Camino de Santiago

• routes in France

• routes in Spain

• Codex Calixtinus

routes in France

The four main routes through France to Spain are:

• the road from Paris (via Tours and Bordeaux)

• the road from Vézelay (via Bourges or Nevers)

• the road from Le Puy-en-Velay (via Conques and Moissac)

• the road from Arles (via Toulouse)

These roads are drawn in at the map alongside. The “chemin” the most famous is that from Le Puy-en-Velay (the GR 65). Meanwhile, there has been and is being worked hard to signpost and describe the other three routes. The same is true for the routes from Holland and Belgium and from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to the cities mentioned. In the meantime some regional routes in France have been described, for example in Brittany, in the Alsace and from Cluny and Lyon to Le Puy-en-Velay.
At the end of this chapter we especially pay attention to the crossing of the Pyrenees from Sain-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

"Chemins de St.Jacques"
enlarge

The road from Paris: starting point - Tour Saint-Jacques

Le Puy-en-Velay

Moissac

LEPERE Editions
Rando Editions et ACIR Compostelle
Les Editions du Vieux Crayon ("Miam-miam-dodo")

the British Confraternity of Saint James

Conrad Stein Verlag
Salem Edition

France: the road from Paris
The road from Paris (GR 655) is described, although roughly. The route is not used very often and there are only a few special facilties for pilgrims. The road leads along highlights like the Chartres cathedral, but also through the seemingly endless forests of Les Landes.

Chartres: cathedral

France: the road from Vézelay
From Vézelay there are two main routes: the route to the southwest (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) and the short-cut to the road from Le Puy-en-Velay, via the GR 3. The souhtwestern route has two main versions: the so-called “historic route” and the GR654 (with a version via Nevers and one via Bourges). These routes is signposted (largely) and described (good). Gradually there are more places to spend the night for pilgrims.
The short-cut to Le Puy is roughly described,

Vézelay

France: the road from Le Puy-en-Velay (GR 65)
This has been by far the most followed run-up route to Spain, through sometimes beautiful landscapes and ancient towns, evidence of the rich history of the "Chemin de St.Jacques". On the other hand, this route is very popular by groups who often make their reservations long before. This complicates finding a place to sleep for pilgrims who are traveling at a venture.

Conques

Tip: pilgrim's pass
In Spain you can stay in "refugio's" only if you have a pilgrim's pass and have it stamped daily.You can buy your pass at the pilgrim's information office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: 39, rue de la Citadelle, just opposite our inn. 
You also can buy a pass in, for example, Roncesvalles or order one at the Confraternity of Saint James in your country.

a pilgrim's pass with our stamp

France: crossing the Pyrenees

Just before Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in Ostabat, the roads from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy-en-Velay come together. (The road from Arles only connects to the other roads in Puente la Reina (Spain)). From that point, the distance to Santiago de Compostela is approximately 800 kilometres.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (at 146 metres) has been an important stop before the crossing of the Pyrenees for centuries. "Pied-de-Port” means: “at the foot of the pass”. This region itself is called the Cize (in Basque: Garazi). In the Codex Calixtinus (twelfth century A.D.) the crossing of the Pyrenees is described as follows:

“There, in that Basque Country, the road of Saint-Jacques joins onto a very high mountain, called the “passage of Cize” (…). Its immense height makes them who mount it think that they touch the canopy of heaven (…). Near this mountain, to the north, is a valley called “Valcarlos”. Pilgrims that go through this valley (…) do not have to climb the mountain”.

So from Saint-Jean there are two routes across the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles (952 metres):

• the high-route, the “route Napoleon" or "route traditionel" (GR 65). Highest point: the Col de Lepoeder, at 1410 metres.
•  the route through “The valley of Charlemagne” via Valcarlos. Highest point: the Puerto de Ibañeta, at 1057 metres. 

For walkers the "route Napoleon" is the common route. Almost all cyclists go via Valcarlos. (this is drawn in brown on the map alongside). For the hikers that go through Valcarlos a route has been set out that avoids the D933 as much as possible. Both walking routes are drawn (in yellow and red) on this map. Shortly after you have left the walled part of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port through the Porte d'Espagne, the routes are separated. This is clearly signposted along the road (see photo).

