Starting the Camino from the end of Le Puy/ Arles

ellispraggon · Jan 10, 2024

Hello everyone! This will be my first camino and I'm doing it solo. I'd love to start the camino along the Arles/ Le Puy route 7 to 10 days before arriving at st Jean Pied de Port for the Frances. Wondering if anyone has done this? Does anyone have advice for linking the end of the Arles segment (from somewhere near Toulouse) to the traditional Camino de Frances? Also any advice on how many euros people were spending weekly/ monthly would be great. I'm hoping to walk from near Toulouse to Finisterre taking no more than 2 months. All the best wishes to all past, present and future pilgrims

SongKhonGair · Jan 10, 2024

Hi,

Another first-timer here, starting from Toulouse. I am on my phone, please excuse the vague terms I may use!

Toulouse is not the end of the Arles route, it goes all the way to Spain via the Somport pass. From there you can reach the Frances via another path, joining / meeting the CF near Pamplona.

There are routes all over France - gronze.com lists 'roads thru France'. You will see at Oloron Sainte-Marie two routes cross, the Arles and the Piedmont. From there you can follow one to SJPP and the start of the CF, or stay on the Arles as already mentioned.

Gronze is a good planning tool - stages and distances.

My wife and I are in our early 60s and will take it very easy, especially to begin with. Our Toulouse - Lourdes - SJPP will take around 25 days, including ample rest days and some short days due to accommodation options. Most people seem to take 30 - 35 days from there to SdC.

So your two months sounds doable. Maybe do a rough schedule, see how far back from Finisterre you should start. There's a train to Lourdes; starting there would give you your 7 - 10 days in France before reaching SJPP.

ellispraggon · Jan 10, 2024

SongKhonGair said:
Hi,

Another first-timer here, starting from Toulouse. I am on my phone, please excuse the vague terms I may use!

Toulouse is not the end of the Arles route, it goes all the way to Spain via the Somport pass. From there you can reach the Frances via another path, joining / meeting the CF near Pamplona.

There are routes all over France - gronze.com lists 'roads thru France'. You will see at Oloron Sainte-Marie two routes cross, the Arles and the Piedmont. From there you can follow one to SJPP and the start of the CF, or stay on the Arles as already mentioned.

Gronze is a good planning tool - stages and distances.

My wife and I are in our early 60s and will take it very easy, especially to begin with. Our Toulouse - Lourdes - SJPP will take around 25 days, including ample rest days and some short days due to accommodation options. Most people seem to take 30 - 35 days from there to SdC.

So your two months sounds doable. Maybe do a rough schedule, see how far back from Finisterre you should start. There's a train to Lourdes; starting there would give you your 7 - 10 days in France before reaching SJPP.

Hi there,

thanks so much for your thorough reply I will definitely check out Gronze for more route info. Lourdes could be a good place to start from. I'm wondering about the end of Arles and the different route through Pamplona - do you know if its harder terrain? less crowded? quite different scenery? Working backwards from Finisterre is also a good idea. I love that all sort of people from all over the world take this pilgrimage I'll be 27 when I do the walk and can't wait to meet other pilgrims as well as solo time

jouffroy47 · Jan 10, 2024

ellispraggon said:
Hello everyone! This will be my first camino and I'm doing it solo. I'd love to start the camino along the Arles/ Le Puy route 7 to 10 days before arriving at st Jean Pied de Port for the Frances. Wondering if anyone has done this? Does anyone have advice for linking the end of the Arles segment (from somewhere near Toulouse) to the traditional Camino de Frances? Also any advice on how many euros people were spending weekly/ monthly would be great. I'm hoping to walk from near Toulouse to Finisterre taking no more than 2 months. All the best wishes to all past, present and future pilgrims

If you start the Arles route from Toulouse, or Oloron Ste. Marie, or somewhere else along it, and continue along the route over the Somport Pass into Spain you will meet up with the traditional Camino Frances in Puente La Reina, where you can then continue on to Santiago or Finisterre. How long it takes will depend on how many kilometres you walk a day, and how much it costs will depend on what kind of accommodations you stay in. The Le Puy route does not cross into Spain the same way.

lovingkindness · Jan 10, 2024

Bonjour @ellispraggon

...when following a trail some of us love to carry paper maps and guide books. I certainly do! Here are a few sketch maps to look at and links to browse.

Happy planning.
Lovingkindness

Moissac to Saint-Jean-Pied-Port, on the GR 65: 12-day walk
Topoguide: Moissac - Roncevaux, GR 65

Maubourget (after Auch, GR 653) to Lourdes on the GR 101: 3-day walk
Topoguide: Toulouse - Lourdes - Jaca (Somport Pass)

Lourdes to SJPP (Voie de Piémont, GR 78): 8-day walk
Topoguide: Carcassonne - Lourdes - Saint Jean Pied Port - Roncevaux

Helpful links
*ACIR (Agence Friançaise des chemins Compostelle)
The ACIR office is in Toulouse. Before setting off on the Voie de Piémont I visited the ACIR office. I was given up-to-date information on the trail and also a pdf list of current accommodation.

Address: 4 rue Clémence Isaure (Métro esquirol), FR 31000 TOULOUSE
Tél : +33 (0)5 62 27 00 05

*FFRP topoguides (Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre à pied) : guidebooks for long distance trails in France - with maps and written commentary, services and accommodation.

*Miam Miam Dodo: accommodation and services along trails.

*Association WEBCOMPOSTELLA: amonst other things, a little booklet with places of prayer along the trails and lists of accommodation with christian folk (donativo) : Guide des Haltes . Here is an example for Voie d'Arles 2019 pdf . During Covid times Acceuils Pèlerins wasn't operating. I think it is now....

