Le Puy Route in September

[DDG]

Greetings
My husband and I are starting Le Puy around Sept 14 and plan to walk about 3 weeks in France before taking off for other parts of Spain. Any responses are greatly appreciated to our many questions:

-Best way to get to Le Puy from Paris
-Which stages on Le Puy are not to be missed
-List of albuergues along route (donativos, churches, and other reasonable)
-To make reservations, etc. is it best to buy Sim card, use own phone with international plan, or???? We are not very tech savvy

Any other helpful tips to share ? weather in September?
Thank you all for your welcomed replies

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can fly or take a train to Lyon, then a train to Le Puy.

Everyone has his own favorite stages. The ones at the end are flatter.

You can get a list of gites in the Miam Miam Dodo guidebook, which I recommend. It will show you which ones speak English.

A French SIM card will be useful, but your host each night can help book the next night's lodging. The French book ahead, so you will be well served to do the same. The tourist office can always help with finding a bed, but expect them to be closed when you want them to be open! The weather should be good, but it can always rain.

 

[Amy Davies]

Greetings
My husband and I are starting Le Puy around Sept 14 and plan to walk about 3 weeks in France before taking off for other parts of Spain. Any responses are greatly appreciated to our many questions:

-Best way to get to Le Puy from Paris
-Which stages on Le Puy are not to be missed
-List of albuergues along route (donativos, churches, and other reasonable)
-To make reservations, etc. is it best to buy Sim card, use own phone with international plan, or???? We are not very tech savvy

Any other helpful tips to share ? weather in September?
Thank you all for your welcomed replies

Hi

I'm starting the Le Puy route on the 7th September, I might see you there!

Cheers

Amy

 

[ranthr]

Walking the Le Puy to Santiago in 2009 from 15.08, and some later years in parts, I would say that the first two weeks in France was the best. The last part in France was a bit boring because of autumn with dead corn acres and sunfloweracres.
I went to le Puy from CdG airport in in Paris by train with a change in Leon and St.Etienne.
I would advise you to book ahead at albergues or where you want to stay with demi - pension. It is not easy to get a meal otherwise

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Greetings
My husband and I are starting Le Puy around Sept 14 and plan to walk about 3 weeks in France before taking off for other parts of Spain. Any responses are greatly appreciated to our many questions:

-Best way to get to Le Puy from Paris
-Which stages on Le Puy are not to be missed
-List of albuergues along route (donativos, churches, and other reasonable)
-To make reservations, etc. is it best to buy Sim card, use own phone with international plan, or???? We are not very tech savvy

Any other helpful tips to share ? weather in September?
Thank you all for your welcomed replies

Looking for some of these answers, too! I will be walking this route June 2018.

 

[edandjoan]

We flew to Paris and took two maybe three trains to Le Puy, connections were fine. Train leave from the airport, bonus. We walked without a phone. We stopped in the information offices as we passed through villages and asked the staff to book a place for the next night; we had our name written out and would point to the next place we wanted to stay. Or we asked our host/hostess to book for us the next night. We used the MiamMiam DoDo guide, written in French, but got it early so we could learn to use it. We speak very little French, but had worked on it before we went. We loved the whole way, of course there can always be some trying times. Beautiful people, great food and happy memories.
Our blog: http://edandjoanonthechemin.blogspot.com

 

[Kanga]

Here's the Rome2Rio page for all the options of getting from Paris to Le Puy: https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Paris/Le-Puy-en-Velay

Weather in September is lovely, and you will be able to feast on grapes, fresh apples and blackberries - but don't eat the blackberries close to the ground, they may have been "sprayed" by foxes. There will also be fallen walnuts everywhere, sometimes the fresh ones taste bitter but I still enjoyed them.

I loved the whole of the Le Puy route, but certainly the first three weeks are fabulous. So my advice is to start at Le Puy and keep walking until you need to stop. As for gites (French equivalent of albergues), chamber-de-hôtes, etc, they change all the time and my recommendations are no longer up to date. As everyone says, buy a copy of Miam Miam DoDo and it will give you a list of every accommodation within 5km of the path. I also recommend that you book demi-pension (dinner, bed and breakfast) because it is not always easy in the little villages to find somewhere to eat or to buy provisions.

Bon chemin.

