OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Covid: Le Puy route reopening?

[Sarah Hughes]

My husband and I were planning to walk Le Puy to SJPP from April this year. We are wondering about trying it late summer now that UK-French travel restrictions and quarantine requirements have been lifted. We were planning to camp lots anyway and I guess will have to all the more given Covid.

Does anyone know if hostels are reopening in France and keen to receive walkers? Is anyone on Le Puy route now and able to share anything we should be aware of?

We could walk in July/August but are worried about the heat! Are there places to shelter from the midday heat especially when camping, or should be wait until September? Thanks so much, Sarah

 

[Felipe]

The well reputed Miam Miam Dodo guide has an evolving report (in French) about open albergues, with dates and new dispositions on hygiene and social distance. Click here
First part is about the Frances; scroll down to find the Le Puy info.

(Edited: Not sure if this is an "official" Miam Miam webpage.)

 

[LesBrass]

@Sarah Hughes I can't speak for Le Puy route but I live in SW France and since our lock-down has ended there has been a huge rush for booking holiday accommodation. Many of my friends own Gites and B&B accommodation and they were worried that this season would be awful but that are now full through July and August.

Traditionally the last week of July and the first two weeks of August are notoriously busy here and it always feels like the entire country is on the move... the first Saturday in August is called Black Saturday because the traffic can be so bad.

If I was planning to walk Le Puy (and I am seriously considering this) I would wait until mid August... it's amazing the difference at the end of August and the evenings are much cooler too.

 

[lt56ny]

My husband and I were planning to walk Le Puy to SJPP from April this year. We are wondering about trying it late summer now that UK-French travel restrictions and quarantine requirements have been lifted. We were planning to camp lots anyway and I guess will have to all the more given Covid.

Does anyone know if hostels are reopening in France and keen to receive walkers? Is anyone on Le Puy route now and able to share anything we should be aware of?

We could walk in July/August but are worried about the heat! Are there places to shelter from the midday heat especially when camping, or should be wait until September? Thanks so much, Sarah

It can get hot. I started in Mid September and had some pretty hot days for the first couple of weeks. I would have started later but I was walking all the way to Santiago and that takes a while from Le Puy . Hope you speak some French as it will make it easier and definitely get the Miam Miam Dodo guide. I didn't buy one and it was a mistake. Found out later it is really easy to use even with zero French skills. I have zero skills!

 

[Sarah Hughes]

Thank you Felipe. I didn't realise that Miam Miam Dodo was updating so regularly.

The well reputed Miam Miam Dodo guide has an evolving report (in French) about open albergues, with dates and new dispositions on hygiene and social distance. Click here
First part is about the Frances; scroll down to find the Le Puy info.

(Edited: Not sure if this is an "official" Miam Miam webpage.)

 

[Sarah Hughes]

Thank you @LesBrass and @lt56ny. It is super helpful to get a sense of the heat and benefit of waiting until late August / September. Cooler evenings help when camping. I'm glad the local gite owners are making a living again.

 

[Ronald H]

Greetings,

My wife and I walked the Le Puy route in 2016 and loved it. The best part is the food! The route is more difficult than the Camino in that there is a lot of up and down and there are few places to eat in between the start and end of the day. I have taken the liberty to attach our itinerary and where we stayed. The places marked with the stars are a must stay. It was a bit hot at times and we found ourselves walking from tree shade to tree shade. We used a bag transfer service the entire way. Since we had booked reservations in advance we knew where we were staying and just gave them our itinerary. We used a service based in Le Puy. I think it was https://www.lamallepostale.com/en/.

Good luck,

Ron Harding

 

[BlackRocker57]

The well reputed Miam Miam Dodo guide has an evolving report (in French) about open albergues, with dates and new dispositions on hygiene and social distance. Click here
First part is about the Frances; scroll down to find the Le Puy info.

(Edited: Not sure if this is an "official" Miam Miam webpage.)

fyi ... the update page is indeed part of the «official» Miam-Miam-Dodo website ... the updates are being compiled by Jaques Clouteau [founder and publisher of the esteemed publication] and his team as a service to prospective future pilgrims ...

 

[BlackRocker57]

My husband and I were planning to walk Le Puy to SJPP from April this year. We are wondering about trying it late summer now that UK-French travel restrictions and quarantine requirements have been lifted. We were planning to camp lots anyway and I guess will have to all the more given Covid.

Does anyone know if hostels are reopening in France and keen to receive walkers? Is anyone on Le Puy route now and able to share anything we should be aware of?

