Walking the Puy En Velay –

[ImaginaryBeing]

Hello all!
I am a new, soon to be, pilgrim and want to do part of the Le Puy en velay. I am looking to walk roughly 10-14 days with a rest day (or maybe 2?). I would be super greateful for some advice for my planned route.

I can walk 20km per day I think max…I am not super fit, but healthy, I am just afraid of so many consecutive days walking and how my feet and body will handle that, so I would say around 15-20km per day would be good to start.

So I would like to arrive in Lectoure somewhere in the middle of my walk. So I won't be starting at Le Puy.

- Where would be a good starting point? Also regarding how easy it is to reach the specific town by train and where it is also just nice to start.
I think it would be OK to finish in Condom, as I suppose the train station there must have a connection to get back to Paris. Or is there a nicer city to finish?

- If I don't start at Le Puy, where can I get the credencials pass? (And do I need it on this route for the Accomodations?)

- I don't have a guidebook, and I am hesitant to buy one and think I will just download the map here and I heard there is an online Version of the Miam Miam Dodo – thoughts on that? Do I really need a book? I walked 3 days earlier this year and I thought the signs are plenty and worst case I can use google maps (?) or is there a better app for hiking trails in France.

I think thats it for now! Oh and I plan to walk in September, so in like 10/14 days.

Thank you all so much for any advice

 

[Bill905]

Hello and welcome @ImaginaryBeing,

Here is some info for you

- If you have not pre-booked gites, then you had better get busy. Fortunately you are alone, so you may be lucky. See these threads also: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/voie-du-puy-en-velay-le-puy-en-velay-sjpp.50/
- To end in Lectour after 14 days, including rest days, a potential start place could be Livignac-le-Haut. I have no info on trains to Livignac. A nice city to spend an extra day in would be Moissac. Good train service in Moissac.
- A credential is not needed for staying at gites. If you want to collect stamps, make your own pamphlet.
- A guide book is not needed. Perhaps the Wise Pilgrim app would be useful for staying on the trail. I found it useful.
- I hope you can speak some French

Bon Chemin!

 

[kelleymac]

I walked from Le Puy-en-Velay to Conques in Sept/Oct 2017. It took me 10 days. I walked a lot more slowly on this stretch than I did on CF because of the hills, and also because I could not just walk a little bit longer everyday without running into a stretch where my choice was to walk 35km, or 10km to find a place to sleep. Perhaps there are more places open. As I was walking so late in the year, I would call ahead in the morning (most times) to make sure there was dinner and a coffee in the morning. I had no problem finding a bed.-- but again, it was late in the season.
Learn some French before you go. My French was very rusty (I studied French in Paris in 1985 at the Institut Catholique... but had forgotten almost everything.) -- I leaned on teenagers who were walking and had some english and on the tourist offices to make telephone calls for me. Expect meal conversations to be in French! Bon Chemin!

 

[lt56ny]

I can't give you advice on where to start. My memory of walking from Le Puy is fading from my memory banks. It has been 9 years. I walked with just a very small Michelin Guide book that was useless. When I got my credential in Paris the woman who helped me begged me to get the Miam Miam Dodo book. I didn't listen and it was a mistake. I saw a book about 3 days from Santiago and it was so easy to figure out even though I speak ZERO French.. When I walked I encountered maybe 3 people in total who spoke English.

Expect meal conversations to be in French! Bon Chemin!

WIthout a doubt this statement was true for me also. But the food in the Gites was so good I was happy just stuffing my face.

When it comes to places to sleep I am sure there are alot more now than before.

Another good site for places to sleep is Gronze.com

 

[Peter from Minnesota]

It is very common on the GR65 (the official name of the trail) to walk a section of the trail rather than from Le Puy to St Jean straight through; probably a majority of the hikers I met were planning to do 7-10 days. So you will be right at home with your 10-14 day plans.

My two favorite sections of the trail were between Le Puy and Conques, and then between Figeac and Cahors in the Célé River Valley. If Lectoure is a must-visit stop for you, you could probably walk from Figeac to Lectoure in 14 days if you averaged 20km per day.

Otherwise for a 14-day itinerary I would recommend starting in Le Puy and finishing in Cahors.

 

[beliperegrina]

Cahors is a good place to take the TGV train back to Paris!!

 

[Vagabonder]

Figeac has good train and bus connections.
I’ve walked it twice without a guide book, I found gronze to be sufficient.

 

[TassietoVP]

Figeac has good train and bus connections.
I’ve walked it twice without a guide book, I found gronze to be sufficient.

 

[TassietoVP]

Figeac trainline to Toulouse was terrible in late June 2024 - service so bad I ended up going vua BlaBla Car which was great.

 

[TassietoVP]

Figeac trainline to Toulouse was terrible in late June 2024 - service so bad I ended up going vua BlaBla Car which was great. Heading northwards from Figeac might be useable…

 

[TassietoVP]

It is very common on the GR65 (the official name of the trail) to walk a section of the trail rather than from Le Puy to St Jean straight through; probably a majority of the hikers I met were planning to do 7-10 days. So you will be right at home with your 10-14 day plans.

My two favorite sections of the trail were between Le Puy and Conques, and then between Figeac and Cahors in the Célé River Valley. If Lectoure is a must-visit stop for you, you could probably walk from Figeac to Lectoure in 14 days if you averaged 20km per day.

Otherwise for a 14-day itinerary I would recommend starting in Le Puy and finishing in Cahors.

Agreed, although I would feel rushed if I did the 350kms in 14 days as it’s such beautiful scenery and villages - take your time! My km/day in May-June varied from 26 to 8 (fewer as time went on) depending on weather, where I’d found a bed, la fête de la transhumance in Aubrac, rest days and how I felt. I had NO blisters, but arthritis slowed me down so I was able to appreciate the blue & yellow butterflies, the hedgehogs, eagles, spring flowers, chats along the way in French and stress-free gentle mornings ..bliss! DON’T RUSH!

 

[DeansFamily]

Our Quebecois Camino Family have just asked us if we feel like a nice walk on the Le Puy in 2 weeks time as far as Cahors. As we don't speak French, this sounds like a great idea. They are experienced walking this region so we aren't worried about not being up to speed on the Le Puy. Can anyone tell me whether we'll need a sleeping bag / blanket and bag liner, or can we keep our pack weight down by leaving them at home.

 

[Peter from Minnesota]

Our Quebecois Camino Family have just asked us if we feel like a nice walk on the Le Puy in 2 weeks time as far as Cahors. As we don't speak French, this sounds like a great idea. They are experienced walking this region so we aren't worried about not being up to speed on the Le Puy. Can anyone tell me whether we'll need a sleeping bag / blanket and bag liner, or can we keep our pack weight down by leaving them at home.

I believe that every Gîte I visited had warm blankets available, so no sleeping bag is necessary unless you plan to camp in a tent. I recommend bringing a thin cotton or silk sleeping bag liner, which packs to about the size of a coke can, but can still give you 3-5° C of warmth. In later September, the higher altitudes of the Aubrac plateau (the first 4-6 days out of Le Puy) may be a bit chilly.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I used a guidebook in 2018 when I walked from Le Puy to Moissac from late May into June with two friends. I didn't know of Gronze at that time or would have definitely used it. We relied on gite owners or tourist offices to call each morning for a reservation and they were always helpful. I now read that advance bookings are becoming more necessary. I loved the whole route, so it is difficult to choose a section, but the Cele Valley variant was probably the most unique and unusual section for me.

 

[Vagabonder]

I walked this in September, only a sleeping bag liner is needed. Mine is super-lightweight silk and weighs very little.