Walking from Le Puy to SJPP.

[JeffP]

I will be starting my '25 Camino in Le Puy. When can I start and feel comfortable that gites will be open and plentiful? This is one concern that I have. I usually start around the 1st of April when on the Francis. Is late February too early?

Also, I plan to take three rest days. What towns would you suggest I stay in during my zero days?

Thanks! Buen Camino!!!

 

[walkingagain]

Hi Jeff,
Here are the best resources I've found for the Camino Le Puy:
Discovering the Via Podiensis (pdf)
The Way of Le Puy: All the Stuff You Wanna Know or Oughta Wanna Know Before Starting Out (pdf)
Camino - Via Podiensis - GR 65 - Chemin du Puy-en-Velay (Facebook Group)
Grozne - lists the gites in each town including what month each opens and closes.
Buen Camino!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@JeffP, I have yet to walk the route, still just in the planning stages. I recall seeing a number of posts that point out that many Gites only opened late March/ beginning of April. You may therefore struggle to find accommodation.

In addition to which, even in early April some people reported lots of rain and some snow on the Aubrac. I think should you want to walk earlier you would need to be prepared for walking in snow.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I started the Via Podiensis out of Le Puy on June 1st with two friends. In our planning we had seen photos of pilgrims who struggled in slippy slushy snow just a week earlier, as the area is part of the Aubrac region.
We did not encounter snow, only chilly weather the first half, but hard to predict weather as we all know.

 

[jouffroy47]

I will be starting my '25 Camino in Le Puy. When can I start and feel comfortable that gites will be open and plentiful? This is one concern that I have. I usually start around the 1st of April when on the Francis. Is late February too early?

Also, I plan to take three rest days. What towns would you suggest I stay in during my zero days?

Thanks! Buen Camino!!!

Most seasonal gites only open in early April. Late February is fine, but not optimum as it is definitely off-season. Expect snow in the Aubrac, so you may need to take the road in places, to walk further at times, and stay in more expensive places, and may find that you may need to bring food with you depending on the distances you walk.

 

[CorinneH]

I will be starting my '25 Camino in Le Puy. When can I start and feel comfortable that gites will be open and plentiful? This is one concern that I have. I usually start around the 1st of April when on the Francis. Is late February too early?

Also, I plan to take three rest days. What towns would you suggest I stay in during my zero days?

Thanks! Buen Camino!!!

Hi Jeff. We walked from Le-Puy in May-June twice, this year and last, so I can't comment on your planned start in April. Suffice it to say that the Aubrac was wet and cold, both years, in late May, but we loved it anyway. I can, however, make some suggestions regarding places in which to take days off. I would definitely recommend stopping in Figeac and Cahors. They are the only sizeable towns you will pass through. Figeac has a few things to see, and from Cahors you can do day trips to wineries etc. Depending on which variant you are following, you might also consider taking an extra day off to visit the Pech Merle caves or Rocamadour. We took the Cele Variant last year, and we loved it. The walking was fabulous and the caves were really interesting. This year, we followed the main Camino route and intended to take the train or a bus from Figeac to Rocamadour for the day. Unfortunately, we would have needed a second day off in Figeac to manage it, as transport wasn't available on that day of the week. If there is a next time, I would consider taking two days off in Figeac to enable that day trip to Rocamadour, and then I would walk the Cele variant and take time off to visit the caves. I would probably not take another day off in Cahors. There weren't really any other places big enough to require a day off. We generally had sufficient time to explore each day, after arriving at our destination. We had some trouble with finding accommodation at regular intervals, so we had a few 40km days and a few short 10-15km days. Our short days did not happen to take us into places with things to see, so they were dreadful, but if we ever get to walk the Le Puy route again, there are places, like Moissac and Condom, that I would actually plan to walk a shorter distance into so we could arrive early, with more time to explore. We wouldn't have wanted a full day off in each, but half days would have been nice.

 

[Wicked]

I have walked the GR65 from LE Puy to Santiago twice-both times beginning in mid May. No snow, very little rain, a wee bit chilly for the first week or so but so beautiful! Great food, wine and wonderful hosts! And, I do not speak any French with the exception of Hello, thank you, etc. There is a fellow, Rob Forrester, who puts out a guide and is a donativo if you decide to download it. It lists everything available and the dates the gites open and close etc. Here is the cite https://www.caminowayoflife.com/via-podiensis-le-puy-guide. One of my favorite walks! Check it out!

 

[JeffP]

I have walked the GR65 from LE Puy to Santiago twice-both times beginning in mid May. No snow, very little rain, a wee bit chilly for the first week or so but so beautiful! Great food, wine and wonderful hosts! And, I do not speak any French with the exception of Hello, thank you, etc. There is a fellow, Rob Forrester, who puts out a guide and is a donativo if you decide to download it. It lists everything available and the dates the gites open and close etc. Here is the cite https://www.caminowayoflife.com/via-podiensis-le-puy-guide. One of my favorite walks! Check it out!

Awesome! Thanks!! What cities are best for zero days?

 

[JeffP]

Hi Jeff. We walked from Le-Puy in May-June twice, this year and last, so I can't comment on your planned start in April. Suffice it to say that the Aubrac was wet and cold, both years, in late May, but we loved it anyway. I can, however, make some suggestions regarding places in which to take days off. I would definitely recommend stopping in Figeac and Cahors. They are the only sizeable towns you will pass through. Figeac has a few things to see, and from Cahors you can do day trips to wineries etc. Depending on which variant you are following, you might also consider taking an extra day off to visit the Pech Merle caves or Rocamadour. We took the Cele Variant last year, and we loved it. The walking was fabulous and the caves were really interesting. This year, we followed the main Camino route and intended to take the train or a bus from Figeac to Rocamadour for the day. Unfortunately, we would have needed a second day off in Figeac to manage it, as transport wasn't available on that day of the week. If there is a next time, I would consider taking two days off in Figeac to enable that day trip to Rocamadour, and then I would walk the Cele variant and take time off to visit the caves. I would probably not take another day off in Cahors. There weren't really any other places big enough to require a day off. We generally had sufficient time to explore each day, after arriving at our destination. We had some trouble with finding accommodation at regular intervals, so we had a few 40km days and a few short 10-15km days. Our short days did not happen to take us into places with things to see, so they were dreadful, but if we ever get to walk the Le Puy route again, there are places, like Moissac and Condom, that I would actually plan to walk a shorter distance into so we could arrive early, with more time to explore. We wouldn't have wanted a full day off in each, but half days would have been nice.

Thanks for the great information!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Awesome! Thanks!! What cities are best for zero days?

Of course two nights in Le Puy was great!
I chose Figeac for a rest day because I wanted to take a train to Rocamadour for a side trip.
I also chose Moissac, which is where I took the train back to Paris.
It was hard to pull myself away to leave after one night in the fairyland village of Conques. Staying in the monastery was very special, and the village is absolutely amazing.