Rome to Nice Via Francigena backwards

[GavinSkull]

Hi, I would like some advice from people who have walked from Rome to France. I would like to know how the infrastructure, hostels, and general social and walking experience compares to Spain. Cost of hostels and food is my main concern, as I believe Italy is more expensive than Spain and also proably the coastal regions of France. I would like to see if I can walk to Roncevaux and then decide what other routes I would like to do from there. Last year I walked the Del Norte and '22 the Francais.

I discovered this is the end part of the Via Francigena and I would be walking backwards to the normal route. The route backwards would be the same from Rome to Massia then I would follow the coast to Genoa then Nice.

Has anyone walked this way?

 

[jungleboy]

I haven't walked it but I had an idea to do it once so I did a bit of preliminary research. A possible route could be:

1. Via Francigena (backwards): Rome - Portonetti (21 stages, 495km)
2. Sentiero Liguria: Portonetti - Ventimiglia: 30 stages, 675km)

Ventimiglia is the Italian border town close to Nice.

 

[High Endeavours]

Having already walked the Via Francigena to Rome in 2022 and from Arles to Santiago in 2018. I looked into part of the route you are considering in an effort to complete the crossing from Rome to Santiago in 2023. However after a good look at the route along the Italian and French coast I learned that it very often involves cement and paved roads through some very touristy areas. I don’t mind the road walking, but decided to walk the Way of St Francis instead, also a decent walk though more challenging than the coastal route I was considering. I’ve walked distance in France, Spain and Italy many times and always find France more expensive than the more southerly routes. Sorry, I can’t advise on pilgrim accommodation availability, but I would guess that it’s not what you are use to from your two walks in Spain. Not enough foot traffic to find dedicated pilgrim accommodation. The tourism along much of this stretch is pretty busy, I think more so than what I saw along the Norte, meaning that you will likely have to book well ahead as you go. Hope you figure it out and that you post a bit of what you learn here on the forum for others. Enjoy!

 

[High Endeavours]

I should mention that I met a Spanish fellow in a pilgrim accommodation north of Rome who was walking the Rome-Santiago route and he expected to take about 3.5 months. A friend and I have assessed the route a number of times and think that if one is capable of a high daily average with very few rest days that it could be done end to end in very close to 90 days which is a consideration for us as we live in Canada restricting us to 90 days in the EU. I also want to mention that there is a Facebook Group page on the Rome-Santiago route that you could join with more resources. See, I was pretty serious about walking this!