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If you start in Aire sur L’Adour, stay in the Chapelle des Ursulines. It is an incredible place to stay and one of my favorites on Le Chemin de St Jacques!Hi all- First time posting here, so thanks in advance for your participation in this thread!
I'm planning my first Camino and seeking advice around starting point. I am tossing up between starting at Lourdes vs Aire-sur-l'Adour (then onto SJJP>CF>Finisterre).
Has anyone done Lourdes>SJJP and also Aire-sur-l'Adour>SJJP and can provide some info on the differences? I'd love to get a sense of how picturesque each are, difference in crowds, difference in infrastructure, and overall "vibe". I have it in my mind to see sweet French villages, so not sure if either one is better for this.
Some more info:
Open to any thoughts and thanks again for your time!
- I've decided to start beyond SJJP to see ~1 week more of France. I'm also assuming that the later I start from SJJP, the more in the off-season I'll be (although this may be a fallacy). Either way, I'm happy to get a wee bit more of France.
- I have a one-way flight to CDG on August 18, 2024. I have budget and time to get myself to either Lourdes or Aire-sur-l'Adour.
- With a one-way ticket, I can be flexible with my timing but am allotting for ~2 months from wherever I start>Finisterre.
- I'm mid-thirties and relatively fit.
I'll take a miracle!If you start in Aire sur L’Adour, stay in the Chapelle des Ursulines. It is an incredible place to stay and one of my favorites on Le Chemin de St Jacques!
I found Lourdes fascinating and I’m not all that religious but I was there in the evening and felt very humbled by the procession of the Virgin Mary, and yes, there are those who come to maybe be cured of their ills but I find hope a good thing. There can always be a miracle, whatever your beliefs are.
Lourdes to SJPP will has less infrastructure but the terrain is similar. Nice villages and cuisine on both routes. Lourdes is special and a difference maker. Though I agree with Patriciafross that if you do Podiensis Chapelle des Ursulines is a special place to stay. This may help with your decision. Bon Chemin.Hi all- First time posting here, so thanks in advance for your participation in this thread!
I'm planning my first Camino and seeking advice around starting point. I am tossing up between starting at Lourdes vs Aire-sur-l'Adour (then onto SJJP>CF>Finisterre).
Has anyone done Lourdes>SJJP and also Aire-sur-l'Adour>SJJP and can provide some info on the differences? I'd love to get a sense of how picturesque each are, difference in crowds, difference in infrastructure, and overall "vibe". I have it in my mind to see sweet French villages, so not sure if either one is better for this.
Some more info:
Open to any thoughts and thanks again for your time!
- I've decided to start beyond SJJP to see ~1 week more of France. I'm also assuming that the later I start from SJJP, the more in the off-season I'll be (although this may be a fallacy). Either way, I'm happy to get a wee bit more of France.
- I have a one-way flight to CDG on August 18, 2024. I have budget and time to get myself to either Lourdes or Aire-sur-l'Adour.
- With a one-way ticket, I can be flexible with my timing but am allotting for ~2 months from wherever I start>Finisterre.
- I'm mid-thirties and relatively fit.
If you start in Aire sur L’Adour, stay in the Chapelle des Ursulines. It is an incredible place to stay and one of my favorites on Le Chemin de St Jacques!
I found Lourdes fascinating and I’m not all that religious but I was there in the evening and felt very humbled by the procession of the Virgin Mary, and yes, there are those who come to maybe be cured of their ills but I find hope a good thing. There can always be a miracle, whatever your beliefs are.
Hello here!Hi all- First time posting here, so thanks in advance for your participation in this thread!
I'm planning my first Camino and seeking advice around starting point. I am tossing up between starting at Lourdes vs Aire-sur-l'Adour (then onto SJJP>CF>Finisterre).
Has anyone done Lourdes>SJJP and also Aire-sur-l'Adour>SJJP and can provide some info on the differences? I'd love to get a sense of how picturesque each are, difference in crowds, difference in infrastructure, and overall "vibe". I have it in my mind to see sweet French villages, so not sure if either one is better for this.
Some more info:
Open to any thoughts and thanks again for your time!
- I've decided to start beyond SJJP to see ~1 week more of France. I'm also assuming that the later I start from SJJP, the more in the off-season I'll be (although this may be a fallacy). Either way, I'm happy to get a wee bit more of France.
- I have a one-way flight to CDG on August 18, 2024. I have budget and time to get myself to either Lourdes or Aire-sur-l'Adour.
- With a one-way ticket, I can be flexible with my timing but am allotting for ~2 months from wherever I start>Finisterre.
- I'm mid-thirties and relatively fit.
Wonderful - Thanks for the info and glad that you enjoyed the Lourdes route!Thread 'Best path from Lourdes to St. Jean Pied de Port' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...h-from-lourdes-to-st-jean-pied-de-port.82039/
This threadmay help your decision. There are lots of other posts found by searching using "voie de piemont".
I walked from Lourdes and enjoyed the route. I can't compare to the other since I didn't walk that route.
Haven't walked from Lourdes, but have visited. Really disliked it. People, presumably very ill, being pushed through the streets on gurneys, to a Disneyfied "grotto" which they will leave in exactly the same condition. Plastic Madonnas everywhere.
Aire sur l'Adour is an unremarkable French provincial town, with a river, a pleasant centre and some nice, cheap, restaurants. I found it a good place to start approaching SJpdp. Getting there is more difficult. There is an irregular bus service from Mont de Marsan, the end of a railway line from Bordeaux.
Amazing, thank you so much!Lourdes to SJPP will has less infrastructure but the terrain is similar. Nice villages and cuisine on both routes. Lourdes is special and a difference maker. Though I agree with Patriciafross that if you do Podiensis Chapelle des Ursulines is a special place to stay. This may help with your decision. Bon Chemin.
