The Camino Frances - A Classic

Both the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo pre-date the French Camino and the Spiritual Camino claims to be the oldest of them all. But the French Camino has become the classic Camino and the most iconic of all the Caminos. It is also the most popular of all the Caminos and the Camino of choice during a Jubilee or Holy year.  

The French Camino is named as such thanks to the four main pilgrimages which run through France and subsequently merge into one: The Turonensis (from Paris via Tours); Lemovicensis (from Vezelay via Limoges); the Podiensis (from Le Puy, via Cahors) and the route from Toulouse (starting in Arlès). The first three converge at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, while the fourth crosses the Pyrenees through Somport and joins the other three in Puente la Reina in the Spanish region of Navarra.

From Puente la Reina, the French Camino maintains a single itinerary that runs through medieval towns and cities steeped in Camino history across the north of Spain, such as Estella, Logroño, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, Castrojeriz, Frómista, Carrión de los Condes, Sahagún, León, Astorga, Ponferrada and Villafranca del Bierzo. After El Bierzo you are in Galicia, passing through Sarria, Portomarín, Palas de Rei before finally arriving in Santiago de Compostela.

In the 12^th century a remarkable half a million pilgrims were making their way by foot or horseback each year along the French Camino to Santiago de Compostela. This was thanks largely to its appearance in the Codex Calixtinus an authentic medieval manuscript of the pilgrimage written somewhere between 1138 and 1145. The fifth and final book of the Codex was essentially a medieval travel guide with the services pilgrims could find along the route – water fountains, food, sanctuaries, hospitals, scams to avoid en route etc. This is your original travellers guidebook. The Codex rather shockingly and embarrassingly went missing from his home in the archives in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in 2011 but was thankfully recovered the following year where it had found a new home in the garage of an ex-employee of the Cathedral.

After its peak, wars in Europe and the Black Death prompted a steady yet considerable decline in the number of pilgrim´s embarking on the Camino. By the 16^th Century it had all but disappeared and it wasn´t until the middle of the 20^th Century that a renewed interest in the Camino emerged.

The French Camino starts in Saint Jean Pied de Port in France and 773 kilometres later you are in Santiago de Compostela. Some pilgrims opt to start on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in the small town of Roncesvalles in the region of Navarra. The entire French Camino will take you about 35 days if you walk on average 24 kilometres (15 miles) a day, longer if you take periodic rest days (strongly recommended).  If you are cycling, set aside about 2 weeks.

Along the 800km of the Camino Frances you will pass through the four Spanish autonomous regions of Navarra, La Rioja, Castilla & Leon and Galicia and 141 municipalities. Each region with its own distinct food, architecture, scenery and cuisine. You can expect to find on average some kind of service (bar, shop etc) every 5.6 km, but don´t expect them to be all nicely spread out along the route! The longest distance you can expect to go without coming across any services at all is the stretch between Carrion de los Condes and Calzadilla de la Cueza (17,4km) which is between Burgos and Leon. Brace yourself, as by foot this is a long way to go without a refreshment break! This is about 220km from Santiago, so if you are walking or cycling the last week of the Camino you will skip this particular challenge.

While Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees may be the official starting point of the Camino Frances, the most popular starting point if you are walking is the bustling market town of Sarria, 115 km away from Santiago. A bit of a Camino hub, you can expect to pick up any last-minute Camino items in Sarria before you set off.  If you are cycling, you can start in the wonderfully underrated city of Leon. Stay an extra night, this city deserves it! This is the final stage of The Camino and can be walked/cycled in one week. At The Way Experiences we offer one-week guided walking and cycling tours of the Camino starting in Sarria and Leon respectively.

On completing this final stage (100km by foot or 200km by pedal power) of The Camino you can obtain your well-earned official Compostelana Certificate of pilgrimage when you arrive at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.

If you would like to join one of our guided tours or are a group of 6 or more and you want us to put a bespoke guided or self-guided Camino together for you, get in touch, we´d love to hear from you.