Way of St. James (route descriptions)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Way of St. James extends from all corners of Europe, and even North Africa, on its way to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. The local authorities try to restore many of the ancient routes, even those used in a limited period, in the interest of tourism. Here follows an overview of the main routes of the modern-day pilgrimage.
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[edit] The Ways of St. James in Spain and Portugal
The following routes to Santiago can be traced on the Iberian peninsula.
[edit] The French Way
- For more details on this topic, see The French Way.
The French Way (Spanish: Camino Francés) is the most popular of the routes. It runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side before making its way through to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and León.
[edit] The Aragonese Way
- For more details on this topic, see The Aragonese Way.
The Aragonese Way (Spanish: Camino Aragonés) comes down from the Somport pass in the Pyrenees and makes its way down through the old kingdom of Aragon. It follows the River Aragón passing through towns such as Jaca. It then crosses into the province of Navarre to Puente La Reina where it joins the Camino Francés.
[edit] The Northern Way
The Northern Way (Spanish: Camino del Norte) runs from France at Irún and follows the northern coastline of Spain to Galicia where it heads inland towards Santiago joining the Camino Francés at Arzua. This route follows the old Roman road, the Via Agrippa, for some of its way and is part of the Coastal Route (Spanish: Ruta de la Costa).
[edit] The English Way
The English Way (Spanish: Camino Inglés) was traditionally for pilgrims who travelled to Spain by sea and disembarked in Ferrol or A Coruña. These pilgrims then made their way to Santiago overland. It is so called because most of these pilgrims were English though were from all points in northern Europe.
[edit] The Portuguese Way
The Portuguese Way (Spanish: Camino Portugués) begins at Porto in north-west Portugal. Pilgrims travel north crossing the Lima and Minho rivers before entering Spain and then on to Padron before arriving at Santiago. It is the second most important way, after the french one.
[edit] The Camino Mozárabe and the Via de La Plata
Known in English as the Silver Route (sometimes as 'Way').
The Camino Mozárabe route from Granada meets the Via de La Plata (an earlier Roman causeway joining Italica and Asturica Augusta) route in Seville from where it goes north to Zamora. It is much less frequented than the French Way or even the Northern Way. After Zamora there are two options. The first route heads west and reaches Santiago via Ourense. The other route continues north to Astorga from where pilgrims can continue west along the Camino Francés to Santiago.
[edit] The Ways of St. James in France
The four main starting points in France are from the cities of Tours, Vézelay, Le Puy-en-Velay and Arles. They are all routes of the Grande Randonnée network.
[edit] The Tours route
The Tours route (Latin: Via Turonensis) used to be the pilgrimage of choice for inhabitants of the Low Countries and those of western France. Due to industrialization in the area, the more easterly ways are preferred nowadays.
The official start is Tours, although the paths Paris-Orleans-Tours or Paris-Chartres-Tours are sometimes considered integrated part of this route. From Tours, the route passes through Poitiers and Bordeaux, the forest at Les Landes before connecting to the Camino Francés in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
[edit] The Vézelay route
The Vézelay route passes through the central massif and continues to Le Puy-en-Velay. It is part of GR 65.
[edit] The Le Puy route
The Le Puy route (Latin: Via Podiensis, French: route du Puy) is travelled by pilgrims starting in or passing through Le Puy-en-Velay. It passes through towns such as Espalion and Cahors before coming to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. It is part of GR 65.
Also from Le Puy is GR 70 which Robert Louis Stevenson travelled along for 12 days with Modestine his donkey as described in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.
[edit] The Arles Way
The route from Italy, the Via Tolosana, becomes the Arles Way (French: La voie d'Arles or Chemin d'Arles) in southern France, named after that principal cathedral city. It goes through Montpellier, Toulouse and Oloron-Sainte-Marie before reaching the Spanish border at Col du Somport in the high Pyrenees. There it connects to the Aragonese Way, and as such is the only French route not to connect to the Camino Francés at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
[edit] The Way of St. James in Belgium and the Netherlands
The French long distance route, the GR 65, extends from Namur in Belgium to Vézelay in France.
A Dutch long distance path, the Pilgrimspath, leads from Amsterdam to Visé in Belgium (about 100 km from Namur).
Other ancient routes can be traced through Ghent and Amiens to connect to the Via Turonensis in Paris.
