Need info about acommodation, Carcassonne to Lourdes

[sillydoll]

Fatma Girretz - from this Forum - walked from Narbonne, via Carcasonne and said that if anyone wants information about that route to not hesitate to give them her contact. She said that this Camino was superb!
You can read her extensive report back on this forum here and then send her a PM>

the-piemont-route/topic10239.html?hilit=fatma#p80278

 

[FatmaG]

Hello PingHansen,

yes I keep this camino indeed in very good memory!
Although there are still less people on the road, I think, there are quite a lot of efforts done to improve pilgrimage on this camino.
I had a small tent with me, so was not always specifically looking for a bed in a pilgrim's shelter.
But there were generally more possibilities than described in my notes. (f.i. private accomodation, pilgrims offering a bed in their houses).
There is a stretch of +- 2 or 3 days with pretty poor shopping or restaurant possibilities from Saint Bertrand de Comingues to Bagnères de Bigorre, keep it in mind or be on a diet)

If you speak French (or you understand it at least), you can find plenty of useful information online - I can check whether I can find back some useful pages as well)

Bon chemin,
don't hesitate if you have further questions!

FatmaG

 

[FatmaG]

I used mostly these:
http://vppyr.free.fr/vpp-index-etapes.php3
http://www.ariege.com/cheminstjacques/index.html
http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/-FRANCE-.html

But here are some other pages:

http://www.webcompostella.com/21-Haltes ... _a434.html
http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZE1.11.Pie.htm
http://www.chemins-compostelle.com/lien ... eneen.html

As to the camping grounds, I used only public ones.

Bon chemin,
FatmaG

 

[FatmaG]

Hi PingHansen!

You must be still on the road - approaching Galizia - if you started around end of august...
How are you, how was it?

I would enjoy to hear some day some news about your journey...

Buen camino!

 

[FatmaG]

Thanks a lot for your feed back!
Well, yes, it is indeed particular over there - and the impression of strangeness never really left me - or perhaps a little more after Lourdes - but only partly, I agree...

France is a good deal more expensive than Spain, yes, but I think you can find alternatives: camping (very often quite cheap), private accomodation in houses of former pilgrims, or albergues. Yes, they still ask about 15€ and not 4 or 5 as in Spain... And life is more expensive as well...

Too much heat this year, yes, you are right - I myself thought on my very first walking day mid July (on the Arles way) that I would collapse and die...
Fortunately, none of us did - and it is great to hear that you enjoyed your journey!

And great news for all the future pilgrims on the road that they can stop at Arzens - things are changing...

Already now, I wish you the best for your next camino to come!

 

[Maz]

Hi Fatmag,
I will be doing the Camino Piemont this july, also camping. I have the Lepere guide (only available in French). It's very good and very informative.

 

[Anniesantiago]

A wonderful route!
Buen Camino!

 

[HeatherWriter]

How is the route from Carcassonne to Lourdes-is it flat with farms or mountainous (or both!)?

 

[tittleben]

Did this last June. It was fantastic and it did look like a great deal of recent work had gone into improving it. The maps in the French Topo guides were very good. We saw only 4 other pilgrims on the whole route to SJPP.

There are both farms and mountains but the one thing it is not (except for the odd stretch) is flat. The day from Bagneres de Bigorre was very, very steep.