Bowmanfamily36
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Le Puy to SdC 2019, VF 2022 (Besancon to Rome)
Not sure where to post this ? Should it also be under the jakobweg?
My wife and I have recently completed a combined Jakobweg/ Via Gebennensis (VG) - starting at Lake Constance to Geneva and then onto Le Puy en Velay. Here are some things we believe others might find useful.
We started in mid Sept and finished at the end of October. So roughly 800 kms over 6 weeks. We are in our mid 60s and not the fastest walkers but this was slower than our two previous hikes (Le Puy to SdC in 2019) and Via Francigena from Besancon to Rome 2022.
The German part of Switzerland was tougher than we expected. We were also slow because the scenery is stunning and were constantly stopping for photos! But we were glad to take our time to appreciate it.
The VG didn’t have the same altitude differences but the path was very slow in parts with some murderous descents on loose, rocky paths or in mud after recent rains. The last kilometre into Chaumont took us 1 hour! Coming down into Yenne and then out on the long ascent the next day was brutal. If you don’t normally use walking poles then reconsider. During wet periods be prepared to walk through water. There was also about 3 days where the path invariably had these large round stones - impossible to walk fast on them and you will be cursing them by the end!
Guidebooks:
Are not needed in Switzerland - we used the Swiss Mobility app (free version - a friend used the paid version and found it less helpful than the free!) and mapy.cz app. It is impossible to get lost as the signage is so good!
The signage of the French VG also looked very shiny and new and we only went off track twice (got distracted!) . We didn’t have an app but used GPS Tracks.
Accommodation:
Switzerland is expensive but this can be mitigated somewhat by staying in the Pilger Herbeges , six of which are readily found, plus a lesser known one in Lausanne operated by a catholic parish. They were all truly excellent. Also we found monasteries and convents offered good value dinner, bed and breakfast. Food is also pricey so we cooked our own meals on most other nights.
Cost
Over 32 days we averaged (for the two of us in total) 92 chf per day, plus we bought our own food for breakfasts for 17 mornings and cooking own dinners for 23 nights.
For the VG you MUST get the “Yellow Guide”. We bought ours in Geneva for 18e, and for 1e per day we found it indispensable for finding accommodation.
France is much cheaper and it seemed the standard price was 50e per person for dinner , bed and breakfast (Demi-pension) . We stayed in Gites, Chambre d’hotes and another type (unique to the VG?) called Accueil Jacquaire ARA. These are people who host pilgrims in their private homes. They are members of the association, friends of the Way ofStJames, and offer bed and breakfast and usually dinner with them on a donation basis. We gave them 100e per night for the two of us as they were great , and only one we gave 50e as the offering was less. We highly recommend that you research them beforehand.
However from mid October it is quite difficult to find accommodation that is still open. We don’t speak French but a kind lady in the tourist office in Bourg-Argental must have spent more than an hour telephoning places for the next two nights ahead for us! The Accueil Jacquaires listed in the Yellow Guide were a god-send. This is the main reason for buying the guidebook. Our hosts each night usually telephoned for the next village.
Just about everywhere on the VG was CASH ONLY. Note there are no ATMs between Geneva and Frangy (first 45kms) so top up BEFORE you leave the suburbs. There are also no supermarkets until Frangy, and actually somewhat limited throughout the whole VG as compared to Switzerland.
Rest days: we really enjoyed these - the afternoon in StGallen to visit the Abbey and its stunning library (our credencial gave us a discount), Bethanien, afternoon in Interlaken to visit Lauterbrunnen, Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva (so much to see but we chose CERN, UN, and the Reformation Museum).
Summary: This walk didn’t have the same pilgrim feel as the other two as there wasn’t a sense of “arrival” and we met only a handful of other walkers in the 6 weeks (it was low season of course). However we were fortunate to walk the Swiss jakobweg section with another couple whom we met on the Francigena 2 years earlier. Overall the scenery was wonderful, the paths nearly always away from busy roads, the accommodation type was more varied and we enjoyed more personal contact with our hosts compared to previous trips and would recommend most of them. Message us if you want more details. There were some real gems which greatly added to our walking experience.
