From Figeac - Variants Decision - ?

[Florida Bill]

I am planning walking the Célé Variant, but does anybody have an opinion that may persuay me otherwise?

 

[TMcA]

Avoid Saint-Cirq-Lapopie on weekends. Same for Rocamadour. Highly recommended otherwise.

 

[mspath]

Florida Bill,
Since you are planning on walking in April please note that both Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and Easter Monday, April 10, 2023, are public holidays in France. Most offices will be closed and restaurants will be very busy. Book ahead.

 

[Florida Bill]

Florida Bill,
Since you are planning on walking in April please note that both Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and Easter Monday, April 10, 2023, are public holidays in France. Most offices will be closed and restaurants will be very busy. Book ahead.

Thanks! I arrive in Le Puy April 14th.

 

[Florida Bill]

Thanks! I arrive in Le Puy April 14th.

But speaking of booking, I sent out emails to my first ten gites and stages more than a week ago for reservations and only got two responses. I’ve held up on resending the emails thinking maybe it’s too early or too far advance.

 

[Lexicos]

I wouldn't panic too much about accommodation FB, replies or no. I walked it from Le Puy last September with several fellow pilgrims and we had no trouble finding beds along the full route. Book as you go along a day or two ahead and you'll be fine. You'll be fine even if you don't book. That's what we found anyway.

I should add that if you book all your beds in advance it'll take away your flexibility. Sometimes you want that, especially if time and days away is not a problem.

 

[Florida Bill]

I wouldn't panic too much about accommodation FB, replies or no. I walked it from Le Puy last September with several fellow pilgrims and we had no trouble finding beds along the full route. Book as you go along a day or two ahead and you'll be fine. You'll be fine even if you don't book. That's what we found anyway.

I should add that if you book all your beds in advance it'll take away your flexibility. Sometimes you want that, especially if time and days away is not a problem.

My concern is with the holidays the French have in May

 

[Florida Bill]

My concern is with the holidays the French have in May

 

[Kanga]

I am planning walking the Célé Variant, but does anybody have an opinion that may persuay me otherwise?

The Célé was very solitary. We did not meet a single other person walking it. If you don't get lonely, it is beautiful and interesting. In contrast, while still only occasionally coming across others walking, there was usually someone in the gites taking the main route. And the fabulous restaurant at Bach, which you miss if you do the Célé.

I loved both routes.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

The Célé was very solitary. We did not meet a single other person walking it. If you don't get lonely, it is beautiful and interesting. In contrast, while still only occasionally coming across others walking, there was usually someone in the gites taking the main route. And the fabulous restaurant at Bach, which you miss if you do the Célé.

I loved both routes.

Thanks. This confirms my plan to walk the central route to Moissac. There will be two nights in Figeac since we will take the early morning bus to Rocamadeur and spend a day there. From Moissac, we will bus back to Cahors, spend a night in that lovely city, then walk the Cele Variant from there back to Figeac. We train from there to Toulouse for some celebratory cassoulet! This trip will be in late September. Our May camino walk will be in Navarre. Looking forward to a very good camino year.

 

[Duayne Meyer]

Loved the Cele. I walked post-Easter in April, pre-Covid. Gite owners were very helpful as they helped me book the next night’s lodging. It was solitary when I walked as well. As with much of the LePuy, it’s important to carry provisions for the day as the villages are small and it can be difficult to find a market or restaurant open at times.
Would walk it again in a heartbeat!
Bon Chemin!

 

[Anthony Rocco]

Loved the Cele. I walked post-Easter in April, pre-Covid. Gite owners were very helpful as they helped me book the next night’s lodging. It was solitary when I walked as well. As with much of the LePuy, it’s important to carry provisions for the day as the villages are small and it can be difficult to find a market or restaurant open at times.
Would walk it again in a heartbeat!
Bon Chemin!

Very encouraging...and useful advice. We learned from our first camino that calories matter.

We had put off the Portugues, which we walked last September. We were truly unhappy with the first two days of the central, so we zigzagged back and forth between coastal and central. It turned out to be a very wise decision. We had put off walking from Le Puy and are truly excited to what we know will be lovely scenery, so much history with cuisine that is much, much more than calories (which, I'm sorry to say, describes most of the meals in Spain or Portugal).

