Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle La plus ancienne de toutes les associations jacquaires – depuis 1950

Towards Saint-Jacques

Paths in France

There are four main routes to Santiago de Compostela in France:

  • The Via Turonensis or Tours route, which is also the Paris route, passing through Poitiers, Saint-Jean d’Angély, Saintes and Bordeaux before arriving at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncesvalles.
  • The Via Vezeliensis or Vézelay Way, which passes through Bourges, Limoges, Périgueux, with variants to Neuvy-Saint-Sépulcre or Rocamadour, and also arrives at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncevaux.
  • The Via Podiensis or Voie du Puy-en-Velay, which crosses the Monts d’Aubrac, passes through Conques and Moissac with a variant via Villefranche-de-Rouergue, and reaches Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncesvalles.
  • The Via Egidiensis or Voie d’Arles, which passes through Saint-Gilles-en-Gard, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Toulouse, and crosses the Pyrenees at Le Somport, with a variant to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Paths in Spain

In Spain, the four French roads are traditionally one and the same:

  • the Camino francés or “French Way” which, via Pamplona, Estella, Logroño, Santo Domingo de La Calzada, Burgos, Carrión, León, Astorga, Ponferrada, Cebreiro and Sarria, leads pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela.

Pilgrims can also reach the shrine by :

  • the Camino del Norte or “northern route” along the coast or the Primitivo via Oviedo
  • the Camino portugués or “Portuguese Way” from Portugal
  • the Via de la Plata from Seville
  • le chemin de Valence
  • the road to Madrid

Other lesser-known routes include the Basque Way through the Saint-Antoine tunnel, the Mozarabic Way and the Catalan Way.

Once in Santiago, pilgrims can continue on to Finisterre and Santa María de Muxía on the west coast via the Camino de Fisterra.

Other routes

  • La Voie des Piémonts: this 700-kilometre route links Montpellier to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The Camin de Sanct Jaume or the Caminromieu
  • The Via Garona links Toulouse to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges in just over 160 km.
  • The alternative by La Vallée du Célé
  • The alternative via Rocamadour
  • The Conques-Toulouse link
  • The Vézelay pilgrim route via Bourges or Nevers
  • The Bergerac to Montréal-Du-Gers link