 

[Thornley]

Greetings
My husband and I are starting Le Puy around Sept 14 and plan to walk about 3 weeks in France before taking off for other parts of Spain. Any responses are greatly appreciated to our many questions:

-Best way to get to Le Puy from Paris
-Which stages on Le Puy are not to be missed
-List of albuergues along route (donativos, churches, and other reasonable)
-To make reservations, etc. is it best to buy Sim card, use own phone with international plan, or???? We are not very tech savvy

Any other helpful tips to share ? weather in September?
Thank you all for your welcomed replies

1 Buy the first stage of MMDD to Cahors asap
If you stop in Conques for a day or Figeac or Cahors and do the Cele variant there is the three weeks.
Figeac and or Cahors have the train stations .
2 We just took our mobile on international roaming.
Hardly used as the Gites will ring ahead and all places we wished to stay has an em address.
3 Your time of arrival will determine if plane from CDG is possible.
Train is ok but plan a night in Lyon as the train to Lyon and then Le Puy is a few hours.
We got caught as they are pulling up the rail line , as I write , and with the bus the total trip was 4 hours from Lyon.
4 As Kanga said enjoy the harvest . The French only use what's in season which makes for enjoyable food and little weight loss.
The Sept weather is beautiful ( Late August does get thunderstorms) but still take a fleece.
Silk liner adequate .

This is harder than the Frances with sometimes difficult descents so the first few days should be planned.
Bon chemin

 

[Camino Chrissy]

1 Buy the first stage of MMDD to Cahors asap
If you stop in Conques for a day or Figeac or Cahors and do the Cele variant there is the three weeks.
Figeac and or Cahors have the train stations .
2 We just took our mobile on international roaming.
Hardly used as the Gites will ring ahead and all places we wished to stay has an em address.
3 Your time of arrival will determine if plane from CDG is possible.
Train is ok but plan a night in Lyon as the train to Lyon and then Le Puy is a few hours.
We got caught as they are pulling up the rail line , as I write , and with the bus the total trip was 4 hours from Lyon.
4 As Kanga said enjoy the harvest . The French only use what's in season which makes for enjoyable food and little weight loss.
The Sept weather is beautiful ( Late August does get thunderstorms) but still take a fleece.
Silk liner adequate .

This is harder than the Frances with sometimes difficult descents so the first few days should be planned.
Bon chemin

Thank you for the suggestion to stay overnight in Lyon on the way. Good idea!

 

[mspath]

Camino Chris,

Check out this earlier Forum thread on getting the best out of Lyon.
Both the food and architecture are GREAT! You'll have a fine time.

Bon chemin!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Camino Chris,

Check out this earlier Forum thread on getting the best out of Lyon.
Both the food and architecture are GREAT! You'll have a fine time.

Bon chemin!

Thank you Margaret, for encouraging my little group of three to stop in Lyon and "smell the roses" while there. I always appreciate reading your helpful comments and the wise advise you give to so many of us who participate on this forum! You are a treasure in our midst.

 

[Doogman]

It was a few years ago now, but I took the TGV from CDG to Lyons, then by train Lyons to St-Etienne, and then by train St-Etienne to Le Puy. I did it in one day. It probably took 7-8 hours. I agree with the comments above that the first three weeks are great. I would start in Le Puy and just keep walking. There are a few good ups and downs, but you are rewarded by the views.

 

[A Sime]

I am starting in Le Puy Aug 27. I understand shops are often closed on Sunday and Monday. Will it be difficult to find midday lunch food on the trail?

 

[Kanga]

@A Sime yes, it can be difficult. Many of the little villages do not have any shops, and those that do are closed on Sundays and Mondays, so you need to plan ahead for those day. On other days take advantage of any shops that are open when you pass - unless you are sure you will find something further along the path.
On the Le Puy I always booked ahead by one or two days, and asked for "demi-pension" whenever possible (dinner, bed and breakfast).

 

[A Sime]

Thank you. Since you always booked ahead 2 or 3 days, does that mean you booked for 2 or 3 days even before you started? When I did the Spain Camino from SJPdP, I only booked ahead once on that Sept walk. This experience will be quite different.

 

[Kanga]

@A Sime we booked for the first night in Le Puy, and after picking up Miam Miam Dodo from the cathedral shop in Le Puy, then booked ahead the second night. Usually we would only book ahead one day. It is the usual thing - difficult to predict how far one wants to walk, and quite often we changed the booking but we were meticulous about ringing and cancelling as soon as we knew.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Your real search may be for a Sunday meal after the midday meal! French towns can become ghost towns on Sunday evening. The problem can be cured with the demipension, or with provisions in your backpack. Bon chemin.

 

[A Sime]

Thank you all. Demipensions are, indeed, the answer. Each Camino has something new to discover.

 

[Katia Taam]

We flew to Paris and took two maybe three trains to Le Puy, connections were fine. Train leave from the airport, bonus. We walked without a phone. We stopped in the information offices as we passed through villages and asked the staff to book a place for the next night; we had our name written out and would point to the next place we wanted to stay. Or we asked our host/hostess to book for us the next night. We used the MiamMiam DoDo guide, written in French, but got it early so we could learn to use it. We speak very little French, but had worked on it before we went. We loved the whole way, of course there can always be some trying times. Beautiful people, great food and happy memories.
Our blog: http://edandjoanonthechemin.blogspot.com

Wour blog is delicious, thanks!
Katia