This leaves Norte. I would welcome your candid comments on that route. We have heard more negative remarks on that route than any other up north. None in my camino group have walked the entire route. They all left it at certain points for a variety of reasons: weather, terrain, accommodations, bed bugs, a different feel from other caminos...

 

[Duayne Meyer]

Very encouraging...and useful advice. We learned from our first camino that calories matter.

We had put off the Portugues, which we walked last September. We were truly unhappy with the first two days of the central, so we zigzagged back and forth between coastal and central. It turned out to be a very wise decision. We had put off walking from Le Puy and are truly excited to what we know will be lovely scenery, so much history with cuisine that is much, much more than calories (which, I'm sorry to say, describes most of the meals in Spain or Portugal).

This leaves Norte. I would welcome your candid comments on that route. We have heard more negative remarks on that route than any other up north. None in my camino group have walked the entire route. They all left it at certain points for a variety of reasons: weather, terrain, accommodations, bed bugs, a different feel from other caminos...

Anthony,
I walked the Portuguese Central last May with three friends for whom this was their first Camino. I think they were somewhat disappointed, particularly with the amount of hard surface walking. It didn't help that, though it was early May, it was terribly hot. We walked the Spiritual Variant, which made up for some of the sense of disappointment. I wish I would have heeded my hunch and done what you describe with moving back and forth to and from the coast. C'est la vie.

Before I get to the Norte, two things. The first is probably obvious to you but wasn't to me. That is, the Cele Valley variant mostly takes you on trails above the valley. Nice vistas and views but some real up and down is involved. Second, I did not think I had time to go out to Rocamadour, so I skipped it. Turns out I would have had the time thanks to a French train strike. If you haven't looked into it - which I imagine you have - that's worth a think. There's a train that takes you back and forth (from Figeac, or thereabouts as I understand the Figeac station is currently closed for repairs) so that's an option before you start on the Cele.

Okay, as for the Norte. I think one could argue it features the most beautiful natural scenery of any in the camino constellation. I live in the midwestern U.S., so I don't get to enjoy the sort of rugged coastline one sees many days walking the Norte, so that may have something to do with my impression. I walked from Irun to Villaviciosa and then to Oviedo and onto the Primitivo. So I cannot speak to the route from Gijon along the coast and down to Santiago.

I can say those first couple weeks on the Norte include a lot of hard surface walking. Also the variants I took were legitimately challenging for this 60-something year old; but worth it. You make the climb to get the views! The Norte is the only camino I've been on so far that I ended up with blisters. I took as many alternative paths as I could, which I found here on the forum. These alternative routes take you onto beaches and other natural paths, though I am sure they also lengthened the day's walk most of the time. Totally worth it. I found the "vibe" on the Norte much different than any of the other caminos, mostly because there is different mix as the places to overnight are often in tourist areas. I don't think I noticed as many religious/pilgrimage sites along the way and, those I did see, were not open. That isn't really too much of a surprise. On the other hand San Sebastian, Bilbao, Gernika, Llanes, Oviedo and more are worth spending time in and there are plenty of cultural and historical sites to see.

I found the Norte more expensive (though probably not as expensive as the LePuy), but that is also because I walked the Norte just after Covid restrictions were lifted and many of the albergues weren't open yet. I loved the scenery and met some truly lovely people, as one does on the camino, but I didn't find the Norte - speaking only for my personal experience - to be as much of a pilgrimage as a walking retreat. That's just me and, again, may reflect my own head at the time I walked. Like the PC, I found the Norte had a lot of hard surface walking.

I have friends who walked the back half of the Norte and have commented on how much less crowed, and less touristy, it is than the first half. I think it lacks some of the breathtaking scenery the first half has and Gijon is a large industrial city, so not too much fun to get through.

Not incuding Frances, as that surely must be my "favorite" (formative) Camino, I would put the Norte as a close second to the LePuy. Each of the caminos are so different I find it difficult to compare them. And of course, who knows how much one's internal disposition at the time, and chance encounters one has with other pilgrims/people along the route, influences one's view of any particular Camino? I do commend to you the Norte, or at least those first couple of weeks, as that's the part with which I am familiar.

