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Canfranc may rise again — 5 years later, it HAS!

mspath

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances, autumn/winter; 2004, 2005-2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
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That is a great story!! LTfit and I slept in Canfranc, but we missed the tour because we were eating lunch and lost track of time. I was so bummed. We did hear all about how the kids in town for years were able to sneak into the station and play to their hearts' content. And then one day a French taxi driver got in somehow and found a huge stash of papers documenting all of the stolen gold that the Nazis sent out through Spain and the materiel that Franco supplied them in return.

What a huge undertaking it will be to restore that building. Wonder if they will have special pilgrim prices in the hotel? ;)
 
'From our own correspondent' radio programme on Radio 4 omitted two important points.... namely that there is an SNCF bus replacement service to assure continuity of service and secondly that the building has been beautifully reroofed with added glass pinnacles. I must say that when I walked past last year there was no sign of further impending restoration. I was able to look around from the rear without hindrance (and could have gained access...) The Camino Aragones via San Juan de la Pena was superb.... No reference was made in the programme to the actual Somport Pass which is why the train crossing is there in the first place....
 
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My wife and I are headed up there this Tuesday to start walking. We will be finding our way from Madrid. So any tips are welcome. Hoping to go the whole way through to Santiago. Saludos!
 
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I thought the station was restored into a hotel since I passed some years ago. Hoped to get back and stay there but I guess it will take some time before it is an option.
 
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Wow, that looks really run down now. Stopped there for a couple of days 15/20 years ago when i walked the GR10. We could just go into the old station and look around, it was all in pretty good nick then. But what i do remember more was they were driving a flock of sheep through the town up into the pastures in the mountains. I have never seen so many sheep in all my life. They were the width of the main road and footpaths (which is pretty wide) and as far as the eye could see in either direction. It took about 15 minutes for the flock to work its way through the town. All controlled by 3 shepherds and about 10 dogs, the noise was deafening as apart from the bleating every 10 sheep seemed to have a bell on it.
 
I visited Canfranc Estacion in late November 2008, on one of the two (very small) trains from Zaragoza which travel there each day. The trip took 4 1/2 hours and cost €12.57. I had forgotten to allow for the fact that it would be snowing in the high Pyrenees at that time of year. The staff at Canfranc had cleared about 20 yards of platform but our train (myself and 2 other passengers) sailed past and I had to trudge back through snow to get to the exit and the coach which SNCF send (they closed the French side of the line in 1970.)

The coach driver appeared after about 10 minutes, clutching two bulging carrier bags full of cigarettes (cheaper in Spain than in France) and drove me, his only passenger, up to Col Somport, the border, and then down, via 85 hairpin bends on a road knee-deep in snow, to Oloron St-Marie to catch a train to Pau.

There were large signs outside the station then announcing its refurbishment and re-opening, so I wouldn't hold your breath!
 
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A little more than 5 years, and more than 16 MILLION euros, the five star Canfranc Station Hotel is up and running. Pretty glitzy!


Lots of photos on the official hotel welbsite. Rate for a weekday in February started at $225 US. Cheaper rates for a weekend in May, when the snow is gone!
 
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Hmm, it's great that they've rescued an iconic building, steeped in history alright, and it's been drawing plenty of tourists for quite a while now. When I first saw it four years ago, I was fascinated, spellbound even, by such a glorious, audacious building in it's spectacular setting. Now, in all it's newfound splendour, I feel the whole thing looks overcooked. Just my opinion of course.
 
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A little more than 5 years, and more than 16 MILLION euros, the five star Canfranc Station Hotel is up and running. Pretty glitzy!
Wow! Bravo for saving and restoring this historic building. I think the restoration is quite elegant and a tribute to its past. I look forward to seeing it. I hope they'll let this peregrina stop in for a coffee :) Thanks for posting Laurie!
 
Yes, I saw it this morning, too. The restoration wS still in progress last summer when we were there. I checked the price of a room since we will be on the Aragones again this summer. It was way more than a budget pilgrim accommodation, but reasonable by US travel prices at $145 per night. Does not include breakfast.
 
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Thanks for posting ! I hope to pass by there when I continue along the Voie d'Arles/Aragonés this fall.
 
Thanks for posting ! I hope to pass by there when I continue along the Voie d'Arles/Aragonés this fall.
I walked from Canfrac Estacion late last October. You are in for a treat. Unfortunately when I was there I could not walk all the way up to the front of the station as it was blocked off. I also wanted to start the Camino in Samport but it was almost 2 when I arrived from Zaragoza. At the bar across from the station I was told the bus would come about 3:15 and I could probably get a taxi "around" then also. I didn't want to walk at night and thought I may have to if I waited. The 5k walk to Canfranc is beautiful. I am sure it is from Somport too. Wonderful new albergue in Canfranc. I would recommend having food to cook in the kitchen. The bar was fun and welcoming for a tapa and a beer but the food was not so good in my opinion. I don't know if you have walked this route before but it seemed that all the albergues/donativos (except Ruesta which was closing about 11/15) were closing at the end of October. I only stayed in the albergues and they were all wonderful. Would love to do it again one day. Thought of this year but I have decided to start on the Vasco. Will get there early enough next time to start in Somport.
 
I walked from Canfrac Estacion late last October. You are in for a treat. Unfortunately when I was there I could not walk all the way up to the front of the station as it was blocked off. I also wanted to start the Camino in Samport but it was almost 2 when I arrived from Zaragoza. At the bar across from the station I was told the bus would come about 3:15 and I could probably get a taxi "around" then also. I didn't want to walk at night and thought I may have to if I waited. The 5k walk to Canfranc is beautiful. I am sure it is from Somport too. Wonderful new albergue in Canfranc. I would recommend having food to cook in the kitchen. The bar was fun and welcoming for a tapa and a beer but the food was not so good in my opinion. I don't know if you have walked this route before but it seemed that all the albergues/donativos (except Ruesta which was closing about 11/15) were closing at the end of October. I only stayed in the albergues and they were all wonderful. Would love to do it again one day. Thought of this year but I have decided to start on the Vasco. Will get there early enough next time to start in Somport.
Look forward to seeing it.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
The photos in the article brought back memories of my Camino 2005. I was able to get inside the abandoned station Through a gap in the fence. Happy to see it is finally being reopened.
 

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