What is the best way to travel to Lourdes, France?

If you are considering travelling by public transport then know that it is easier to get to Lourdes from Paris than it is from Barcelona.

If you plan on renting a vehicle (you'll need a van) then either will work. Crossing borders in Europe is trivial.

Best way to get to Lourdes...On a wing and a prayer?

My brother and his family are looking at doing the same thing next year. What he has planned is landing at GDG from SFO at 10:25 am, take a taxi to Paris Montparnasse Station and catch a direct train 2pm or later to Lourdes. Most folks recommend on this site if you are planning to catch a train in Paris on arrival day, let there be at least a 4 hour buffer from your arrival time.

Good Luck & Enjoy your Trip.

Barcelona is closer, but I have no idea about getting there using public transportation from either Paris or Barcelona. Unless there are other things you plan on seeing in the area, that’s a lot travel time to get to a place you can see in a couple hours. It is worth visiting, but I wouldn’t give up 1/6 of my vacation time traveling to see it at the expense of seeing other things.

The couple times I was there was by rental car coming up from Spain. The main draw to Lourdes is the grotto followed by the church above it. The town itself has little else to offer in my opinion and is full of tourist shops selling most cheap trinkets to the hoards of tourists. Most of your time will be spent at the two places I mentioned, but they don’t take exceptionally long to see, even if standing back to watch all the others pass through the grotto.

Possibly look into flying into Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport, airport code LDE.

The train from Paris, either direct or with one change, will likely be the easiest way to get there. Looking at Rome2rio, travel from Barcelona looks more complicated and longer unless you travel by car. But that is strongly recommended against when arriving after a long transatlantic flight.

The PP who questioned spending more than a couple if hours in Lourdes is apparently unaware that millions of people visit Lourdes every year on holy pilgrimages and not just as a casual tourist site. Having said that, the OP should be back in Paris at least the day before their return flight home.

If you can fly to Tarbes-Lourdes, Pau, or Toulouse (in this order of preference), you could save a bit of time vs landing at CDG and taking the train all the way from Paris, even if you need to switch planes. Pau and Tarbes are both within "taxi distance" from Lourdes.

I’m perfectly aware that millions of people make a pilgrimage to see it. On my first visit to it in 1978 I was impressed or amazed by all the sick who were wheeled to the grotto by the sisters/nuns so they could pass though it, say a prayer, and hopefully be healed from whatever ailed them. On my second trip there were fewer of those, and next to none my last time there. That being said, once away from the church and grotto it was a frenzy of tourists and pilgrims jockeying to buy the souvenir water bottle to fill at the spring. All I’m saying is the site seems to have lost some of its religious significance, since my first visit, due to the sheer volume of tourists. Later this year I’m returning to Fátima, Portugal for the first time since 1978. I’m hoping that pilgrimage site hasn’t changed as much as Lourdes has.

We went to Lourdes last March but did not use public transport we drove (from Bordeaux area). However, the TGV from Paris Montparnasse is a great way to go. You may need to change trains on your journey so definitely look at the 'route' and travel time to find what works best for you. Lourdes is a much bigger town than I was expecting so you may want to take a taxi to your hotel from the train station. Lourdes was not too crowded when we were there (end of March 2022) though it may be in August. Also, it will be hot so bring water.