Vezelay to the mountains

[Ferenjinan]

Bonjour;

I'm a new member here, and planning on walking from Vezelay, France for my 70th birthday. This will be in September when hopefully the worst of the heat and crowds will be over.
I'm a little trepidatious as I think France will be more expensive than Spain ( I walked the Francés route 10 years ago and loved it. So much that I must go back before I croak!)
Being a retired librarian from Alaska, I'm both poor and strong. I've been living in India for the last 13 years and am accustomed to altitude, hardships and friendly people. My French is so-so, but a recent jaunt around Tunisia convinced me that it's good enough.
Anyone with stories, info, photos or advice about the Vezelay route- please toss 'em this way.
thanks, Ferenji Nan

 

[Purky]

@GunnarW has a nice post on the Via Lemovicensis till Limoges with a lot of photo's. For me it was a part of a longer camino from my hometown in Holland to Santiago, but in itself it is a very respectable camino of about 900 km. That is a lot of stories and photo's. I am more than happy to share, but I think I'll need more direct questions, otherwise I have to quit my dayjob.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I loved the route, but stages are fairly rigid, and fellow pilgrims are sparse. The cities are great, the rural areas are a bit in decline, with most of the bars, bakeries and butcher shops closed. You will need to stay in hotels in some places, but other places have a local pilgrim support group that will put you up in a private home. Expect a dinner with the hosts to be smiles and hand gestures if your French is poor; it still will be a memorable experience. You will need a guidebook. Miam Miam Dodo now has one, since the hold Chastain guide is no longer kept current (I don't think). An old guidebook will not be of too much use because the accommodations change quite a bit year to year, and even the route itself moves a bit, usually for construction projects. Waymarking can be poor. It is up to the local pelerin association to maintain it, and some places do a good job, others do not. There are some "rails to trails" sections that are dead level until you reach a crumbled bridge, at which time you have to climb down and up some fairly steep hillsides.

Bon Chemin!

 

[Purky]

And to hitch on to the post by @falcon269, I got by on 30 euros a day. I did carry a tent, so I could manage if accommodation was not available or above my budget. I think 40 euros a day could see you get by more comfortable and without the need to bring a tent.
Crowds will not be a problem, as Falcon already stated. I walked it late April and May, and five pilgrims in a pilgrim refuge was a full house, and I experienced that only twice. Do plan ahead at least a day though, to make sure you have a bed, especially during weekends and on mondays.
The old Monique Chassain guide is sort of resurrected by the Dutch Association of Saint James, who used it as the foundation for their Vezelay guides (linked in your Birthday Camino post). They update it once a year, and the 2018 version is currently for sale or downloadable as PDF.
With all this said, I really do recommend walking the Vezelay route. It is stunning in places (the part before and after Gargilesse springs to mind...) and the people of the local pelerin associations are amongst the finest I have ever met. Friendly, gracious and very helpful.

 

[Harington]

Bonjour;

I'm a new member here, and planning on walking from Vezelay, France for my 70th birthday. This will be in September when hopefully the worst of the heat and crowds will be over.
I'm a little trepidatious as I think France will be more expensive than Spain ( I walked the Francés route 10 years ago and loved it. So much that I must go back before I croak!)
Being a retired librarian from Alaska, I'm both poor and strong. I've been living in India for the last 13 years and am accustomed to altitude, hardships and friendly people. My French is so-so, but a recent jaunt around Tunisia convinced me that it's good enough.
Anyone with stories, info, photos or advice about the Vezelay route- please toss 'em this way.
thanks, Ferenji Nan

I walked the route in 2011, and some years later spent two weeks as hospitalière at the Gîte Pèlerin in Sorges (just before Périgueux). This was in September and we were full every night. It was also very hot! So be prepared that September is not necessarily uncrowded - though all things are relative. It is still less so than the le Puy route, and much much less crowded than the CF.

 

[Anton Bruno]

Bonjour;

I'm a new member here, and planning on walking from Vezelay, France for my 70th birthday. This will be in September when hopefully the worst of the heat and crowds will be over.
I'm a little trepidatious as I think France will be more expensive than Spain ( I walked the Francés route 10 years ago and loved it. So much that I must go back before I croak!)
Being a retired librarian from Alaska, I'm both poor and strong. I've been living in India for the last 13 years and am accustomed to altitude, hardships and friendly people. My French is so-so, but a recent jaunt around Tunisia convinced me that it's good enough.
Anyone with stories, info, photos or advice about the Vezelay route- please toss 'em this way.
thanks, Ferenji Nan

Hello, I plan to start walking in Vezelay the last week of September...a week and a half w a friend and afterward by myself until St. Jean or longer. I am 71 going to 72 and have walked from Le Puy to Pamplona three years ago. France is beautiful. Yes a bit more expensive but accommodations better and food delicious. My French is reasonable. I have also walked the CF, Norte, Portuguese Central and Portuguese de la Costa, Ingles, and Finisterre-Muxia four times. I am a slow walker. Canadian. Grey beard. Maybe we will meet and toast to St. Jacque.
Bruno

 

[hollinhead]

Bonjour;

I'm a new member here, and planning on walking from Vezelay, France for my 70th birthday. This will be in September when hopefully the worst of the heat and crowds will be over.
I'm a little trepidatious as I think France will be more expensive than Spain ( I walked the Francés route 10 years ago and loved it. So much that I must go back before I croak!)
Being a retired librarian from Alaska, I'm both poor and strong. I've been living in India for the last 13 years and am accustomed to altitude, hardships and friendly people. My French is so-so, but a recent jaunt around Tunisia convinced me that it's good enough.
Anyone with stories, info, photos or advice about the Vezelay route- please toss 'em this way.
thanks, Ferenji Nan

Bonjour indeed. I walked this route last June. It was my first go at the Camino and I chose vezelay as my start point because I love the place. I wrote about my experience and posted it here on this forum, if you can find it. It’s a personal response rather than a travelogue. From a practical aspect I stayed mostly in hostels, the majority of which were excellent. I stayed a couple of times with a family or in a family house. Only once did I have to resort to a b&b, and one that was used to taking in pilgrims. I took a month and covered 600 km, ending this stage in perigueux. The waymarking is pretty good, and I only deviated a couple of times, and then probably due to fatigue or carelessness. It is a very solitary route - apart from at the hostel in vezelay l met no one for my first 10 days, and after that only a handful. So it’s a good walk for solitary reflection. Some beautiful countryside too. Yes - everything closes in France between 1200 and 1400 so plan your breaks accordingly. If your French is so so you’ll get by just fine. People like it that you make the effort and will be helpful. Apart from terrible blisters and severe heat (heat wave in June last year) I found nothing but good things along the way.

 

[hollinhead]

I forgot to say - either Miam miam do do guide or the Dutch Pilgrims association guide will do the job nicely. The latter can be downloaded in English.