Please prepare well for this stage and realize that you will walk across mountains. The weather can change very fast, and when there is fog or mist you should be extra careful. During spring and autumn, snow, cold, mud and gales can make the crossing a risky journey. Therefore we would like to make the following recommendations:

• Act calmly and ask yourself, especially if you start from Saint-Jean, are you ready for your journey and for crossing the mountains? Realize that many pilgrims become injured within a few days, because they go too fast! (Some of them even have to cancel their journey already in Pamplona!). Therefore, it is important to give yourself enough time to find your rhythm. Decide if you want to start immediately or acclimatize first, example by staying in Saint-Jean for a day or by taking out two days to cross the mountains. (If you have a reasonable to good condition and are well-rested, the crossing to Roncesvalles can fairly easily be accomplished in one day (with an average of 8 hours, exclusive of breaks). Most bike-riders cycle to Pamplona in one day).

• Choose your route after you made inquiries of the weather conditions at the agency for pilgrims (39, Rue de la Citadelle, across our hostelry). If you are advised against taking the high route, please take this advice. In bad weather, the marking is more difficult to see and, too often, accidents occur.
• If you decide to spend the night and follow the high route, you have two options: Ferme Ithurburia (Hounto), after circa 1,5 hours of walking, and Refuge auberge Orisson after approx. 2,5 hours of walking. Make your reservations well in advance. (Attention: wenn Orisson is full, the owner sometimes offers you to bring you somewhere else to sleep. That alternative is in the village of Saint-Jean-le-Vieux: down again to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and then another 5 kilometers!). After Orisson there is only one, very simple, shelter and one source (the "fontaine de Roland"), and nothing else! (please note: when it has been hot for a long period of time, this source may have run dry).
• Shortly after the highest peak on the high route (in good weather there you will be able to see Roncesvalles for the first time), you can choose between a sharp descent through the forest, or a longer descent through the Puerto de Ibañeta. We strongly advise you to choose the longer descent. (The fork is marked with signposts (see photo)).
• If you decide to follow the lower route and spend the night, you should spend the night in Valcarlos, the first village after the French-Spanish border. In Valcarlos are many places to spend the night (there even is a little "refugio"). After Valcarlos there are only a few houses, nothing else!
• hint for cyclists: avoid Pamplona.

After all the warnings, we only have one advice left: enjoy your trip, it is a beautiful stage!

separation: "high-route" (1) or "valley" (2)

orientation table (route Napoleon, 800 metres), next to it you can get water 

just before the Col de Bentarte: the "croix Thibaud" (route Napoleon, 1300 m.): just before this cross you leave the road

just passed the Col de Bentarte: the shelter

a little bit further: the "fontaine de Roland"

fork just past the Col de Lepoeder (route Napoleon, 1410 m.): "left" > sharp descent ("Camino con fuertes pendientes") or right > longer descent ("Camino recomendado") 

routes in Spain

The “Camino Francés” is the most famous road through Spain. Because of the fact that this Camino is getting busier and busier, and is already too busy according to some, the attention is drawn more and more to other roads which lead to Santiago de Compostela from way back. We limit ourselves to:

• the Camino Francés (from the French border to Santiago)

• the Caminos del Norte (same, (partly) along the northern coast)

• the Camino de Fisterra (from Santiago to Cabo Fisterra)

• the Vía de la Plata (from Sevilla to Santiago)

These roads are drawn in at the map alongside.

the Camino in 1648

the Caminos in Spain today enlarge

Puente la Reina

"jacobeo.net"
"Mundicamino"
"infocamino"

the British Confraternity of Saint James
Rother Wanderführer

Conrad Stein Verlag
Rother Wanderführer
Salem Edition
Bruckmann Verlag

Spain: the Camino Francés
The Camino Francés may become busier and busier, also because of new buildings and new motorways, the route is and stays fascinating: varied landscapes, a rich culture, a tight network of "refugios" and... the unmistakable consciousness that for more than 1,000 years millions of pilgrims have preceded. 

The Camino Francés has two starting points, both at the Spanish-French border in the Pyrenees:

•       Roncesvalles, approximately 30 kilometres south of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and

•       Col du Somport, approximately 40 kilometres south of Oloron-Sainte-Marie which is connected to the road from Arles.

