The Pyrenees are a mountain range that stretches for about 430 km between France and Spain, crossing the country of Andorra. These mountains are home to some of the most beautiful places in France, often comparable to the beauty of the Alps. The amount and variety of the landscapes is stunning. The purpose of this blog post is to guide you through a 4-day trip we did to the Pyrenees mountains from Paris so that you can experience the beauty of these lesser-known yet beautiful mountains as well.

Location of the Pyrenees

The French Pyrenees from Paris

As you might have guessed, the Pyrenees are absolutely immense, so the number of places to visit goes by the dozens. There are even 40+ day treks, mainly the GR10 and GR11, that traverse the whole mountain range. Four days is certainly not enough, but we found that it is a good compromise that allows you to experience this beautiful national park when you are short on time.

Day 1: Paris to Lourdes

The name Lourdes might ring a bell to you. Lourdes is a small French town at the foot of the Pyrenees, and it is internationally known as one of the world’s most important Catholic pilgrimage sites, with millions of visitors each year. The town became famous after a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858 at the Massabielle Grotto. The main attraction of the town is religious, but Lourdes also turns out to be one of the most easily accessible places in the Pyrenees by train, so this is the main reason why we stopped there. We were actually surprised by how beautiful some parts of the city were. The area around the train station and the city center itself are nothing extraordinary, but the area around the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is super nice to walk around.

Lourdes

How to go from Paris to Lourdes

There are trains going from Paris to Lourdes every single day. The train ride takes about 5h and the trains are so confortable that you barely feel the time go by.

When you first arrive in Lourdes by train, on a clear day, you can see the Pyrenean peaks from the bus stop just outside the SNCF train station. I found it absolutely beautiful, and it personally reminded me of Caribbean mountain landscapes, like those of St. Lucia that I have seen on the internet.

Amongst the things to do in Lourdes there is the historical Château fort de Lourdes and, of course, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. We personally did not find the castle that interesting but it does offer some nice views of the city.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, on the other hand, has a kind of magical feel to it. The place is surrounded by nature and the atmosphere is rather soothing.

According to the legend, in 1858, a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous was collecting firewood near the Massabielle Grotto when she said she saw a mysterious woman dressed in white. According to Bernadette, the woman appeared to her 18 times and eventually identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. During one of the apparitions, she told Bernadette to dig in the ground, where a spring appeared. She then reportedly asked her to drink from a spring and wash herself there, and told her to tell the priests to build a chapel on the site. Bernadette followed her instructions and a chapel and a sanctuary were built where the miracle happened. In Lourdes you can visit the chapel as well as the grotto.

Painting on the chapel

Massabielle Grotto

What I find interesting about Lourdes is that the city is very religious-centered, so instead of regular souvenir shops, you will find religious souvenir stores, which was quite unique and a first for me. You will also see that they sell huge empty bottles for people to fill with water from the spring where the apparition took place, since some people believe the water possesses miraculous properties.

On our first night in Lourdes, we ate at this really good Italian restaurant, Pizzaria da Marco. What makes them stand out is their delicious pizza dough. We tried their Fougasse and I had a vegetarian pizza without cheese. Try to go there early enough because only 20 mins after opening the restaurant was almost full.

Day 2: Day trip to Cirque de Gavarnie

For days two and three I planned for hikes in nature, which is probably my favorite thing to do in trips and the Pyrenees is just about the perfect place to do so. Many beautiful hikes are easily accessible from Lourdes and for this trip I chose two of the most stunning ones. I personally had a very hard time finding information online about public transportation to both of these places. Luckily, once we arrived in Lourdes, everything worked out, so I’ll be sharing all the logistical information throughout this post to make it easier for you to plan your trip.

On day two I recommend you visit Cirque de Gavarnie, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The Cirque de Gavarnie is one of the most well-known places in the Pyrenees and it is actually a natural amphitheater carved by glaciers over thousands of years. The Cirque is also home to the Grande Cascade, one of the highest waterfalls in Europe, with a total drop of around 400 meters. The beauty of the place is such that is feels unreal!

How to go to Cirque de Gavarnie from Lourdes

There are two main ways of getting there: by car and by bus. Renting a car is probably the most straightforward, but it can also be more expensive per person if there are not many people traveling with you.

We were on a budget, so we took the bus, and it cost us only 4€ round trip per person. The logistics can be a bit complicated, though, so it does require a bit of planning. Just outside the Lourdes SNCF train station, you will find a bus stop where you can take bus 965 to the Gavarnie Office de Tourisme stop. The bus only passes about two or three times per day, and you'll have to check the departure times on the official website here. Make sure you get there in advance because, especially during summer, the bus fills up really quickly. There is usually a backup bus for people who could not get on the first bus, but you never know.

The bus ride lasts about 1h30, and the views are worth looking at. It is interesting because the landscape changes a lot during the ride. You go from town, to green mountains, and then to more rocky mountains as you go higher up.

Hike to Cirque de Gavarnie

Once in Gavarnie Office de Tourisme you will find the path to the Cirque de Gavarnie pretty easily, just follow the crowd. The hike to the Cirque is about 1h30 with 200m of elevation gain. The views on the way are simply beautiful

Up there you will find a hotel that also has a restaurant. We personally brought food to picnic which is cheaper and also allows you to enjoy the surroundings even more.

