Has anyone ever walked Genéve - Le Puy en Velay?

[LWH]

I'm about to leave for the Genéve - Le Puy and I have some questions.
I'm very nervous since this is my first walk and first time alone in the wilderness like this.
I searched a lot on the internet and found some stuff, I still feel unprepared and overwhelmed haha.
Mostly I'm just worrying in not having enough food.

Can one buy guidebooks about this route in Genéve?
Do you stay out for more days between villages, shops ect.? (just to know how careful planning I need to do)
Is there good possibilities of camping with tent?

Was it easy for you to find the acuiels jaq-something, that welcomes pilgrims?
Or was it in the guidebook?
How much did you spend all-around cost in food and herberge on this route? (GR65)

When it all comes down to just doing it (i've wanted to for a long time and I always get this fear in my stomach)
- if I'm sure always to have enough food and I have the guidebook - I'll be allright, right?
And.. even without the guidebook and just enough food I'll be allright?


Thanks in advance,
with love from fribourg!

 

[William Marques]

I can't help you on the route but having been on the Via Francigena through Eastern France I can say one or two things.

French villages away from tourist areas rarely have a shop or a cafe-bar any more, occasionally a grocer's/baker's/butcher's van may make the rounds. So do not rely on picking up food anywhere less than a small town.

French shops and restaurant opening times are for the benefit of the workers not the shoppers. So shops will shut at some or all of: lunch time, early closing day, Saturday afternoon, public holidays and Sunday and when the shops are open the bar will probably be shut. So timing your resupply is not as easy as you might expect.

There are many routes from the East going towards Santiago and we met Santiago pilgrims in Chalon en Champagne so you may not be as alone as you think.

In France there were less refugio type places on the VF than there were in Switzerland and especially Italy so unless you are tenting cost will be more than the caminos.

 

[LWH]

Oh no, I missed something. It is
Gevena - Le puy en velay

 

[mspath]

Neither have I walked the Geneva/Le Puy route. However perhaps you will find this info in French to be useful for planning. Click all the cited highlighted links for further info re acceuils jacquaires ie home stays. Another useful French site is this.

Bon chance et Bon chemin!

 

[Mournes]

I'm about to leave for the Genéve - Le Puy and I have some questions.
I'm very nervous since this is my first walk and first time alone in the wilderness like this.
I searched a lot on the internet and found some stuff, I still feel unprepared and overwhelmed haha.
Mostly I'm just worrying in not having enough food.

Can one buy guidebooks about this route in Genéve?
Do you stay out for more days between villages, shops ect.? (just to know how careful planning I need to do)
Is there good possibilities of camping with tent?

Was it easy for you to find the acuiels jaq-something, that welcomes pilgrims?
Or was it in the guidebook?
How much did you spend all-around cost in food and herberge on this route? (GR65)

When it all comes down to just doing it (i've wanted to for a long time and I always get this fear in my stomach)
- if I'm sure always to have enough food and I have the guidebook - I'll be allright, right?
And.. even without the guidebook and just enough food I'll be allright?


Thanks in advance,
with love from fribourg!

I walked this route in 2012 using the yellow guide which you can buy from the Association Rhone-Alpes des Amis de St.Jacques.The telephone number at that time was 0671974117 or email guides@amis-st-jacques.org.It is an excellent guide and lists all the accommodation from gîtes to accueils jacquaire and chambre d'hôtes.
It is a beautiful route and takes 15 days from Genève to Le Puy en Velay.I mostly stayed in the accueils jacquaires and we paid on average 30 euro per night for b/b and evening meal.
I am sure you will have a wonderful time
Bonne route et bon courage.

 

[PANO]

Did not walk it myself, but here you find some information:
http://caminoways.com/ways/geneva-way-jacobweg
http://pilgrim.peterrobins.co.uk/routes/details/geneva.html
http://www.jakobsweg.ch/de/eu/fr/jakobswege/f-via-gebennensis-geneve-le-puy/
http://www.radiocamino.net/le-puy-en-velay/via-gebennensis
http://solitary-walker.blogspot.de/2011/10/via-gebennensis.html
For Credentials: http://www.chemin-compostelle.info/credencial/ou-se-procurer-credencial-pour-compostelle.php

Buen camino

 

[scruffy1]

I have met several people who walked from Geneva and beyond! Pay heed to the warnings on walking in France all very true and for dinner you may find yourself eating kebab, pizza, or couscous and not something French while boulangeries are difficult to find though there may be a pan depot in a store, bar, or petrol station!! Beware the dreaded Mondays! Many shops are often open Saturdays and half Sundays, closed Mondays! Meaning, that by the time you have reached your destination Sunday there may be a restaurant but no place else to find food and drink for the next day! Be Prepared!

 

[Hans Jacobs]

Sorry for my bad English. On our walk to Santiago I walked this route in 2012 with my partner. We used the Topoguide "Sentier vers Saint-Jacques- de-Compostelle via Le Puy > Genève - Le Puy" ISBN 978-2-7514-7514-0392-7 from april 2010. The book is in French and has many useful information and maps. I'm afraid walking without a guide will be difficult. The signs are not that good as in Spain. We didn't sleep on campings but in hotels and chambre d'hotes. This is the way we like to walk. We often had very good dinner with the hosts. We planned and booked everything in front and bought our lunch in the villages or took a lunchpacket from our hosts.

I hope you have a beautifull walk to Le Puy en Velay. Greetings from Venlo Holland.

 

[ranthr]

OUTDOOR , the yellow German guidebooks has one for for Via Gebennensis: Frankreich: Jakobsweg Via Gebennensis.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2751406483/

 

[newfydog]

Can one buy guidebooks about this route in Genéve?
!

I found the FFRP guide to the route in a bookstore in Geneva. No idea where, except it was near the river.

 

[simonea]

I've just walked from Geneve to Le Puy in july. It's a beautiful Grand Randonnee with some mountains to climb but not dangerous. Do it easy. There are many villages on the way so don't bother about water, emergency food. We walked with a liter water and muesli bars for emergency. Not every village has a bar/shop so if there aren't choose an accueil jacquaire to stay with meal and breakfast. Best guides for me are: Outdoor (German) and the guide from the amies Rhones Alpes . You can buy this guide in the local tourist offices. It's a well marked road with a lot of accommodation: on campings, in gites, accueil jacquaire (donation) and chambres d'hotes. There are not so many pilgrims (mostly swiss) but we met enough.