The good Lord willing, I am off in April to walk the Arles/Aragones from Toulouse to Puente la Reina. Hard to shake the Camino "bug."
Wishing you a Bon Chemin!

 

[Anthony Rocco]

Man

Anthony,
I walked the Portuguese Central last May with three friends for whom this was their first Camino. I think they were somewhat disappointed, particularly with the amount of hard surface walking. It didn't help that, though it was early May, it was terribly hot. We walked the Spiritual Variant, which made up for some of the sense of disappointment. I wish I would have heeded my hunch and done what you describe with moving back and forth to and from the coast. C'est la vie.

Before I get to the Norte, two things. The first is probably obvious to you but wasn't to me. That is, the Cele Valley variant mostly takes you on trails above the valley. Nice vistas and views but some real up and down is involved. Second, I did not think I had time to go out to Rocamadour, so I skipped it. Turns out I would have had the time thanks to a French train strike. If you haven't looked into it - which I imagine you have - that's worth a think. There's a train that takes you back and forth (from Figeac, or thereabouts as I understand the Figeac station is currently closed for repairs) so that's an option before you start on the Cele.

Okay, as for the Norte. I think one could argue it features the most beautiful natural scenery of any in the camino constellation. I live in the midwestern U.S., so I don't get to enjoy the sort of rugged coastline one sees many days walking the Norte, so that may have something to do with my impression. I walked from Irun to Villaviciosa and then to Oviedo and onto the Primitivo. So I cannot speak to the route from Gijon along the coast and down to Santiago.

I can say those first couple weeks on the Norte include a lot of hard surface walking. Also the variants I took were legitimately challenging for this 60-something year old; but worth it. You make the climb to get the views! The Norte is the only camino I've been on so far that I ended up with blisters. I took as many alternative paths as I could, which I found here on the forum. These alternative routes take you onto beaches and other natural paths, though I am sure they also lengthened the day's walk most of the time. Totally worth it. I found the "vibe" on the Norte much different than any of the other caminos, mostly because there is different mix as the places to overnight are often in tourist areas. I don't think I noticed as many religious/pilgrimage sites along the way and, those I did see, were not open. That isn't really too much of a surprise. On the other hand San Sebastian, Bilbao, Gernika, Llanes, Oviedo and more are worth spending time in and there are plenty of cultural and historical sites to see.

I found the Norte more expensive (though probably not as expensive as the LePuy), but that is also because I walked the Norte just after Covid restrictions were lifted and many of the albergues weren't open yet. I loved the scenery and met some truly lovely people, as one does on the camino, but I didn't find the Norte - speaking only for my personal experience - to be as much of a pilgrimage as a walking retreat. That's just me and, again, may reflect my own head at the time I walked. Like the PC, I found the Norte had a lot of hard surface walking.

I have friends who walked the back half of the Norte and have commented on how much less crowed, and less touristy, it is than the first half. I think it lacks some of the breathtaking scenery the first half has and Gijon is a large industrial city, so not too much fun to get through.

Not incuding Frances, as that surely must be my "favorite" (formative) Camino, I would put the Norte as a close second to the LePuy. Each of the caminos are so different I find it difficult to compare them. And of course, who knows how much one's internal disposition at the time, and chance encounters one has with other pilgrims/people along the route, influences one's view of any particular Camino? I do commend to you the Norte, or at least those first couple of weeks, as that's the part with which I am familiar.

The good Lord willing, I am off in April to walk the Arles/Aragones from Toulouse to Puente la Reina. Hard to shake the Camino "bug."
Wishing you a Bon Chemin!

Many thanks. We will start looking at perhaps walking the Norte in 2024. Back in 2016, which seems like eons ago, we started in Toulouse. At the cathedral, we went in to get a credential. A priest who was so excited to welcome pilgrims took us into the sacristy and after a long homily in French (of which we understood very little) gave us our credentials, wonderful stamps and a pilgrim's blessing. This was the start of quite an adventurous and long camino that was truly the most memorable. We connected to the Aragones, which is wonderful, then in Logrono to the Camino Ignaziano, which takes on along the Ebro River through mile after mile of vineyards and orchards in La Rioja. I could go on an on, but our single most memorable experience anywhere was in Montserrat. After the tourists clear out, there is vespers, the famous boys choir and a a special pilgrim blessing behind the altar to the Black Madonna. When walks outside afterward, the night sky is so brilliant with stars and one feels like you can reach out and tough them. I am a third generation midwesterner, so like you, the mountains and the sea are truly special to me.

