French Way
This is the main route, the most well-known.
Itinerary
This is the main route, the most well-known.
The Way of St. James (also known as “Jacobean Route”) was proclaimed the first European Cultural Itinerary by the Council of Europe in 1987. This route was also named one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
The French Way is the route par excellence, the most well-known, prepared and beaten track.
It begins in Roncesvalles (Navarra) and finishes in the Spanish city Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), covering a distance of 750 km.
Even if this is the most famous itinerary, the Jacobean Route includes other ways, such as “The Levante Way”, “The Cantabrian Way”, “The Asturian Way”, “The Silver Route” and “The Portuguese Way”.
Pilgrims will begin walking through the north of Spain, no without some difficulties, to reach the end of the medieval world, as they called Galician lands in that period. The classic itinerary from the 12th Century, which would become the route known as “The French Way”, is described as the very first guide, the “Codex Calixtinus”.
The Way has got big economic importance. People circulation encourages craftsmen and merchants, mostly foreigners, to settle in different places along the track and this is how the hamlets were established. Kings, for their part, granted privileges to favour their development. The itinerary through Spain didn’t undergo many modifications regarding its route. Except for a few areas, it follows the marked, consolidated track from the Middle Ages. What we have to take into account in the Jacobean history is how, in 14th and 15th Centuries, a setback of pilgrimage was experienced.
Nowadays, The Way is at its peak. The Council of Europe in 1987 declared The Way of St. James European Cultural Itinerary, noting the significant value of pilgrimage in the formation of a civilization common to every European nation. UNESCO recognizes it as World Heritage in its routes through Spain (1993) and France (1998) and, in 2004, Prince of Asturias Foundation gave it the “Prince of Asturias Concord Award”.
Stages
CF01 - Saint Jean de Pied de Port - Roncesvalles - 21 km
CF02 - Roncesvalles - Zubiri - 22 km
CF03 - Zubiri - Pamplona - 20 km
CF04 - Pamplona - Puente la Reina - 19 km
CF05 - Puente la Reina - Estella - 19,7 km
CF06 - Estella - Los Arcos - 20,6 km
CF07 - Los Arcos - Viana - 18 km
CF08 - Viana - Navarrete - 22,3 km
CF09 - Navarrete - Nájera - 16,9 km
CF10 - Nájera - Santo Domingo de la Calzada - 21 km
CF11 - Santo Domingo de la Calzada - Belorado - 22,7 km
CF12 - Belorado - San Juan de Ortega - 24 km
CF13 - San Juan de Ortega - Burgos - 27,6 km
CF14 - Burgos - Hornillos del Camino - 18,3 km
CF15 - Hornillos del Camino - Castrojeriz - 20,40 km
CF16 - Castrojeriz - Frómista - 24,90 km
CF17 - Frómista - Carrión de los Condes - 19,2 km
CF18 - Carrión de los Condes - Lédigos - 23,40 km
CF19 - Lédigos - Sahagún - 17,10 km
CF20 - Sahagún - El Burgo Ranero - 17,9 km
CF21 - El Burgo Raneros - Mansilla de las Mulas - 18,7 km
CF22 - Mansilla de las Mulas - León - 18,4 km
CF23 - León - Villadangos del Páramo - 21,8 km
CF24 - Villadangos del Páramo - Astorga - 26 km
CF25 - Astorga - Rabanal del Camino - 20,6 km
CF26 - Rabanal del Camino - Molinaseca - 24,7 km
CF27 - Molinaseca - Villafranca del Bierzo - 30,5 km
CF28 - Villafranca del Bierzo - O Cebreiro - 30 km
CF29 - O Cebreiro - Triacastela - 22,9 km
CF30 - Triacastela - Sarria - 22 km
CF31 - Sarria - Portomarín - 22 km
CF32 - Portomarín - Palas del Rei - 23,9 km
CF33 - Palas del Rei - Arzúa - 28,6 km
CF34 - Arzúa - Santiago de Compostela - 38,4 km
External info sources about this route and recommended websites:
Federación Española de Asociaciones del Camino de Santiago
Very useful guide: Camino de Santiago. National Geographic
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