The two routes come together in Puente la Reina and after that follow the same track, to Santiago de Compostela. Almost all guides describe both starting points.

inside the "refugio"

Spain: the Caminos del Norte
The development of the Camino de Santiago and the recapture of Spain on the Moors are strongly linked. For the pilgrims from northern countries, the Camino along Spain’s northern coast always was the safest and thus the most used route. Only when the Moors were driven further back south, the Camino Francés developed into the main route it is up to now. 
Recently, the interest in the northern coastal route quickly grows. In fact, it is not just one road, but several routes: “Los Caminos del Norte”. The routes distinguish themselves especially in the moment at which they part from the northern coast, to, via coastal mountains, get connected with the Camino Francés. The shortest route is the Camino Vasco del Interior, from Irun (at the Spanish-French border), via Vitoria/Gasteiz, to Santo Domingo de Calzada (approximately 120 kilometres after Puente la Reina). The longest route is the Camino de la Costa, from Irun, via Santander, Gijón and Ribadeo, to Arzua (approximately 40 kilometres before Santiago de Compostela). Of the routes inbetween to the Camino Francés, we mention:

• the Camino Primitivo, from Oviedo (approximately 25 kilometres south-west of Gijón), via Lugo, to Palas de Rei (approximately 70 kilometres before Santiago de Compostela), and 
• the Camino from Oviedo to León.

Camino del Norte: 
San Sebastián - Donostia

Camino del Norte: just before Noja


Camino del Norte: 
Bilbao ( Guggenheim)

Spain: the Camino de Fisterra
The Camino Francés follows a much older pilgrim’s route which was already used by the Celts (read more about it at the (star)road). 
This route went to the – in those days – end of the world. In the Middle Ages a lot of Christian pilgrims followed this old example, by walking on to Cabo Fisterra after Santiago de Compostela: the Cape at the End of the World. This old tradition is followed by more and more pilgrims nowadays. Some follow an old ritual, by symbolicly saying goodbye to the “old”, for example by throwing an old garment into the sea or by burning it, and by doing so also mark the start of a “new” beginning.
From Fisterra you can take a bus back to Santiago. The pilgrims in the Middle Ages went on foot of course, all the way back home.

You can get more information about the route, for example at the pilgrims office in Santiago (address: Rúa do Vilar 1). You get there anyway when you collect your “Compostela”, the document that states that you have walked or cycled the Camino.

at the end of the world: Willem-Jan and Harry, on foot from Friesland (Holland)

Spain: the Vía de la Plata
The Vía de la Plata, from Sevilla to Santiago, is a good alternative to the Camino Francés or a nice chance to experience the Camino afther that all over again, but then very differently. This Vía is less walked and leads through the quiet interior of Spain. The route leads through beautiful, in the south sometimes Africa ressembling, landscapes and fascinating towns such as: Sevilla, Mérida, Cáceres, Salamanca and Zamora.

The Vía de la Plata has two starting possibilities, from the town Granja de Moreruela, approximately 40 kilometers north of Zamora:

• the northern possibility is connected to the Camino Francés in Astorga at approximately 100 kilometers,
• the western possibility leads via Orense to Santiago, along a much lesser walked route.

just before Salamanca

Codex Calixtinus

The Codex Calixtinus is one of the oldest pieces of writing about the Camino de Santiago and is an excellent example of the rich history of this pilgrim’s road. The Codex dates from the 12^th Century and is named after pope Calixtus II. There is, of course, also a lot of attention for James, the miracles he is supposed to have performed and the transportation of his remains to Galicia. The Codex also urges the pilgrims to behave themselves and curses anyone who wants to steal money from pilgrims, such as: dressed up priests, prostitutes, money changers and... certain innkeepers. Particularly the last part of the Codex is a practical travel guide for pilgrims. In this part, the four main routes through France and the road through Spain is described.
A lot of songs from the Codex Calixtinus are still being sung. We like to play this kind of music during breakfast in our inn:

• "Miracles of Sant'iago; Music from the Codex Calixtinus", by Anonymous 4; published by Harmonia Mundi, and
• "Pilgrimage to Santiago", by The Monteverdi Choir, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, published by Monteverdi Productions Ltd.

Codex Calixtinus