Off days

[TravellingSonn]

Hi everyone,

I'm working through my itinerary and looking at having 5 off days. I have many more if need be.

What towns between Le Puy and SJPP are worth spending time at? I'll be taking the Célé valley detour.

It's great to be back and preparing for next year's camino.

Thanks again. Your input is always appreciated.

Happy preparations.

Ciao,
Sonn

 

[vicrev]

Number one for me was Conques, watch the climb out of the town ,a lot of people seem to give Figeac a miss & walk along the river ,thinking it's all traffic & noise,it isn't ,do a right turn, into the town,it's delightful........there is a Gite run by the Carmelite Nuns in Figeac, incredible atmosphere , loved it ,stayed there twice.........Cele valley, loved every inch of it,Rocamadour unmissable, same as St Cirque Lapopie, great Gite in the centre of town,I just wandered around everywhere, just couldn't leave the area...............hope you enjoy .......keep smiling......Vicrev

 

[Thomas1962]

It really depends on what you do like, cities, remote small villages of even nice albergues in the middel of nowhere.
Cities: Figeac, Cahors. Don't plan your day off in Decazeville!
Village: Conques for sure, but you need to be in the mood for a touristic place.. I always avoid these places because it feels like a real different mindset then walking.
Cajarc is ok, for some reason I really liked Livinhac le haut, a small village with one nice square with a smal supermarket and bar with restaurant. While having a croissant in the morning I felt like I could stay on the terasse for the whole day. Maybe it was also because I walked 42km the day before....

There is a lovely hostel about 10-15 km's behind Cahors with nothing else around, run by a family, with even a swimming pool. Only had a drink after I walked from cahors, but really thought about staying there the rest of the day and relax.

 

[dalston999]

Moissan is also a good place to spend a rest day. Give Ultreia very highly recommended. Cabreret on the Cele to visit the cave at Pech Merle and stay with the lovely Christelle at Gite du Barry and eat at her wonderful restaurant L a Roue. Best meal I had on all my caminos.

Conques and St C irq both very touristy and interesting to walk around and visit but maybe a whole day off would be overkill.

 

[vicrev]

Conques and St C irq both very touristy and interesting to walk around and visit but maybe a whole day off would be overkill.

Stayed 2 days in each, & loved it,wasn't overkill for me,far from it,suited my slow style of walking,touristy maybe,but ,compared to other parts of the world, the French do it well,no signs , hoardings,loud music in your face all the time...........once again, each his own...................keep smiling....Vicrev

 

[TravellingSonn]

Awesome! Thanks so much for your input guys. I added your recommendations to my growing list.

Thanks again.

 

[vicrev]

If you have got the time Rocamadour to Souliac to Sarlat is not a bad walk,nice & easy.................Vicrev

 

[jl]

If you stay in St Palais (the Franciscan monastery) make sure you check out whether they have dance (folk) lessons in the square. They are interesting to see (on Wed night from memory), also there is quite a bit of Pelota games (and practice's) which are entertaining to watch in these Basque villages in this area.

I had a lovely evening in the converted pigsties just out of Ostobat. The owner takes charge after a delicious dinner (cooked by his wife - very definitely her place was in the kitchen!) and leads an evening of entertainment. He chats and sings in Basque. This gite has rooms with four beds in each room and an ensuite.

 

[unadara]

I love reading about plans, different routes and recommendations. In order to find this thread again could it be put into Le Puy route thread? it will come up with a search but I sometimes go back and forth and back and forth again, the threads are so interesting. When are you starting Sonn and How many days ?

 

[vicrev]

Thats where it is,unadara.....................Vicrev

 

[TravellingSonn]

Am I doing something wrong? I've noticed lately I'm receiving replies from people assuming I'm walking the camino Frances. I'm sure my posts are within the relevant route.

unadara, I commence the Le Puy route early June. Technically I have 3 months up my sleeve. I'm hoping I'll be done and dusted within 41 days.

 

[StuartM]

I've not walked the route but I know the area very well. Figeac is a lovely town, lots of good restaurants too.

The area round Marcilhac is lovely, it's one of my favourite villages on the planet. The hours I've spent sitting in the Cafe des Touristes with a beer listening to whoever it is in the village that plays the piano in one of the houses... The old church/abbey is nice. There is a campsite just by the river too although it floods in the rain.

It might be a little bit off route but St Cirq La Popie is beautiful.

If you have got the time Rocamadour to Souliac to Sarlat is not a bad walk,nice & easy.................Vicrev

Rocamadour is breathtaking. I've been there hundreds of times and I never leave without a ton of pictures. There is a great little restaurant at the bottom of town for beer and pizza and a very good posh restaurant at the top end (Jean de Valon). There is another one about midway with a terrace over the valley with very good salads and pizzas too.

As you are walking keep an eye out for some of the blue springs that are scattered round the countryside there, they lead to some incredible flooded caves:

 

[jl]

Hi Sonia, unless you are referring to PM's, as far as I can tell all the towns and villages are on the le Puy route as far as St Jean, though some refer to detours - eg Rocamadour, St Palais. In three months you will have oodles of time to do the detours - and then some - I you want to. You might even like to consider adding on the few days journey out to Bayonne along the river Nieve, and the start of the Camino del Norte from there to Hendaye, as a change of scenery. Enjoy the Aubrac plateau. Janet

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Sonn, so happy that you are back in planning mode. There are so many beautiful villages but not so many cities where you would have anything to do. I think Cahors is the biggest city (or one of them) along the way and I really didn't like it. Maybe it was just me, but we took a rest day here that we had planned in advance and I thought that aside from the beautiful bridge, there just wasn't much of beauty in the town. It didn't seem like a place that people cared for and loved, but that may also be unfair.

Conques is indeed touristy, but the church is amazing. If you are into this sort of thing, I highly recommend the night music when they open up the galley up above and you can walk inches from the capitals. It was an incredible experience. Moissac is also touristy but also has a beautiful church -- it strikes me as a bigger place and more of a "real town" than Conques.

 

[vicrev]

Yes Stuart, the restaurants in Rocamadour are very good, I can remember having the best Dinde Gesiers ever, I think it might have been Jean de Valon. I also camped in one of the caves,out of the weather,all sorts of things scuttling about....brrrr................Yes peregrina,the night music at Conques, is not to be missed,they played Vivaldi when I was there,the perfect setting for it,more so than Venice,where I heard the same & paid big bucks for it..............Watch the steep climb out of Conques,Sonn,make sure you have your Weeties & Vegemite before you tackle it.................keep smiling.......Vicrev