* GR-Infos: Grande Randonée trails in France. An interactive map with profiles also. For example, GR 653 Via Tolosana

MichaelC · Jan 10, 2024

I've mapped out so many routes while dreaming of my next camino! From my own notes, based mostly on Gronze. I see a few options:

Toulouse to Oloron St. Marie to St. Jean: 14 days. (Voie d'Arles & La Voie du Piémont Pyrenéen) )

Oloron to Puente La Reina, nine days. Meet up with Camino Frances. Then maybe 25 days to Santiago. (Camino Aragonés). I'm looking at doing this for my next Camino, though I'm not sure. It is more solitary from what I hear. Maybe not the best choice for your first. I'll defer to others who've wlaked this.

Aire-sur-l'Adour to St. Jean, 6 to 7 days (Chemin de Puy)

Bolded because I've done this, and it would also be my recommendation based on the time you have. There's a train station, so Aire is easy to get to. There's a lot of pilgrim infrastructure in the towns you'll stop in. You see the wall of the Pyrenees in the distance, slowly getting closer each day. The food is so excellent, and you'll eat at a communal table prepared by your hosts each night.. You'll walk through Basque Country. And you'll be in better shape when it's time to climb that mountain!

Vacajoe · Jan 10, 2024

The Aragon is lovely, but less social and supported than the Frances. There are multiple posts on it here if you do a search. As a first Camino, I found it wonderful, but I want expecting the second breakfasts and cafe culture one finds on the CF so I wasn’t disappointed.

ellispraggon · Jan 11, 2024

MichaelC said:
I've mapped out so many routes while dreaming of my next camino! From my own notes, based mostly on Gronze. I see a few options:

Toulouse to Oloron St. Marie to St. Jean: 14 days. (Voie d'Arles & La Voie du Piémont Pyrenéen) )

Oloron to Puente La Reina, nine days. Meet up with Camino Frances. Then maybe 25 days to Santiago. (Camino Aragonés). I'm looking at doing this for my next Camino, though I'm not sure. It is more solitary from what I hear. Maybe not the best choice for your first. I'll defer to others who've wlaked this.

Aire-sur-l'Adour to St. Jean, 6 to 7 days (Chemin de Puy)

Bolded because I've done this, and it would also be my recommendation based on the time you have. There's a train station, so Aire is easy to get to. There's a lot of pilgrim infrastructure in the towns you'll stop in. You see the wall of the Pyrenees in the distance, slowly getting closer each day. The food is so excellent, and you'll eat at a communal table prepared by your hosts each night.. You'll walk through Basque Country. And you'll be in better shape when it's time to climb that mountain!

Thank you!! Starting in Aire and joining to the CF is a great idea ))

RobertBoynton · Jan 13, 2024

ellispraggon said:
Hello everyone! This will be my first camino and I'm doing it solo. I'd love to start the camino along the Arles/ Le Puy route 7 to 10 days before arriving at st Jean Pied de Port for the Frances. Wondering if anyone has done this? Does anyone have advice for linking the end of the Arles segment (from somewhere near Toulouse) to the traditional Camino de Frances? Also any advice on how many euros people were spending weekly/ monthly would be great. I'm hoping to walk from near Toulouse to Finisterre taking no more than 2 months. All the best wishes to all past, present and future pilgrims

I would suggest you start in Lourdes and head to SJPP…wonderful scenery, food and people, that should take you 7 - 10 days.

Beeman · Jan 15, 2024

ellispraggon said:
Hi there,

thanks so much for your thorough reply I will definitely check out Gronze for more route info. Lourdes could be a good place to start from. I'm wondering about the end of Arles and the different route through Pamplona - do you know if its harder terrain? less crowded? quite different scenery? Working backwards from Finisterre is also a good idea. I love that all sort of people from all over the world take this pilgrimage I'll be 27 when I do the walk and can't wait to meet other pilgrims as well as solo time

I walked from Lescar to Orolon Sainte-Marie, last fall and walked the Aragones to Logrono. The Arles in France is very pretty along the Aspe River. It becomes drier in Spain but was very nice walking to Puenta LA Reina. I walked in September and usually did not see anyone all day,until the albergue where there were 6 to 12 people. I enjoyed this camino very much and would highly recommend it. It is a much better way over the mountains,and a person can walk the old train bed to Pamploma if wanted.

Leaderene · Feb 5, 2024

MichaelC said:
I've mapped out so many routes while dreaming of my next camino! From my own notes, based mostly on Gronze. I see a few options:

Toulouse to Oloron St. Marie to St. Jean: 14 days. (Voie d'Arles & La Voie du Piémont Pyrenéen) )

Oloron to Puente La Reina, nine days. Meet up with Camino Frances. Then maybe 25 days to Santiago. (Camino Aragonés). I'm looking at doing this for my next Camino, though I'm not sure. It is more solitary from what I hear. Maybe not the best choice for your first. I'll defer to others who've wlaked this.

Aire-sur-l'Adour to St. Jean, 6 to 7 days (Chemin de Puy)

Bolded because I've done this, and it would also be my recommendation based on the time you have. There's a train station, so Aire is easy to get to. There's a lot of pilgrim infrastructure in the towns you'll stop in. You see the wall of the Pyrenees in the distance, slowly getting closer each day. The food is so excellent, and you'll eat at a communal table prepared by your hosts each night.. You'll walk through Basque Country. And you'll be in better shape when it's time to climb that mountain!

I echo Aire-sur-l'Adour to St Jean, great route and you walk into SJPP

stevenbl · Wednesday at 2:27 PM

End-August through mid-September, I walked between Toulouse and Santander. From Toulouse I walked along the very nice Via Garonne passing several beautiful French villages - not least ending in...

Starting the Camino from the end of Le Puy/ Arles

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