Map Question

[trecile]

Where can I find a map that shows all the towns and villages on the Camino Frances? It seems that most of the maps that I've seen show the typical stages. I think that I might want to avoid the most popular stops and stay at places in between. Should I look on Google Maps?

 

[Bradypus]

If you have a smartphone you could use one of the Camino guide apps. Several to choose from. Most link to Google Maps and will show you the route in detail. They will also give you details of accommodation, bars and so on along the route. I used miCamino on the Camino Portugues last month and found it very helpful. Also free.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

There are many guidebooks you can buy that show the route, including the popular Brierly guide.

 

[BrienC]

Where can I find a map that shows all the towns and villages on the Camino Frances? It seems that most of the maps that I've seen show the typical stages. I think that I might want to avoid the most popular stops and stay at places in between. Should I look on Google Maps?

You have the right idea to avoid the typical stages. And as Bradypus indicated, there are many apps to choose from with useful information. Also, I loaded the albergue list, available on this site, on my iPhone and found it most helpful. Link: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...lbergues-on-the-camino-frances-in-one-pdf.10/

Buen Camino

 

[Mark Lee]

There are 2-3 good guidebooks you can get that show all the towns, and list accommodations, etc. Sure, they're broken down in stages, but it's nothing that has to be adhered to. A decent guidebook is a handy thing to have.

 

[GettingThere]

Where can I find a map that shows all the towns and villages on the Camino Frances? It seems that most of the maps that I've seen show the typical stages. I think that I might want to avoid the most popular stops and stay at places in between. Should I look on Google Maps?

Google and other maps will show you all the towns and villages but won't indicate whether there is accommodation in those places. As mentioned above, a good guide book such as John Brierley's A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago is divided into stages, yes, but also shows most of the accommodation available in intermediate places - all the intermediate villages and towns are marked on his maps. Another which does this is the French Miam Miam Dodo which is not divided into stages and shows accommodation within 5km of the Camino (it's all in French though) and there are other guides too. Or there are good online guides such as Gronze which is divided into stages but also lists accommodation available at most of the intermediate points. Guides which divide the route into stages do so for convenience and as a way to split up the maps, mostly. There is nothing mystical about the guide book/map stages and absolutely no reason to stick with them (different guides often use slightly different stages anyway). As you say, the most popular stops tend to be the ones at the end of stages in the main guide books - it's easy to avoid these if you want to.

Buen camino!

 

[David from Freo]

Where can I find a map that shows all the towns and villages on the Camino Frances? It seems that most of the maps that I've seen show the typical stages. I think that I might want to avoid the most popular stops and stay at places in between. Should I look on Google Maps?

When we walked the Camino Frances in 2014, I found the Android mobile app "Camino Pilgrim" (downloadable free from Play Stores) invaluable. It linked to google maps so had all the settlements on it. We used it to develop our own stages & itinerary, and to follow our path in 'real time' on the downloadable maps. I'm not technologically gifted, but it was great to be able to follow the blue GPS dot on a map aligned with the Camino path (particularly at intersections) and therefore to know where I was!

 

[Fletchonides]

I am also using the Camino Pilgrim App, and have remade our itinerary several times. It shows the distances between each town and the cumulative distance per stage, so you can see where the best place to stop might be based on your desired walking distance. And it shows the Albergues in each town with contact info.

 

[scruffy1]

It's Miam Miam for me! Firstly it has real maps! No French no problem! Numbers are numbers and most people know that droite; à gauche; tout droit mean droite; à gauche; tout droit! A big plus, the guide also indicates which languages are spoken in the albergues/pensions/hotels.