Starting The Camino in Lourdes Instead of St. Jean-Pied-de-Port
Yesterday was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. For anyone considering a Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage here are 9 reasons why it is a wonderful starting point. While a high majority of pilgrimsglobalpilgrim.net
Amazing insight, thank you so much! I haven't done a long walk like this before so it's a good call to start with the shorter intervals. Thanks!Hello here!
If you've never walked anything like a long walk before, start on Voie du Puy (Aire sur l'Adour). It has more acommodation options at shorter intervals, more services and less demanding terrain. A fanulous view of the Pyrenees. More companions too.
Voie du Piemont (Lourdes) has two pretty tough days with lots of steep climbs and descends with almost no water points. Services are scarce (usually one per day) and you need to plan in advance. Reservations a day ahead almost obligatory.
I think both are pretty equal in terms of pretty villages, with Piemont perhaps prettier scenery because I prefer hillier routes.
Hey @JabbaPapa - Thanks for the tips!Lourdes is I think the better starting point, though I would personally advise at a certain point after Oloron-Sainte-Marie, split off to DIY and follow little country roads to Navarrenx.
The variant from Oloron to SJPP after there is pleasant to walk, but the infrastructure is still quite lacking - - whereas Navarrenx to SJPP is fine.
I would use mapy.cz. It shows all of the major hiking trails without having to download tracks separately.How would you navigate from Oloron-St-Marie to Navarrenx? Can I just use Google Maps or Maps.me?
You should be aware that the first two weeks of September are perhaps the busiest for pilgrims starting from SJPdP, so you will probably be right in the thick of it.
- I've decided to start beyond SJJP to see ~1 week more of France. I'm also assuming that the later I start from SJJP, the more in the off-season I'll be (although this may be a fallacy). Either way, I'm happy to get a wee bit more of France.
- I have a one-way flight to CDG on August 18, 2024. I have budget and time to get myself to either Lourdes or Aire-sur-l'Adour.
Hey @caminka - Thanks for the insight! Being my first Camino and needing to still build up my walking endurance, I like your thinking. When I checked out Gronze, it looks like Aire sur l'Adour has two longer days right at the beginning (see table I made to compare the Lourdes & Aire's KMs below). I'm assuming what you mean is that I would break down the 30+ KM days into multiple days because there will be more accommodation in between these stopping points?Hello here!
If you've never walked anything like a long walk before, start on Voie du Puy (Aire sur l'Adour). It has more acommodation options at shorter intervals, more services and less demanding terrain. A fanulous view of the Pyrenees. More companions too.
Voie du Piemont (Lourdes) has two pretty tough days with lots of steep climbs and descends with almost no water points. Services are scarce (usually one per day) and you need to plan in advance. Reservations a day ahead almost obligatory.
I think both are pretty equal in terms of pretty villages, with Piemont perhaps prettier scenery because I prefer hillier routes.
Lourdes is a pilgrimage in its own right, and regardless various difficulties already discussed in the thread, Lourdes to Oloron-Sainte-Marie at least is a lovely walk, whether you follow the GR or mix'n'match trail and tarmac.Hey @JabbaPapa - Thanks for the tips!
- Does this mean that if I start at Lourdes and then DIY roads to Naverrenx, that I would then be joining with Le Puy?
- How would you navigate from Oloron-St-Marie to Navarrenx? Can I just use Google Maps or Maps.me?
- What is your reasoning that Lourdes is the better starting point? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Use Gronze as information tool only, don't stick to the suggested stages. I always view them as a practical method of cramming info into sensibly organised way, but far from obliging me to follow it. Sometimes it occurs that an accommodation at the end stage closes down and then it's left hanging.Hey @caminka - Thanks for the insight! Being my first Camino and needing to still build up my walking endurance, I like your thinking. When I checked out Gronze, it looks like Aire sur l'Adour has two longer days right at the beginning (see table I made to compare the Lourdes & Aire's KMs below). I'm assuming what you mean is that I would break down the 30+ KM days into multiple days because there will be more accommodation in between these stopping points?
I'm leaning towards Air Sur L'Adour simply because I may come across more companions. And although part of the reason that I wanted to start before SJPP is to avoid some crowds, I also realize that this will be my very first few days on the Camino so some company here and there could be reassuring!
What is the best navigation app for this route?
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There aren't.I've never tried to walk from Oloron to Navarrenx and I don't know if there are any scallop waymarkings. You will likely need to make your own route from local routes and local roads.
There may be if you cut from Hopital st Blaise? Here are links between various chemins in Bearn: https://www.compostelle.fr/etapes/etapes-pays-basque-bearn/voies-de-liaison-pays-basque-bearn/.There aren't.
But there are multiple variants, some easy cycling routes, but my own preferred route that way is on some small country roads with very few cars.
Easy, beautiful, pleasant.
I'd personally suggest a little bit before that, but truth is that it's a multiple choice question with no wrong answers - - just preferences to personal taste, including on this side of the little river or the other.There may be if you cut from Hopital st Blaise?
I have no problem blazing my route through anywhere, but for someone with little experience walking long distances, possibly little experience reading maps, unknown orientation skills, walking in a country with a (probably) foreign language... it is not easy.I'd personally suggest a little bit before that, but truth is that it's a multiple choice question with no wrong answers - - just preferences to personal taste, including on this side of the little river or the other.
The cycling paths on either side of it are at least waymarked, if you worry about such things.
True enough, unless you are willing to just dive into the deep end - - which of course not all would or should want to.I have no problem blazing my route through anywhere, but for someone with little experience walking long distances, possibly little experience reading maps, unknown orientation skills, walking in a country with a (probably) foreign language... it is not easy.
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