ever taken, but it got me back to Paris inexpensively. Just be sure you read all the rules carefully and follow them to the letter. On one trip I flew Air France to Paris. The one-way ticket was horribly expensive. Instead, I bought a round-trip ticket (much cheaper) and only used the outgoing segment. Air France knew that I planned to do this, and the representative was fine with it. However, I've seen postings here saying that the airlines object to this practice and try to enforce prohibitions.

You can find train schedules and routes at bahn.com, and you can find airfares at skyscanner.com.

You can get to Lourdes from Paris by TGV in about 6 hours with no train changes. I have never been because my family always outvotes me on this trip but you can look at current schedules at www.sncf.com/en. Choose France as your country when using this site but be aware that some people have problems paying with US credit cards when the time comes to purchase. Unless there is track work, the schedule should be pretty close to what you will see now.

We went to Lourdes during the month of July several summers ago. We had a car and went into Lourdes for the day but stayed in one of the small mountain towns about 30 minutes away so that we could do some hiking as well. The town is crowded and compact but there are loads of places to stay. You can easily spend an entire day and evening at the pilgrimage site. There is a lot to see, many events taking place throughout the day, and the evening processional is one of the most moving things I've experienced at any religious site I've been to around the world. The connection between the town and pilgrimage site is fascinating - the hospital/hotel where ill people stay who have come to take the waters is connected to the site by a red line painted on the street and nurse/volunteers push people back and forth between the hotel and the grotto all day long following the line. The whole town is designed to support pilgrims and those wishing to be healed. So interesting!
Parking in town was not difficult and driving in that part of France is no different than driving anywhere else I've been. The surrounding area is rural and there are major roads and highways to get in and out of the area.
I would suggest flying from Paris to Toulouse and then renting a car. It's about 1.5 hours from Toulouse to Lourdes and not a difficult drive at all. The drive from Paris would be too long for my taste and eat up time you could spend seeing other things.

Thanks for the great input.....We should definitely add a full two days at Lourdes....Blessings....

I know you didn't ask about going to Chartres, but I just have to add this because we went to Chartres recently. It is very close and easy to get to from Paris (via train and also via car or bus). The cathedral is absolutely gorgeous - stunning stained glass. If you have time, you may want to consider this as a day trip. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Hi frod,
Realize you didn't ask but you probably would enjoy "Catholic Shrines of Western Europe" by Kevin J Wright. I checked amazon.com and see it is available.