The French Way (, , ) follows the GR 65 and is the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James (), the ancient pilgrimage route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

in Galicia,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It runs from

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John t theFoot of hePass"; ; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean f ...

on the French side of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side and then another 780 km on to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

Logroño Logroño ( , , ) is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja, Spain. Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, primarily in the right (South) bank of the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of pa ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

and León. A typical walk on the ''Camino francés'' takes at least four weeks, allowing for one or two rest days on the way. Some travel the Camino on bicycle or on horseback. Paths from the cities of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

, and

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the rive ...

meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. A fourth French route originates in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, and crosses the French–Spanish frontier at a different point, between the Pyrenees towns of Somport and Canfranc. This fourth route follows the Aragonese Way and joins the French Way at

Puente la Reina Puente la Reina ( Spanish meaning "the Queen's bridge"; ) is a town and municipality located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain. Puente la Reina lies between Pamplona and Estella on the Way of St. James pilgrimage route ...

, south of

, in

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, about 700 kilometres from Santiago de Compostela. In 1993, the French Way, along with the Spanish route of the Camino de Santiago was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

for its historical importance in Christianity as a major pilgrimage route and its testimony to the exchange of ideas and cultures across its length. Route between Sarria and Santiago de Compostela on the French Way

Route between Sarria and Santiago de Compostela on the French Way

Statistics

The Pilgrim's Office in Santiago publishes data regarding pilgrims who got the certificate. In 2024 about 47% of pilgrims (over 235,000) took the French Way. 65% of the pilgrims on the Camino Frances started in Sarria while 14% started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 49% of the pilgrims had a Spanish nationality, followed by US-Americans (8.3%), Italians (5.4%) and Koreans (2.8%). The nationalities differ regarding the starting point: In Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port the vast majority of pilgrims (91%) is neither from France nor Spain. In contrast the majority of pilgrims using Sarria as a starting point is Spanish (64%). 94% of pilgrims did the journey on foot and 2% by bike. About 300 pilgrims travelled on a horse and 170 in a wheelchair. Most pilgrims finish their journey in a month between May and September. ImageSize=width:270 height:300 PlotArea=left:60 bottom:75 top:10 right:16 AlignBars=justify Period=from:0 till:40000 TimeAxis=orientation:horizontal Colors= id:gray value:gray(0.5) id:line1 value:gray(0.9) id:line2 value:gray(0.7) ScaleMajor=unit:year increment:10000 start:0 gridcolor:line2 ScaleMinor=unit:year increment:10000 start:0 gridcolor:line1 BarData= bar:January text:January bar:February text:February bar:March text:March bar:April text:April bar:May text:May bar:June text:June bar:July text:July bar:August text:August bar:September text:September bar:October text:October bar:November text:November bar:December text:December PlotData= color:tan1 width:10 bar:January from:start till:1057 text: bar:February from:start till:1383 text: bar:March from:start till:11404 text: bar:April from:start till:18940 text: bar:May from:start till:32506 text: bar:June from:start till:31152 text: bar:July from:start till:26548 text: bar:August from:start till:31894 text: bar:September from:start till:30494 text: bar:October from:start till:23730 text: bar:November from:start till:5162 text: bar:December from:start till:1445 text: TextData= pos:(50,37) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Number of pilgrims who finished TextData= pos:(50,20) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:the Camino Frances (2024) TextData= pos:(50,3) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Source: oficinadelperegrino.com

Example itinerary

Though there is no set itinerary for this route, daily stages from major town to major town could be walked as follows:

Films

* '' The Way'' (2010)

References

External links

the French Way - Google Maps

A photo tour of the Camino Frances (2010)

Free Guide for Hikers on the French Way

Follow the Yellow Shell - Pilgrims guide to the Camino Frances

Map of the Donativo Albergues on the Camino Frances

the French Way - Google Maps TODO MENTIRA
* http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/the-way/george-photography {{DEFAULTSORT:French Way Camino de Santiago routes Hiking trails in Spain