North or South Route?

[High Endeavours]

Hi everyone. I'll be setting off from Vézelay around May 1st and I would be interested to understand the various reasons for selecting either the northern or southern route. I am aware that the southern route is a bit longer, but if it is the better experience then that's not an issue. Does one route have better historical, scenic or accommodation features, etc? Thanks for any input or ideas.

 

[Smash123]

Hi everyone. I'll be setting off from Vézelay around May 1st and I would be interested to understand the various reasons for selecting either the northern or southern route. I am aware that the southern route is a bit longer, but if it is the better experience then that's not an issue. Does one route have better historical, scenic or accommodation features, etc? Thanks for any input or ideas.

Hey there
I am thinking of the Voie de Vezelay for my next journey. I am curious why you chose it over another, like the Arles? I am just starting my planning, so have no helpful advice, but if you have some for me, it would be very appreciated.

 

[High Endeavours]

Hey there
I am thinking of the Voie de Vezelay for my next journey. I am curious why you chose it over another, like the Arles? I am just starting my planning, so have no helpful advice, but if you have some for me, it would be very appreciated.

Hi Smash123. Good question. I like walking in France, and having previously walked the Arles, Via Francigena and LePuy, I was looking for something hopefully different. A route a bit like the Arles, ie., fewer walkers, some history and beautiful spring landscapes. The Vezelay seems to satisfy those criteria (at least I hope so), and of course there's the food and wine! If you haven't walked the Arles or LePuy then I can highly recommend both. I really enjoyed the Arles and I walked onwards to Santiago as I was walking to raise funds and awareness for a specific cause. The 5 day Pyrenees crossing via the Somport Pass was brilliant and continuing on to connect with the Frances was excellent as well. I also enjoy walking in different countries for cultural variety and it feels like it's time to return to France this year. Hope this helps, and I'm sure you will enjoy either choice.

 

[Smash123]

Hi Smash123. Good question. I like walking in France, and having previously walked the Arles, Via Francigena and LePuy, I was looking for something hopefully different. A route a bit like the Arles, ie., fewer walkers, some history and beautiful spring landscapes. The Vezelay seems to satisfy those criteria (at least I hope so), and of course there's the food and wine! If you haven't walked the Arles or LePuy then I can highly recommend both. I really enjoyed the Arles and I walked onwards to Santiago as I was walking to raise funds and awareness for a specific cause. The 5 day Pyrenees crossing via the Somport Pass was brilliant and continuing on to connect with the Frances was excellent as well. I also enjoy walking in different countries for cultural variety and it feels like it's time to return to France this year. Hope this helps, and I'm sure you will enjoy either choice.

Thanks for the advice! I walked the Le Puy in the spring. Took the loop up to Rocamadour and back down to Cahors - I loved that part and it was very quiet. For the next trip, I can't decide between the Arles and Vezelay, and I really waffle about the Frances. I stayed the night in St Foy in Conques, and I found it overwhelming. Too many people. I understand the auberges on the Frances are more like that and less like the 10 bed dorms on the Le Puy. As a lover of solitude, how did you find the Frances?

 

[filly]

I hiked this during a break in the pandemic so was able to go all the way from Vézelay to Santiago. I decided to take the Bourges route as the cathedral was a huge draw. The stained glass is some of the best I have ever seen. We met up with some French people who knew the area and they guided us into Bourges via the canal system (the ‘Marais’) almost to the Cathedral.
To begin, I took a train from Paris to the nearest station and walked from there to the Pilgrim accommodation in Vézelay. There is a morning Mass in the chapel on the hill to get you going.We stayed in some unbelievably welcoming Christian private accommodation (some ‘donativo’) and only once had to resort to booking.com near the main road.
Limoges was also a highlight… staying with the nuns bang in the centre. Fabulous decorative arts museum too!
I preferred the Via Tolosana but that was much more solitary and demanding. (Arles to Puente la Reina)

 

[filly]

Please note - May 1 is a national holiday! I would recommend starting AFTER that date. (Fête du Travail)

 

[High Endeavours]

Thanks for the advice! I walked the Le Puy in the spring. Took the loop up to Rocamadour and back down to Cahors - I loved that part and it was very quiet. For the next trip, I can't decide between the Arles and Vezelay, and I really waffle about the Frances. I stayed the night in St Foy in Conques, and I found it overwhelming. Too many people. I understand the auberges on the Frances are more like that and less like the 10 bed dorms on the Le Puy. As a lover of solitude, how did you find the Frances?

After the Arles I arrived on the Frances late in the fall because I didn't begin walking the Arles until Sept 27/18 which is World Alzheimer's Day, the purpose of my walk. I arrived in Puenta la Reina on October 20th and found the Frances reasonably quiet. I ended up walking through unseasonably cold weather (a fair bit of snow) and ended up with a bad case of sinusitis, so I didn't stay in the albergues. I crossed the Frances quite quickly (22 stages) and I didn't enjoy it very much after it became cold and the scenery drab, but it was an unusual situation and not a good measure for what you might experience. I really loved crossing the Frances in Sep/Oct 2013!

Depending on if you are thinking of walking one of two routes to the Frances and then on to Santiago, depending on the time of year, I would consider; 1) walking to Puenta la Reina (Arles option) and then possibly across the San Salvador and finish on the Norte (and Primativo?) to miss the crowds, or 2) walk the Vezelay to SJPP and then cross to the Norte/Primativo. If you want to try the Frances and are finding it to busy, you could always transfer to the Invierno/Sanabres at Ponferrada and into Santiago, a beautiful and seldom walked option. Any combination of these might work depending on your interests.

 

[OZAJ]

Bourges cathedral. Don't miss it. The only time I have had a sense of what it might have meant to an ordinary person in the middle ages. And no, I hadn't taken any weird drugs.