The Via Podiensis: starting the Camino in France

Most pilgrims begin their Camino when they cross into Spain. Some begin it 750 kilometres earlier, in the volcanic highlands of central France.

The Via Podiensis — known in France as the GR65 or the Chemin de Saint-Jacques — starts in Le Puy-en-Velay, a medieval town built around an extraordinary cathedral perched on a volcanic rock above the town. It has been a pilgrimage starting point since the 10th century, when the Bishop of Le Puy made the journey to Santiago and returned to encourage others. The route that developed became one of the four great medieval pilgrimage roads through France, and it remains the most walked of them today.

From Le Puy, the route crosses the Massif Central, drops through the Lot valley past Figeac and Cahors — with its famous fortified bridge — continues through Moissac, Condom, and the vineyards of Gascony, before arriving at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port after roughly 750km. From there, the Camino Francés begins.

The full journey from Le Puy to Santiago covers around 1,500km and takes six to eight weeks. Many pilgrims walk it in sections over several years, returning to pick up where they left off. The French infrastructure for this route — gites, waymarking, pilgrim communities — is well-developed and has its own distinct culture, separate from but connected to the Spanish Camino.

What pilgrims who walk from Le Puy describe: arriving in Saint-Jean already transformed. The Pyrenees crossing that feels so significant to pilgrims starting there is, for them, just one more day on a journey already six weeks old. They walk into Santiago carrying the whole of France behind them.