Camino Francés hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Camino Francés (French Way) is the most popular route of the Camino de Santiago, the medieval pilgrimage to the tomb of the apostle St James in Santiago de Compostela. The classic walk starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a small Basque town in France at the foot of the Pyrenees, and crosses northern Spain from east to west for about 765 km: over the mountains into Navarre, through the vineyards of La Rioja, across the high plateau of the Meseta in Castile and León, over the Montes de León and the Bierzo, and into the green hills of Galicia. It is waymarked all the way with yellow arrows and scallop shells. The route is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in 2025 more than half a million pilgrims received the Compostela certificate, a new record. Most people walk it in 30 to 35 days and sleep in albergues, pilgrim hostels with bunk beds, in every town and many villages.

The route

This guide follows the main route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into the 33 classic stages used by most guidebooks, about 23.3 km each. The first day is the hardest: the Route Napoléon climbs about 1,400 m to the Col de Lepoeder (1,430 m) and drops steeply through beech woods to Roncesvalles. After Pamplona the Camino crosses the Alto del Perdón to Puente la Reina, Estella and Logroño, then follows La Rioja's vineyards to Nájera and Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The Montes de Oca lead to Burgos and its Gothic cathedral. From Burgos to Astorga you walk ten days across the Meseta, a flat, open plateau of wheat fields and adobe villages with little shade, through Castrojeriz, Frómista, Carrión de los Condes, Sahagún and León. After Astorga the path climbs to Foncebadón and the Cruz de Ferro, at about 1,500 m the highest point of the whole Camino, then descends to Ponferrada and the vineyards of the Bierzo. The long climb to O Cebreiro (1,300 m) brings you into Galicia, where the last 150 km wind through oak woods, farms and small villages via Triacastela, Sarria, Portomarín, Palas de Rei and Arzúa to the cathedral square in Santiago. The total climb is about 10,000 m.

The line uses the standard options: the Route Napoléon on day one, the Real Camino via Bercianos, the road-side path via Villadangos and San Martín del Camino after León, and the San Xil path from Triacastela to Sarria. The Valcarlos, Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, Villar de Mazarife and Samos options are good alternatives.

When to walk the Camino Francés

You can walk all year, but the best months are April to June and September to October. July and August are hot (often over 30 °C on the Meseta) and crowded, especially from Sarria, where many pilgrims start the last 100 km. From November to March many private albergues close, days are short, and snow is possible in the Pyrenees, on the Montes de León and at O Cebreiro. From 1 November to 31 March the Lepoeder pass on the Route Napoléon is closed to pilgrims and you must take the Valcarlos route. 2027 is a Holy Year (Xacobeo), so expect even more walkers that year.

How hard is it?

The Camino Francés is not technical: it follows farm tracks, forest paths, quiet lanes and sometimes the shoulder of a road. The challenge is the distance, day after day. Stages in this guide are 18 to 29 km and most walkers cover them in 5 to 8 hours. The hardest days are the Pyrenees crossing, the descent from the Cruz de Ferro to Molinaseca and Ponferrada, and the climb to O Cebreiro. Blisters, tendinitis and knee pain stop more pilgrims than the terrain does, so start with shorter days, keep your pack under about 10% of your body weight and take a rest day every week or so in a city such as Pamplona, Burgos or León.

Permits, Credencial and booking

No permit is needed. Get a Credencial (pilgrim passport) at the pilgrim office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or from your Camino association, and collect stamps at albergues, churches and bars. It gives you access to pilgrim albergues. To receive the Compostela in Santiago you must walk at least the last 100 km and get at least two stamps a day on that part, one of them where you start and one where you finish; the Pilgrim's Reception Office is on Rúa das Carretas and opens 9:00 to 19:00 every day except 25 December and 1 January.

Public albergues (municipal, parish and the Xunta de Galicia network) cost about 5 to 16 EUR or a donation, take no bookings, allow one night and ask you to leave by 8:00. Private albergues (about 12 to 25 EUR) and hostales, pensions and hotels can be booked, which is wise in May, June, September and October, and in Galicia from June to September. Bring a sleeping bag or liner, earplugs and flip-flops; check your bunk for bed bugs. Baggage-transfer services, including Correos' Paq Mochila and private companies, carry your pack between stages for a few euros.

Getting there and away

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port has a train link to Bayonne, which has TGV trains to Paris and is close to Biarritz airport. In summer, shuttle buses and taxis also run from Biarritz and Pamplona. Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, Ponferrada and Sarria have train and bus stations if you want to walk only part of the route. Santiago has an airport about 10 km east of the city (the Camino passes beside it), trains to Madrid and the rest of Spain, and buses to Porto and Madrid.

Money and phone signal

Spain and France use the euro. Cards are accepted in towns and many albergues, but carry cash for donations, small bars and village albergues. There are ATMs in all the larger towns, but none in many villages (for example Roncesvalles, Hornillos, Terradillos, Foncebadón and O Cebreiro). Mobile coverage is good on most of the route, with weak spots in the Pyrenees, on the Meseta between villages and in the Montes de León. EU roaming rules apply.

What to pack

A light pack (6 to 9 kg), broken-in trail shoes, two sets of quick-drying clothes, a warm layer and a waterproof jacket all year (Galicia is wet), a sun hat and sunscreen for the Meseta, a 1.5 to 2 l water capacity, a sleeping bag liner, a small first-aid and blister kit, a headlamp and a phone with offline maps. Walking poles help on the long descents.

Safety

In an emergency call 112, which works in Spain and France and is answered in English. On the Pyrenees stage the weather changes fast: do not cross the Lepoeder pass in fog, snow or strong wind, and use the Valcarlos route when it is closed. On the Meseta start early in summer, carry water and rest in the shade at midday. Walk facing the traffic on road sections and use a light in the dark early mornings. Each stage page lists the nearest hospital with an emergency department and the health centres on the way.