Cahors - St. Jean Pied du Port

[Anitam]

After the camino Frances, I decided to walk from Le Puy en Velay - Cahors last year.. Now I'm wondering if I would like to finish it. I like to meet people on the way. I like to walk alone, but have the company of other walkers to have a short of long talk with at gives, or on the way.. I'm a bit afraid that the amount of people walking there is to few? I should be walking there at the end of july/start august.. Any experiences??

 

[Kitsambler]

August has the benefit of being holiday month for the French (which would drive the numbers up), and the difficulty of being the hottest month of the year in the south of France (which would drive the numbers down). Many gite owners will close that month, so it would be vital to be calling ahead for reservations.

 

[Kanga]

I met plenty of pilgrims between Cahors and SJPDP in May/June. The percentage of international pilgrims compared to French recreational walkers seems to increase after Conques - although perhaps my imagination. I imagine the heat of August would keep some away.
The Cele Valley alternative is lovely but we did't meet a single other walker on that route.

 

[rayvarey]

After the camino Frances, I decided to walk from Le Puy en Velay - Cahors last year.. Now I'm wondering if I would like to finish it. I like to meet people on the way. I like to walk alone, but have the company of other walkers to have a short of long talk with at gives, or on the way.. I'm a bit afraid that the amount of people walking there is to few? I should be walking there at the end of july/start august.. Any experiences??

Cahors - St. Jean Pied du Port

My wife and I are planning to start out from Le Puy early in May this year, 2014. Any thoughts on that journey? We're like to stay in penions, small 'typico' hotels or B and B type accommodation and are wondering about the availability of that along the Le Puy--Cahors section.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There are such accommodations. The best source of information is Miam Miam Dodo. See the website here:

http://www.chemindecompostelle.com/Selection/CarteFrance.html

Purchase a current copy in Le Puy or from amazon.fr.

 

[Kanga]

Wow, how does that happen? A post purporting to be from me is not!

 

[grayland]

Wow, how does that happen? A post purporting to be from me is not!

Which post is not from you?

 

[Kanga]

The one that reads
"After the Frances I decided to walk..." Etc. you can see the next post where the identical message is quoted as being from another author.

 

[Susannafromsweden]

The one that reads
"After the Frances I decided to walk..." Etc. you can see the next post where the identical message is quoted as being from another author.

That was just two quotes upon each other. I have now deleted it.

 

[Kanga]

Ta! Thank you muchly.

 

[Anitam]

Cahors - St. Jean Pied du Port

My wife and I are planning to start out from Le Puy early in May this year, 2014. Any thoughts on that journey? We're like to stay in penions, small 'typico' hotels or B and B type accommodation and are wondering about the availability of that along the Le Puy--Cahors section.

It's a beautiful part to walk!!! I really loved the 2 weeks I walked when I started in Le Puy. I stayed in gites, in hotels, I liked the gites. A lot of nice places. I can highly recommend the gite Violia (or something like that). Forgot in which town, but it is lovely. They try to be very self-supporting, lovely owners! And the food is great!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I can highly recommend the gite Violia

This one?

http://www.chemindecompostelle.com/vioulac/index.html

 

[Anitam]

I try to put a picture with it, but it doesn't work. I think it was in Golinhac, the name is Viala. It was lovely and very peaceful. The owners where wonderful people. Would love to go there again! My diary told me it was 16 K before Conques, but I didn't write down the name of the place. They have a few rooms and they have a tent! The tent is great, between the trees on top of stone!!!!

 

[HeatherWriter]

It's Le soulie and I had my best evening on the Chemin here: warm, generous hosts, wonderful company and dinner al fresco.

 

[Thornley]

We stayed in La Soulie in 2010 , a wonderful dinner cooked by all .... great night .

Michel was going to 11 am mass at the Cathedral the following day in Conques and offered to transport all our bags to the Abbaye St Foy.
This humble offer allowed us to have a beautiful walk in a very scenic section.
Would not hesitate to stay there again.

 

[dandagenais]

Is it me, or is the cost for lodging much more expensive along this route than it is in Spain on the Camino Frances?? I seem to see a lot over 20Euros.