We could walk in July/August but are worried about the heat! Are there places to shelter from the midday heat especially when camping, or should be wait until September? Thanks so much, Sarah

G’Day Sarah, the Le Puy route is certainly open and there are increasing numbers of pilgrims and hikers / walkers out there already walking the path ... a lot of the accommodation is open to welcome guests but reservation in advance is recommended ... just to be sure ...

for the past two weeks or more, via his excellent video-blog, I have been following a Belgian chap «le Renard Vagabond» who started in Le Puy ...

most evenings he has had good company at the dinner table ... you might like to check out his videos ....

on a personal note, I love to walk this path in late August / early September ... the weather is generally perfect with cool nights [making for a good nights’ sleep] and bright, sunny, mild days with blue skies ... sometimes the mornings are foggy which adds to the atmosphere

Bon chemin, ultreïa

 

[BlackRocker57]

Thank you Felipe. I didn't realise that Miam Miam Dodo was updating so regularly.

on account of the general uncertainty this year, the updates by the MMD team are part of their service to pilgrims / hikers ... new information is being added every day as accommodation hosts respond to the call ... it is reasonably comprehensive but does not include every gîte or chambre-d’hôte listed in the guidebooks ...

 

[Sarah Hughes]

@BlackRocker57 thank you for the tip off about le renard vagabond. I'm so encouraged to hear he has had some good dinner company en route. I wondered if this year's pilgrimage would feel rather lonely and am glad this isn't his experience. Going late August into September might work for us. I'll need to get training again!

@Ronald H Ron, how kind of you to include a list of places you stayed and your star rating. Thank you ever so much. I'm looking forward to the food and the landscape! I agree we will need to take food with us day times (and the occasional evenings) in places where we're less likely to find food en route.

Thank you both!

 

[BlackRocker57]

@BlackRocker57 thank you for the tip off about le renard vagabond. I'm so encouraged to hear he has had some good dinner company en route. I wondered if this year's pilgrimage would feel rather lonely and am glad this isn't his experience. Going late August into September might work for us. I'll need to get training again!

@Ronald H Ron, how kind of you to include a list of places you stayed and your star rating. Thank you ever so much. I'm looking forward to the food and the landscape! I agree we will need to take food with us day times (and the occasional evenings) in places where we're less likely to find food en route.

Thank you both!

you’re welcome, Sarah ... please know that there are a good deal more refuelling spots [food, hot and cold drinks], including boulangeries / bakeries and buvettes or snack-bars, than you might imagine along the Le Puy route, especially in the section from Le Puy to Conques, but also beyond ...

sometimes it is a matter of timing because places are [generally] not open every day of the week, so you need to keep an eye on that ... the Miam Miam Dodo guidebook gives a lot of this info but not all ...

a lot of places [especially in the small rural villages] also close in the middle of the day for several hours from, say, 12:30 / 13:00 through to 15:00 hours ..

I have walked this route a number of times and I have never gone hungry the other thing to keep in mind is that many of the campgrounds, should you decide to camp, also serve meals ...

I do hope you get to walk this year ... those of us in the far-flung corners of the world are unlikely to make it because of covid-19 travel restrictions All the best and bon chemin

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I loved the Le Puy route very much and had envisioned returning again this fall, but now must "wait and see" how next year unfolds before any decision can be made.

 

[jouffroy47]

It's open and many places are available, although you may have some problems with some of the municipal gîtes. Use the updated Miam Miam, and call first as many gîtes have limited capacity due to the Covid-19 rules for opening. Another site you might use is this interactive one--type in the name of the town beside the little magnifying glass to search https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/3/v...SY&ll=43.9228992426137,0.8732285019085584&z=8

 

[Sarah Hughes]

you’re welcome, Sarah ... please know that there are a good deal more refuelling spots [food, hot and cold drinks], including boulangeries / bakeries and buvettes or snack-bars, than you might imagine along the Le Puy route, especially in the section from Le Puy to Conques, but also beyond ...

sometimes it is a matter of timing because places are [generally] not open every day of the week, so you need to keep an eye on that ... the Miam Miam Dodo guidebook gives a lot of this info but not all ...

a lot of places [especially in the small rural villages] also close in the middle of the day for several hours from, say, 12:30 / 13:00 through to 15:00 hours ..

I have walked this route a number of times and I have never gone hungry the other thing to keep in mind is that many of the campgrounds, should you decide to camp, also serve meals ...

I do hope you get to walk this year ... those of us in the far-flung corners of the world are unlikely to make it because of covid-19 travel restrictions All the best and bon chemin

Thank you so much. I am glad to hear we can get a meal at some campsites, as well as more places along the route than I had expected. So important when you are expending energy walking all day!

Sorry to hear you may not be able to walk the Chemin this year @BlackRocker57 I hope we manage to get a walk in before we need to start working again!