It will take you about an hour and an additional 200 m of elevation gain to hike to the foot of the cascade. However, since we were relying on a bus to get back to Lourdes and wanted to take our time with our picnic, we decided not to go. If you are a fast hiker and take the first bus in the morning and the last one back, you should have enough time to make it to the foot of the cascade. That is something we would have liked to do.

Once more, if you are going by bus, check the official website, because there is only one bus going to Lourdes in the afternoon.

Day 3: Day trip to Lac de Gaube and Pont d'Espagne

For day three I recommend a day trip to Lac de Gaube and Pont d'Espagne. Lac de Gaube is a beautiful mountain lake surrounded by high peaks and forests, whereas Pont d'Espagne is a bridge surrounded by waterfalls.

Lac de Gaube

View to a waterfall near Pont d'Espagne

How to go to Lac de Gaube from Lourdes

As with the Cirque de Gavarnie, the two main ways of getting to Lac de Gaube are by car and by bus. We chose the bus once again. The logistics of getting to Lac de Gaube are a bit more complicated. You will have to take bus 965 at the SNCF bus station, this time in the direction of Cauterets. Even though the bus line number is the same as for Gavarnie, the time to take the bus is not the same because Cauterets and Gavarnie are in two different directions. This bus ride takes about 1 hour and also costs 4€ round trip per person. You will have to get off at the Cauterets station and then take a shuttle bus, which is usually marked “Pont d’Espagne.” This shuttle ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 8.50€ round trip per person.

You can check the bus 965 itinerary here and the shuttle bus timetable here. To be honest, the logistics of getting there by public transport seemed a bit daunting at first, but once we got there, it was honestly not that complicated.

Lac de Gaube and Pont d'Espagne

The shuttle bus leaves you at the entrance to the Pont d'Espagne natural site. There are two main attractions there: Lac de Gaube and Pont d'Espagne.

The layout can be a bit complicated, so I'll try to explain it with a sketch. From the Pont d'Espagne entrance, you have different transport options to get to Pont d'Espagne and to Lac de Gaube:

Pont d’Espagne entrance

↓ Cable car or 20 minute hike up

Pont d’Espagne

↓ Chairlift or 1h20 hike up

Lac de Gaube

Depending on the transport options you choose, you will pay more or less. We personally preferred taking the cable car and chairlift from the entrance to Lac de Gaube, which cost us about 14€ per person, and then hiking down to Pont d'Espagne, visiting Pont d'Espagne, and finally hiking down to the entrance. I would advise you to do the same, or even take the chairlift and cable car back down if you have any knee problems.

You can also hike from the Pont d'Espagne entrance to Lac de Gaube, which takes about 1h30, but in my opinion, the most beautiful views are around Lac de Gaube rather than on the way there.

Chairlift

When we got off the chairlift, there was a guy on our left who seemed to work for the Pyrenees National Park. He was using binoculars and other optical equipment to look for wildlife. He showed us an isard, a wild mountain goat found in the Pyrenees, on the mountain in front of us.

Short 15-minute hike from where the chairlift leaves you to Lac de Gaube.

The place is so surreal that the images look fake

As always, we brought our own food to picnic and had these beautiful views

Pont d'Espagne is maybe not as impressive as Lac de Gaube, but it is still really beautiful.

To go back to Lourdes, you'll have to take the shuttle back to Cauterets and then take bus line 965 to Lourdes. Make sure to check the timetables on the official websites.

Day 4: Lac de Lourdes and Lourdes - Paris

For your last day, I recommend staying in Lourdes because, unless you rented a car, you probably won't have enough time for another day trip. That's what we did. We actually visited Lac de Lourdes, Lourdes' lake, which, yes, is not as impressive as Lac de Gaube, but it is actually pretty big. On weekdays, you can check the route to get there on Google Maps. Apparently, some bus lines in Lourdes don't run on Sundays, so we had to walk to the lake, which took us about an hour. The place is nice enough to chill, although it can be a bit crowded on weekends.

After that you can take your train back to Paris.

I hope you have found this guide useful! I will leave some relevant info down below :)

How much does a 4-day trip in the French Pyrenees from Paris cost

When it comes to travel costs, prices vary enormously depending on the type of accommodation, whether you regularly eat out, whether you rent a car, and so on, so giving an estimate can be difficult. We booked months in advance and kept our expenses relatively low by having picnics, cooking at our Appart'hôtel and occasionally eating out. In total, we spent around 700€ for two people (350€ each).

Train tickets cost us about 130€ round trip per person, but bear in mind that we have the SNCF Avantage Jeune card, which gives us about a 30% discount on train tickets, so the regular price can be higher. Accommodation in Lourdes is not very expensive compared to other cities in France. You can find good places for 50–80€ per night.

The Sanctuary is free. For transportation, we spent 16.50€ each on buses to Cirque de Gavarnie and Pont d'Espagne. We took no buses within Lourdes. We also spent 14€ each for Pont d'Espagne cable car and chairlift. And then there's food, which really depends on whether you regularly eat out or prefer cooking and having picnics.

When to visit the French Pyrenees

For this itinerary in particular, I would recommend visiting between late June and early September. The weather is best and if you are relying on public transport there are usually more buses circulating during summer. The only drawback might be the crowds.

If you want to explore more natural places in France I would recommend you my Vosges itinerary or my Fontainebleau day hike from Paris.