Via Podiensis (GR 65) hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Via Podiensis, or Chemin du Puy, is the most walked of the four historic pilgrim routes through France to Santiago de Compostela. Today it is waymarked as the GR 65, a Grande Randonnée footpath of the French hiking federation (FFRandonnée), with red-and-white marks and, in places, scallop shells. It runs for about 750 km from the cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay in the Massif Central to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the foot of the Pyrenees, across the Margeride, the Aubrac plateau, the Lot valley, the limestone causses of Quercy, the hills of Gascony and the Béarn and the Basque Country. Pilgrims and hikers sleep in gîtes d'étape (walkers' hostels), pilgrim gîtes, chambres d'hôtes and small hotels in the villages along the way, and most walk it from east to west in four to five weeks.

The route

The walk begins after the pilgrims' mass in Le Puy cathedral and climbs onto the volcanic plateau of the Velay, then drops into the Allier gorge at Monistrol before Saugues. The Margeride is high, quiet farmland with granite villages and pine woods, past the lonely farm of Domaine du Sauvage. After Aumont-Aubrac comes the Aubrac, an open plateau of pastures, drystone walls and huge skies around 1,200 to 1,370 m, through Nasbinals and Aubrac village, before a long descent into the Lot valley at Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac, Saint-Côme-d'Olt, Espalion and Estaing. The path then crosses wooded hills to Conques, one of the great Romanesque abbey villages of France.

From Conques the route follows the Lot past Decazeville to Figeac, then crosses the dry causses of Quercy, with oak scrub, stone huts and long straight tracks, to Cajarc and Cahors and its fortified Pont Valentré. The Quercy Blanc leads to the hill towns of Lauzerte and Moissac, famous for its abbey cloister. After the Garonne at Auvillar come the vineyards and sunflower fields of the Gers: Lectoure, La Romieu, Condom, Montréal-du-Gers and Éauze, in Armagnac country. The last week runs through Aire-sur-l'Adour, the Béarn hills to Navarrenx, and the Basque Country past the Gibraltar stone near Ostabat, where three of the French routes meet, to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the start of the Camino Francés across the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles and Santiago; Outest also has a full guide to the Camino Francés. Two well-known variants are not on the map here: the Célé valley route (GR 651), about 120 km from Figeac to Cahors via Marcilhac and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie instead of about 90 km via Cajarc, and a long detour north to Rocamadour.

This guide follows the main GR 65 as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 31 stages of about 24.3 km, the stage towns most pilgrims use. The highest point is about 1,370 m on the Aubrac, the lowest about 55 m at the Garonne, and the profile adds up to about 12,000 m of climbing.

Highlights

• Le Puy-en-Velay: the cathedral, the pilgrims' blessing and the chapel on its volcanic needle
• The Aubrac: a wide, treeless plateau of cattle pastures and spring flowers
• Conques: the abbey church of Sainte-Foy and its treasury in a steep medieval village
• Figeac and Cahors: a medieval town and the Pont Valentré over the Lot
• Moissac: the Romanesque cloister and abbey portal
• The Gers: La Romieu, Lectoure and the Armagnac villages
• Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: the walled town and the gateway to the Pyrenees

When to walk the Via Podiensis

Most gîtes open from about April to October, and that is the walking season. May, June and September are the best and busiest months. On the Aubrac snow can fall into May and again from late October, and fog makes the plateau hard to cross. July and August are hot in Quercy and the Gers, with little shade. From November to March many villages have no open bed or café, and the hunting season (from September to the end of February) brings drives in the woods; wear something bright.

How many days do you need?

The 31 stages here take about a month, from 13 to 34 km a day; with rest days most people need 32 to 35 days. Many walk it in sections over several years: Le Puy to Conques (9 days), Conques to Cahors or Moissac, and Moissac to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The longest days are Varaire to Cahors, Auvillar to Lectoure and Aire-sur-l'Adour to Arzacq, all over 30 km.

Difficulty

The GR 65 is a long walk but not a technical one: field paths, forest tracks, old lanes and short stretches of road. The first nine stages to Conques are the hardest, with climbs of 400 to 650 m a day and steep, stony descents into the Lot valley. Quercy and the Gers are gentler but long, hot and exposed. Carry water: on the causses villages can be 10 km apart.

Credential and booking

No permit is needed. Buy a credential in Le Puy, after the pilgrims' mass in the cathedral (7:00 every day from April to October, 7:30 on weekdays in winter) or at the cathedral shop, and collect stamps in gîtes, churches and town halls.

Gîtes d'étape cost about €15 to €25 a bed. Most offer half board (demi-pension: dinner, bed and breakfast) for about €37 to €55, and many have a guest kitchen. Chambres d'hôtes cost about €70 to €100 for a double room with breakfast. Unlike in Spain, most gîtes take and expect bookings: call a day or two ahead, and earlier from April to June and in September, when the first stages from Le Puy are full. Several baggage-transfer services carry bags from gîte to gîte.

Getting there and away

Le Puy-en-Velay has trains from Saint-Étienne and Lyon, with connections from Paris; Lyon-Saint-Exupéry is the nearest major airport. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port has trains to Bayonne, with connections to Biarritz airport, Bordeaux and Paris. Many towns on the way, such as Figeac, Cahors, Moissac and Navarrenx, have bus or train links if you walk only part of the route.

Money and phone signal

France uses the euro. Cards work in towns, but many small gîtes and chambres d'hôtes want cash or a French cheque, so carry cash for two or three days; there are cash machines in the larger towns. Mobile signal is good in most villages and weak in places on the Aubrac and the Margeride.

What to pack

A waterproof jacket and warm layers for the Aubrac, sun hat and sun cream, comfortable walking shoes, a sleeping-bag liner (many gîtes provide blankets but not always sheets), a 2-litre water bottle, earplugs and a first-aid and blister kit.

Safety

In an emergency call 112 from any phone, 15 for a medical emergency or 18 for the fire and rescue service. Do not cross the Aubrac in thick fog or snow: wait or take the road. Check the Météo-France forecast, watch for heat in summer and for ticks in long grass, and tell your next gîte if you will not arrive.