 

[mspath]

Is it me, or is the cost for lodging much more expensive along this route than it is in Spain on the Camino Frances?? I seem to see a lot over 20Euros.

Costs for lodging and meals are indeed higher in France than in Spain.

 

[gml]

The number of walkers would depend entirely on when you go. In October last year, I met only eight pilgrims all the way from Cahors to SJPP!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Is it me, or is the cost for lodging much more expensive along this route than it is in Spain on the Camino Frances?? I seem to see a lot over 20Euros.

Absolutely, but it is a totally different experience, from what I've heard. Think about Spain as the Yough Hostel teenage trip, the walks in France more B&B, deluxe in some places. Must be that the pilgrim meal is either non-existing or good ;0)

 

[Thornley]

Is it me, or is the cost for lodging much more expensive along this route than it is in Spain on the Camino Frances?? I seem to see a lot over 20Euros.

Different class of accommodation.....much better overall.
So is the food

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Cost is higher- but often when you stay in a private gite the cost includes dinner and breakfast as well as your bed, and the dinner is mostly very good. Also, you get to eat with others staying in the gite which can often be a very enjoyable time. The standard of accommodation- space, showers, lounge areas etc- in French gites generally is very good as well.
Margaret

 

[Thornley]

Cost is higher- but often when you stay in a private gite the cost includes dinner and breakfast as well as your bed, and the dinner is mostly very good. Also, you get to eat with others staying in the gite which can often be a very enjoyable time. The standard of accommodation- space, showers, lounge areas etc- in French gites generally is very good as well.
Margaret

YOU SHOULD KNOW MARGARET ..........lol

 

[KiwiNomad06]

YOU SHOULD KNOW MARGARET ..........lol

Yep Thornley
Actually Anitam, sorry I never actually replied to your initial query.... Friends who have a gite in Moissac- 3-4 days walk after Cahors- say that July/August are relatively quiet months for them- partly because of the heat, and partly because the French walkers tend to be occupied with family activities in the school summer holidays. It gets busy again for them in September.
Margaret

 

[Thornley]

Yep Thornley
Actually Anitam, sorry I never actually replied to your initial query.... Friends who have a gite in Moissac- 3-4 days walk after Cahors- say that July/August are relatively quiet months for them- partly because of the heat, and partly because the French walkers tend to be occupied with family activities in the school summer holidays. It gets busy again for them in September.
Margaret

Have booked in with Rom [ Moissac] on 26/6 and 27/6 on the way to Burgos and he indicated that it was not the busy time.
We walked a section last june [ again ] and it was ok.
I think Marg that May is the worst for us invaders.
Keep well

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The standard of accommodation- space, showers, lounge areas etc- in French gites generally is very good as well.

I have to respectfully disagree! They are as variable as on the Camino Frances.

A converted truck garage.

The demi-pension can be the only food around, and it will run up the price. I agree that the food is much better. I have found that the communal meal is rarer on the Chemin de St. Jacques. Pilgrims are friendly, but they usually eat with their own little group. Not always, but most of the time. Whereas, on the Camino Frances I have found that pilgrims cooking together was almost a nightly thing for many pilgrims. The reasons may be that there are a lot more pilgrims, so stove time is harder to share if everyone is trying to cook for themselves, and the CF has a more international crowd (Le Puy is dominantly French).

I prefer France even with very poor language skills.

 

[Thornley]

More nationalities on the Frances Falcon.
More young people cooking who offer you there treats , just the offer makes us smile
More young pilgrims [ mainly aussies] asking the missus whats on tonight in the kitchen.....if she answers spaghetti the lady has them all over her.........and its great.......stay with the young ...keep young
Just don't eat their food if they cook.
Unless like in 08 we had a beautiful young Korean cook fried rice for all @ Negriera on the way to Muxia.
No room in the inn for him [ Yuan] so after cooking for plenty he walked on.......have never stayed in this albergue since , only the hotel in town..........better people.......more gratitude.
He was picked up by farmers and given a room in the nearby school

Regardless of the photos Falcon
France has the better food , accommodation and
May i say scenery ?
Outside of the French , maybe Swiss the next most popular nationality on Le Puy.

