The Camino Francés (or French Way) is the most popular of all the Camino routes to Santiago de Compostela. The popular starting point of this pilgrimage is the town of St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees and it finishes about 780 km later in Santiago de Compostela. Most people take 4-5 weeks to walk or about two weeks to cycle this route.
My first experience of the Camino Francés was in 2011 when I walked from Sarria to Santiago. It was an eye-opener for me as I hadn’t been to Spain before nor had I experienced the Spanish culture. Walking 100 kilometres was a huge achievement also at that time as I had no preparation done nor had I the same appreciation of what the Camino was before I left for Spain. You can read about my first experience in Spain in my conversation with Maria over on SpanishforCamino.com.
Ever since I have been going back year on year and walking for a few weeks. You can read how I got on by clicking any of the following links:
Camino Francés
- Here, you can read about my walk from Astorga to Sarria in May 2012.
- In 2013, I met a huge Camino family and walked from Logrono to Leon
- In 2014, I walked from St Jean Pied de Port to Belorado in the La Rioja region
- The following year, my Camino took me from Belorado to Molinaseca.
- In 2017, I walked the Meseta tableau from Burgos to Astorga.
- Later in 2018, I walked from Puente la Reina to Burgos.
- In September 2021, I returned to the Camino Francés to walk from Burgos to El Burgo Ranero
Camino Portugués
- In 2018, I took my first steps along the Camino Portuguese Coastal Route when I walked from A Guarda to Santiago with my brother
- In September 2019, I walked from Lisbon to Agueda. It is a beautiful Camino.
Other Caminos
- I walked to “the end of the world” in September 2016 completing 90 km. from Santiago.
- In May 2019, I completed the Celtic Camino when my brother and I walked from A Coruna to Finisterre.
Who knows what the future holds when it is safe to travel. At the time of writing (March 2021), I am unable to venture beyond 5 kilometres past my home. However, when it is safe to do so, I would like to walk from Porto along the Coastal Camino and walk from Madrid to Sahagun. However, walking from St. Jean Pied de Port remains in the back of my mind and I would love to walk this stretch one more time in the not too distant future.
Buen Camino!
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