France · Spain · UNESCO World Heritage
Camino Francés
French Way
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port → Santiago de Compostela
- Total distance
- 775 km
- Typical duration
- 33 days
- Stages
- 33
- Average stage
- 23.5 km
- Longest stage
- 30.9 km
- Pilgrims
- ~217k a year
The French Way runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees across Navarre, La Rioja, Castile and León and Galicia to Santiago de Compostela. It is the most walked, best served and most socially busy of all the routes: albergues every few kilometres, waymarking you could follow half asleep, and a moving community of pilgrims that re-forms every evening.
It is long rather than technically hard. The two genuine tests are the first day over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles and the climb to O Cebreiro in the final third; between them lies the Meseta, three flat weeks that defeat more people through monotony than through gradient. Because it is so well supplied, it is the easiest route to walk without planning ahead.
Route map
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Trail geometry & map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Stages
The conventional stage division. Distances over 30 km are highlighted — those are the days worth planning around.
| # | Stage | Distance | Total | Ascent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port→Roncesvalles | 25.1 km | 25.1 | 1390 m | The hardest day on the route. The Napoleon route over the pass closes in winter; the Valcarlos alternative stays open. |
| 2 | Roncesvalles→Zubiri | 21.9 km | 47.0 | 220 m | |
| 3 | Zubiri→Pamplona | 20.9 km | 67.9 | 230 m | |
| 4 | Pamplona→Puente la Reina | 23.8 km | 91.7 | 420 m | Over the Alto del Perdón, with its iron pilgrim sculptures. |
| 5 | Puente la Reina→Estella | 21.9 km | 113.6 | 350 m | |
| 6 | Estella→Los Arcos | 21.6 km | 135.2 | 310 m | Passes the free wine fountain at Bodegas Irache, two kilometres in. |
| 7 | Los Arcos→Logroño | 27.8 km | 163.0 | 340 m | |
| 8 | Logroño→Nájera | 29.6 km | 192.6 | 400 m | |
| 9 | Nájera→Santo Domingo de la Calzada | 21.0 km | 213.6 | 280 m | |
| 10 | Santo Domingo de la Calzada→Belorado | 22.0 km | 235.6 | 230 m | |
| 11 | Belorado→San Juan de Ortega | 24.2 km | 259.8 | 590 m | |
| 12 | San Juan de Ortega→Burgos | 25.8 km | 285.6 | 210 m | |
| 13 | Burgos→Hornillos del Camino | 21.0 km | 306.6 | 200 m | The Meseta begins here. |
| 14 | Hornillos del Camino→Castrojeriz | 20.1 km | 326.7 | 160 m | |
| 15 | Castrojeriz→Frómista | 24.7 km | 351.4 | 220 m | |
| 16 | Frómista→Carrión de los Condes | 19.3 km | 370.7 | 90 m | |
| 17 | Carrión de los Condes→Terradillos de los Templarios | 26.6 km | 397.3 | 130 m | Seventeen kilometres without a village, water or shade. Fill up before leaving. |
| 18 | Terradillos de los Templarios→El Burgo Ranero | 30.6 km | 427.9 | 180 m | |
| 19 | El Burgo Ranero→Mansilla de las Mulas | 18.8 km | 446.7 | 70 m | |
| 20 | Mansilla de las Mulas→León | 18.5 km | 465.2 | 130 m | |
| 21 | León→Villar de Mazarife | 21.3 km | 486.5 | 150 m | |
| 22 | Villar de Mazarife→Astorga | 30.9 km | 517.4 | 290 m | |
| 23 | Astorga→Rabanal del Camino | 20.6 km | 538.0 | 520 m | |
| 24 | Rabanal del Camino→Molinaseca | 25.6 km | 563.6 | 430 m | Over the Cruz de Ferro at 1,500 m, where pilgrims leave a stone carried from home. |
| 25 | Molinaseca→Villafranca del Bierzo | 30.5 km | 594.1 | 340 m | |
| 26 | Villafranca del Bierzo→O Cebreiro | 27.8 km | 621.9 | 940 m | The second big climb, entering Galicia at 1,300 m. |
| 27 | O Cebreiro→Triacastela | 20.7 km | 642.6 | 200 m | |
| 28 | Triacastela→Sarria | 18.4 km | 661.0 | 280 m | |
| 29 | Sarria→Portomarín | 22.2 km | 683.2 | 400 m | Sarria is the 100 km mark, the minimum for a Compostela — the route gets markedly busier from here. |
| 30 | Portomarín→Palas de Rei | 24.8 km | 708.0 | 560 m | |
| 31 | Palas de Rei→Arzúa | 28.5 km | 736.5 | 480 m | |
| 32 | Arzúa→O Pedrouzo | 19.1 km | 755.6 | 290 m | |
| 33 | O Pedrouzo→Santiago de Compostela | 19.4 km | 775.0 | 340 m |