We would highly recommend this walk if you have already been to SdC and Rome and looking for something different. If possible don’t be in a hurry as there is so much to see.
My wife and I have recently completed a combined Jakobweg/ Via Gebennensis (VG) - starting at Lake Constance to Geneva and then onto Le Puy en Velay. Here are some things we believe others might find useful.
We started in mid Sept and finished at the end of October. So roughly 800 kms over 6 weeks. We are in our mid 60s and not the fastest walkers but this was slower than our two previous hikes (Le Puy to SdC in 2019) and Via Francigena from Besancon to Rome 2022.
The German part of Switzerland was tougher than we expected. We were also slow because the scenery is stunning and were constantly stopping for photos! But we were glad to take our time to appreciate it.
The VG didn’t have the same altitude differences but the path was very slow in parts with some murderous descents on loose, rocky paths or in mud after recent rains. The last kilometre into Chaumont took us 1 hour! Coming down into Yenne and then out on the long ascent the next day was brutal. If you don’t normally use walking poles then reconsider. During wet periods be prepared to walk through water. There was also about 3 days where the path invariably had these large round stones - impossible to walk fast on them and you will be cursing them by the end!
Guidebooks:
Are not needed in Switzerland - we used the Swiss Mobility app (free version - a friend used the paid version and found it less helpful than the free!) and mapy.cz app. It is impossible to get lost as the signage is so good!
The signage of the French VG also looked very shiny and new and we only went off track twice (got distracted!) . We didn’t have an app but used GPS Tracks.
Accommodation:
Switzerland is expensive but this can be mitigated somewhat by staying in the Pilger Herbeges , six of which are readily found, plus a lesser known one in Lausanne operated by a catholic parish. They were all truly excellent. Also we found monasteries and convents offered good value dinner, bed and breakfast. Food is also pricey so we cooked our own meals on most other nights.
Cost
Over 32 days we averaged (for the two of us in total) 92 chf per day, plus we bought our own food for breakfasts for 17 mornings and cooking own dinners for 23 nights.
For the VG you MUST get the “Yellow Guide”. We bought ours in Geneva for 18e, and for 1e per day we found it indispensable for finding accommodation.
France is much cheaper and it seemed the standard price was 50e per person for dinner , bed and breakfast (Demi-pension) . We stayed in Gites, Chambre d’hotes and another type (unique to the VG?) called Accueil Jacquaire ARA. These are people who host pilgrims in their private homes. They are members of the association, friends of the Way ofStJames, and offer bed and breakfast and usually dinner with them on a donation basis. We gave them 100e per night for the two of us as they were great , and only one we gave 50e as the offering was less. We highly recommend that you research them beforehand.
However from mid October it is quite difficult to find accommodation that is still open. We don’t speak French but a kind lady in the tourist office in Bourg-Argental must have spent more than an hour telephoning places for the next two nights ahead for us! The Accueil Jacquaires listed in the Yellow Guide were a god-send. This is the main reason for buying the guidebook. Our hosts each night usually telephoned for the next village.
Just about everywhere on the VG was CASH ONLY. Note there are no ATMs between Geneva and Frangy (first 45kms) so top up BEFORE you leave the suburbs. There are also no supermarkets until Frangy, and actually somewhat limited throughout the whole VG as compared to Switzerland.
Rest days: we really enjoyed these - the afternoon in StGallen to visit the Abbey and its stunning library (our credencial gave us a discount), Bethanien, afternoon in Interlaken to visit Lauterbrunnen, Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva (so much to see but we chose CERN, UN, and the Reformation Museum).
Summary: This walk didn’t have the same pilgrim feel as the other two as there wasn’t a sense of “arrival” and we met only a handful of other walkers in the 6 weeks (it was low season of course). However we were fortunate to walk the Swiss jakobweg section with another couple whom we met on the Francigena 2 years earlier. Overall the scenery was wonderful, the paths nearly always away from busy roads, the accommodation type was more varied and we enjoyed more personal contact with our hosts compared to previous trips and would recommend most of them. Message us if you want more details. There were some real gems which greatly added to our walking experience.
We would highly recommend this walk if you have already been to SdC and Rome and looking for something different. If possible don’t be in a hurry as there is so much to see.