 

[Kanga]

I’ve walked the Le Puy twice, from Le Puy once to SJPDP and once was to Burgos. I’ve also walked the Norte from Irun to SDC, and separately walked the Primitivo.

I’d say the fitness required is about the same for the Le Puy and the Norte. Both are beautiful in completely different ways.

The Le Puy of course is inland, much more rural and solitary, with almost no road walking or hard surfaces. Unless you ignore the carefully chosen Le Sportiff GR trail and walk the short flat direct walk along a road (which I did once). Gites and chambre d’hotes often provide half board (dinner bed and breakfast) Which I always took when available because services are poor between larger towns. The food, when you find it, is invariably excellent. Booking ahead by a day or two is necessary. Most walkers are French and often I would be the only English speaker in a gite. Many people comment on the beauty of the first section but it is all quite stunningly and the villages and towns along the way (apart from Decazeville) are uniformly lovely. Generally I find walking in France more expensive but I do often upscale my accommodation to use the wonderful chambre d’hotes.

The Norte is a walk, mostly along the coast up and over headlands, from summer playground beach holiday village to village, with a couple of larger towns and stretches inland into mountains. Generally stunning sea views and walking between the sea and the Picos. Some delightful ports and fishing villages. A lot of hard paved surfaces and some road walking, there are some options to avoid these but quite a lot remains. Plenty of infrastructure although not so much geared to walkers (as there is on the Le Puy). Food is great - much more choice than on the Francés. After the turn off to the Primitivo at Villavisiosa we found a generosity of spirit and hospitality that is sometimes missing on heavily walked routes. The industrial landscape around Gijon was my partner’s favorite bit!! I loved the walk south through Mondoñedo.

The turn off to the Primitivo is an option, if you want to avoid Gijon, but I am glad we continued along the coast as the last part of the Norte gave some of our best memories and great surprises. Lots of interaction with the locals.

 

[Purple Backpack]

We walked the Cele variant to Moissac Fall 2022 and really enjoyed it. There was far more history and interesting things to see than expected. Gites we loved were Les Anons du Cele in Espagnac St Eulalia, Le Picarel in Marcilhac sur Cele and Maison La Popie in gorgeous St Cirq La Popie. The Peche Merle caves were interesting and the cliff houses built into the stone were fascinating. We’re finishing out the last third of the GR65 soon but I’d happily go back and start again in Le Puy with both variants.There are beautiful villages, friendly locals and great food.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

We walked the Cele variant to Moissac Fall 2022 and really enjoyed it. There was far more history and interesting things to see than expected. Gites we loved were Les Anons du Cele in Espagnac St Eulalia, Le Picarel in Marcilhac sur Cele and Maison La Popie in gorgeous St Cirq La Popie. The Peche Merle caves were interesting and the cliff houses built into the stone were fascinating. We’re finishing out the last third of the GR65 soon but I’d happily go back and start again in Le Puy with both variants.There are beautiful villages, friendly locals and great food.

Many thanks...especially for the comments about where to stay.

 

[Paul-CH]

Hi Anthony, here on this website https://www.chemins-compostelle.com/en/itin you will find a list but in french. Or try this one https://www.tourism-figeac.com/walk-cele-valley

 

[Anthony Rocco]

Hi Anthony, here on this website https://www.chemins-compostelle.com/en/itin you will find a list but in french. Or try this one https://www.tourism-figeac.com/walk-cele-valley

Many thanks! I would also like to hear about your experience on the Sanabres. We have two camino walks already lined up for this year...looking at Sanabres for 2024.

 

[Paul-CH]

Many thanks! I would also like to hear about your experience on the Sanabres. We have two camino walks already lined up for this year...looking at Sanabres for 2024.

Hi Anthony, as I always do, I will write my "german" blog, https://elcaminohike.wordpress.com/ with a lot of pictures, on more or less daily basis. Most people use the Crome browser to translate it to their language, but now even Safari is able to do that properly.