 

[dandagenais]

Cost is higher- but often when you stay in a private gite the cost includes dinner and breakfast as well as your bed, and the dinner is mostly very good. Also, you get to eat with others staying in the gite which can often be a very enjoyable time. The standard of accommodation- space, showers, lounge areas etc- in French gites generally is very good as well.
Margaret

Thanks Margaret!! I'm looking to do about 2 weeks (did the Frances last year in 26 days, but don't have that much time this time around ( ... But I'd like to do something special as well and thought about a new route - this is why I thought about France. I think that finishing at SJPDP is kinda special, but maybe that two-week route before SJPDP in France is not the best? Any other sugeestion with a starting point and a interesting finishing point?
Thanks a bunch!!
Dan

 

[Kitsambler]

The majority of the accommodations along the Le Puy are privately-run gites; the rates run 35-40 Euros demi-pension and include a home-cooked French dinner served family style and a breakfast. Dinner is usually four courses: soup, main, salad and dessert or cheese. Wine is included. Breakfast is not so grand: cafe au lait and bread/butter/jam. Unless you are in a larger town (ie, maybe once a week), alternative eateries are not available. The sleeping rooms run 4-8 beds, and many places have one or two private rooms for a little more.

Additionally, some towns have plainer places (municipally-operated gites) and/or fancier places (chamber d'hote) equivalent to an American B&B. Very large towns may have small hotels. The advice to refer to Miam Miam Dodo is excellent.

 

[SYates]

I agree with all you wrote @Kitsambler apart of the following "Unless you are in a larger town (ie, maybe once a week), alternative eateries are not available." Many of the smaller towns have now also restaurants/ bars which gives you a choice to the demi-pension. Buen Camino! SY

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I think that finishing at SJPDP is kinda special, but maybe that two-week route before SJPDP in France is not the best? Any other sugeestion with a starting point and a interesting finishing point? Dan

Hi Dan,
To be honest, I wouldn't aim to finish in SJPP. It's a very small town, and though I actually liked it and had a rest day there, it's more of a stop along the way than a finishing point. My suggestion instead would be to start at Le-Puy-en-Velay, and walk for as long as you have the time. The most dramatic landscapes on the Le Puy route are at this end of the route. When you are getting near the end of the time you have, you could start thinking about your options for getting to a bigger place to get off the route again. (Smaller places on the Le Puy route don't tend to have the same transport options as you often find in Spain.) You seem to be a faster than average walker, so I think it's hard to predict exactly how far you would get, but possibly Figeac or even Cahors, and these are larger places with more public transport options.
Margaret

 

[Thornley]

Thanks Margaret!! I'm looking to do about 2 weeks (did the Frances last year in 26 days, but don't have that much time this time around ( ... But I'd like to do something special as well and thought about a new route - this is why I thought about France. I think that finishing at SJPDP is kinda special, but maybe that two-week route before SJPDP in France is not the best? Any other sugeestion with a starting point and a interesting finishing point?
Thanks a bunch!!
Dan

Hi Dan ,
You will not be sorry if you start in Le Puy.
[ 1 ] 200km [ plus or minus 10km] = Conques..........church @ 11.00am is a great feeling as this stop is just as big as STJPDP and may i say a more famous town. Wonderful stop , majority of pilgrims will stop here and its has a very big pilgrim feeling.

[ 2 ] 50km to Figeac and transport if running out of time

[ 3 ] 90km to Cahors , great town to relax .

Thats 340km and Cahors has all the transport you need to return home.

You will find Le Puy harder than Frances and seeing Falcon has not answered my earlier post and disagreed more beautiful , especially the section to Conques.
As Margaret has said earlier when you walk the GR65 St Jean is just a stop over.It has a great feeling especially as all of us completed Frances first but as we complete different ways it really is just a stopover and sometimes not even that if going via Valcarlos which is a town we love.
After you walk Le Puy , completely, this might be the case with St Jean Pied de Port.
I say this knowing many turn left @ Ostabat and go over the mountain much higher than StJ @ Samport and turn up @ Puente
l' Reina

Very doable the 340km and it will not disappoint.

