Camino Francés
from St Jean-Pied-du-Port
to Santiago de Compostela

The Camino Francés is the main spine route of the Camino de Santiago. It stretches of nearly 800 kilometres (500 miles) from St. Jean-Pied-du-Port near Biarritz in France to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. It has had large numbers of pilgrims travelling to the tomb of St. James (Santiago in Spanish) for at least 800 years. It has had a major influence on European history since it was the protection of pilgrims which inspired European rulers to support the small northern Spanish kingdoms in their efforts to push back the Muslim invaders of Spain.

The Camino Francés can be divided into 3 main sections: the rolling hills of the Basque country, the hot, flat, empty central section of the "meseta", and the green hills of Galicia. The route includes the major cities of Pamplona, Burgos and León, the large towns of Logroño in the Rioja, Astorga, and Ponferrada, and hosts of interesting smaller places along the way. It is very varied scenically.

A typical journey on the Camino Francés would take a month allowing for one or two rest days. The path itself is usually fairly flat and wide, with a good surface, as we will see from the many pictures in this section. There are plenty of refugios (simple mixed hostels with basic facilities costing a few euros a night operated on a first come- first served basis) where you can meet other pilgrims, as well as a range of more expensive accommodation.

We have selected two photographs from each stage of the Camino. Taken together, they will give you a quick overview of most of the facets of the Camino. Each of these stages has many more pictures - just click on the numbered links at the head of the page.