The evening before: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Most pilgrims arrive in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port stressed, buy too much food, sleep badly, and leave at 5am before they've really arrived. Don't do that.

Saint-Jean deserves an evening. This small Basque town in the French Pyrenees is where the Camino Francés officially begins — and it has been for over a thousand years. The cobbled Rue de la Citadelle, the medieval gate, the river running below the old walls: it's worth slowing down for, even when your mind is already on the trail ahead.

The first thing to do when you arrive: find the Pilgrim Welcome Office on Rue de la Citadelle. Volunteers there — many of them former pilgrims — will register you, issue your credencial if you don't have one, and explain the two route options for day one: the Route Napoléon over the Pyrenees (spectacular but demanding, and closed in bad winter weather) or the lower Valcarlos route through the valley. If you're arriving in October or later, ask specifically about conditions on the mountain pass before committing.

Get your pack weighed here too if you can. The volunteers will tell you honestly if you're carrying too much. Most people are. Sending a bag of gear home from Saint-Jean is far better than carrying it to Pamplona and sending it from there.

Walk the old town before dinner. Eat somewhere with a view of the river. Talk to other pilgrims at your albergue — you'll likely see some of them for the next week.

Set your alarm for 6am, not 5. The Pyrenees will still be there.

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