The map you can see covers what is traditionally the complete route of the French Way from Roncesvallesalthough it is true that you can start on the other side of the border with France by walking the 24 kms that separate St Jean Pied de Port from this small town in Navarre.

How can I interpret this map of the French Way?

This map breaks down the almost 800 kms of the French Route. Divided into 33 stages, it is a route that crosses a large part of the Spanish geography. Along the route you are going to cross 4 Autonomous Communities and 7 Provinces. Visit Navarra, La Rioja, Castilla y León (provinces of Burgos, Palencia and León) and Galicia (provinces of Lugo and A Coruña).

In this adventure you will find a total of 141 towns with servicesSo don’t be afraid! It is a road with a lot of infrastructure, and on average you will pass through a town with services. every 5.6 km.

To take into account!

Perhaps the sections in which you should prepare yourself the most for addressing the lack of services are those that separate the populations of Carrión de Los Condes -Terradillo de los Templarios (up to Calzadilla de la Cueza) , de Estella – Los Arcos (from Villamayor de Monjardín) and of Belorado – San Juan de Ortega (from Villafranca Montes de Oca).

In case you want to start from St Jean Pied du Port you must take into account that in the section from Orisson to Roncesvalles it will also be difficult to find services.

Saint Jean Pied de Port

But… From where do I start the Camino?

The most common places to start this this Way are: St Jean Pied de Portbeyond the border with France;Roncesvalles in the heart of the Pyrenees; Logroño in the heart of La Rioja; or
Burgos
. If you have just enough time it is usual to start from Sarria, South of Lugo and from where you can meet the minimum requirements on foot.. You can also start from
O Cebreiro
to cross Galicia from east to west, or if you prefer to enjoy the entrance to this green community you can start fromLeón.

Important! Keep in mind that if you are going to do it by bike, Ponferrada will be your starting point to meet the minimum requirements and be able to receive the Compostela.

Ponferrada

In spite of the fact that there are no big ascents in the French Way, in the height difference map you can see how the usual ascents and descents from Roncesvalles make that the final accumulated final accumulated height is around 3000 m. Don’t worry, this route is taken by approximately 70% of pilgrims, so don’t worry! You can handle it.

Without a doubt, if this is your first experience as a pilgrim, keep this map handy because the French Way is your Way