 

[dandagenais]

Hi Dan,
To be honest, I wouldn't aim to finish in SJPP. It's a very small town, and though I actually liked it and had a rest day there, it's more of a stop along the way than a finishing point. My suggestion instead would be to start at Le-Puy-en-Velay, and walk for as long as you have the time. The most dramatic landscapes on the Le Puy route are at this end of the route. When you are getting near the end of the time you have, you could start thinking about your options for getting to a bigger place to get off the route again. (Smaller places on the Le Puy route don't tend to have the same transport options as you often find in Spain.) You seem to be a faster than average walker, so I think it's hard to predict exactly how far you would get, but possibly Figeac or even Cahors, and these are larger places with more public transport options.
Margaret

Wow, thanks for this info I appreciate it. That's the kind of info I wanted to hear. That does seem like a plan. I do walk fast, but mainly because I have a time constraint. Last year my 800km in 26 days wasn't that bad though. But I do want to take a bit more my time for my next - averaged 31km a day last time, but would rather go around 25km this time. Someone also suggested Geneva to LePuy - what do you think about that?? Thanks again and have a wonderful day! Dan

 

[dandagenais]

Hi Dan ,
You will not be sorry if you start in Le Puy.
[ 1 ] 200km [ plus or minus 10km] = Conques..........church @ 11.00am is a great feeling as this stop is just as big as STJPDP and may i say a more famous town. Wonderful stop , majority of pilgrims will stop here and its has a very big pilgrim feeling.

[ 2 ] 50km to Figeac and transport if running out of time

[ 3 ] 90km to Cahors , great town to relax .

Thats 340km and Cahors has all the transport you need to return home.

You will find Le Puy harder than Frances and seeing Falcon has not answered my earlier post and disagreed more beautiful , especially the section to Conques.
As Margaret has said earlier when you walk the GR65 St Jean is just a stop over.It has a great feeling especially as all of us completed Frances first but as we complete different ways it really is just a stopover and sometimes not even that if going via Valcarlos which is a town we love.
After you walk Le Puy , completely, this might be the case with St Jean Pied de Port.
I say this knowing many turn left @ Ostabat and go over the mountain much higher than StJ @ Samport and turn up @ Puente
l' Reina

Very doable the 340km and it will not disappoint.

Awesome - I like that!! Thanks so much.... Please also see the message I just wrote above to Margaret... I like ending in Cahors.... for 12 day walk would be an average of 28km per day which is no problem. Would of liked to ga a bit lower this time, but no problem at all. Could extend my trip a couple of days ;o)

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I haven't walked Geneva- Le Puy, though I would still be inclined to walk the Le Puy route first. One thing you need to be aware of with routes like those from Geneva or Cluny (which I have walked) is that your experience would be far more solitary.

If you didn't get quite as far as Figeac, you are likely to get as far as Conques in your available time. It is possible to get taxis out of there that are not too expensive to connect with transport to Paris or south, though you might not have a 'bus' option as it's school holidays.
Margaret

 

[Thornley]

I haven't walked Geneva- Le Puy, though I would still be inclined to walk the Le Puy route first. One thing you need to be aware of with routes like those from Geneva or Cluny (which I have walked) is that your experience would be far more solitary.

If you didn't get quite as far as Figeac, you are likely to get as far as Conques in your available time. It is possible to get taxis out of there that are not too expensive to connect with transport to Paris or south, though you might not have a 'bus' option as it's school holidays.
Margaret

He will be in Figeac first Margaret and will reach there easily at his age.
Cahors will be ok after that , its only a 3 or 4 day section.
But in that order mate.

 

[Lori Butler]

I did Le Puy to Cahors last July. If you can manage it, I think it is a perfect segment with a lot of variety. Highlights were the Aubrac itself, including the marvelous little town of Aubrac with that odd B and B, looks like the Addams Family could live there. Domaine Sauvage is a must and the village of St Chely d'Aubrac was quite nice. St Cirque Lapopie on the Cele route is special, it is touristic but nothing like Conques, which in early July was filled with busloads of tourists, overpriced mediocre food, restaurant and shopowners seeming only to see us as tourist euros (the only place on the walk this was true). It was a jolt to the system after such a peaceful and fairly remote experience. That said, the evening talk and organ concert by the colorful priest at the cathedral are worth the stay over.