Camino de Santiago: the ultimate Guide
The ultimate guide to the Camino de Santiago. Go in-depth into one of the most spiritual voyages a person can undertake that will take you through some of the most beautiful regions of Spain.
Spain in-depth: Adventure
Camino de Santiago: the Camino Francés
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Share on email
Camino de Santiago: the Camino Francés
The Camino de Santiago has one of the best hostel networks and makes it one of the most popular of all the existing ones, despite the 31 legs.
The French Way of 775 kilometres unites towns of Saint Jean Pied de Port and Santiago. It was recuperated in 1971 and has signals on the whole path, with 112 hostels and 4 shelters.
It is the longest 750km route that unites Europe with the north of Spain: Aragon, Navarra, Rioja, Castilla, Leon y Galicia and ends at the medieval men “End of the world”.
The Camino de Santiago is commonly known as the French way or Royal way that comes from Somport (Aragon way) or Roncesvalles (Navarra way). Both ways unite in the hermitage of San Salvador in the Obanos town “where the paths make one”, and not in the Queens Bridge like it is said. Having said this, there are many other “Caminos”. You can learn abouit the different itineraries to enjoy el Camino de Santiago.
The Aragon way is 170km long and passes through the provinces of Huesca, Zaragoza and Navarra until its union with the Navarra way, forming this way the French way.
These routes are extraordinarily beautiful because of the scenery and the sensation of loneliness and liberty that comes with it. Also, the longs legs of the path lets you fully enjoy the pilgrimage.
It is full of history and romanticism. The only inconvenient is that are very little people that live is the towns that you will pass through, which makes you plan your walk correctly to make it more attractive.
Little paths like this one keeps their original feel.
The French way is the path that came a few years after the appearance of the Apostol’s Body and it was converted in the Xth century in the main pole that consolidated the Empire of Alfonso VI and Alfonso VII, which permitted the normalization of the cult brought by the Cluniac’s facing the Spanish Mozarabic church.
It is a big commercial route that founds and makes cities grow: Jaca, Pamplona, Logono, Burgos, Carrion de los Condes, Leon, Astorga, etc. Most importantly, is it a big spiritual path, popularized by the Calixtinus de Aymeric Picaud Cortex, that attracted millions of pilgrims during the Middle Ages, even though during the Renaissance, the French way suffered a large decline, until almost erasing itself in the midst of time.
The French way is composed of 31 legs that go from the first 22km of adaptation days to 38km that make up the last leg of the arrival to the city of Santiago de Compostela.
You can find more information about El Camino, its history and preparation in the following articles or on our El Camino the santiago guide.
More in-depth posts on El Camino
Getting ready for the Camino de Santiago
Getting ready for the Camino de Santiago? here you will find all the information you need on how to properly prepare for the trek to Santiago de Compostela
Types of hostels on the Camino de Santiago
Only on the French way, you will find around 300 hostels, which helps a lot when it comes to preparing your itinerary for El Camino. Places to stay overnight, the parochial hostels and the religious orders were the first to open their doors. This reality has evolved a lot today
Camino de Santiago: the Pilgrims’s Mass
The “pilgrims mass” is a service you will be able to enjoy in a lot of the towns that you will go through. This is a service held normally at 8 pm if there are mass officiants available. These Pilgrim masses are specially destined for pilgrims. The Pilgrim Mass also takes places in Santiago de Compostela upon your arrival at the end of El Camino
Camino de Santiago: The Primitivo and other “Caminos”
The Primitivo and other “Caminos”. Camino de Santiago popular “Caminos”. Discover some of the most popular routs you can take on the Camino de Santiago.
Camino de Santiago: Pilgrims certificate
La Compostela is the certificate that gets stamped during El Camino de Santiago and which certifies that you have at least made the last 100km by foot or the last 200km by bike or by horse. La Compostela, the “ pilgrims credentials”, gets stamped along the journey.
Camino de Santiago: the Camino Francés
The French Way of 775 kilometres unites towns of Saint Jean Pied de Port and Santiago. It was recuperated in 1971 and has signals on the whole path, with 112 hostels and 4 shelters. It is the most famous of all the different “Caminos”
How to travel the Camino de Santiago
It is very normal for a person who wants to do the Camino tour to think about whether to do it alone or accompanied; we would answer that, alone, you wouldn’t have to depend on anybody to make decisions, plus
Camino de Santiago: Types of Pilgrims
There are two different types of pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago; Christian pilgrims who are walking the path as a spiritual journey, and those who simply want to live the Saint James tour experience. In either case, there are clear differences in the motiviations of pilgrims and we can actually speak of a segmentation. We share it with you in this article so you can identify which is your style.