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Via Piamonte in September/October 2021???

John Saxon

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Invierno 2023
I know it's still a bit early to be asking, but wondering what folks have any insight as to how likely or unlikely it may be that albergues/gites/hostels on the Via Piamonte (Somport to Narbonne) will be open for business in September/October, 2021. Would especially like to hear from anyone who has walked or is planning to walk this route in 2021 or lives in France.
 
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Hello John
I can't say for sure for this year but in 2018 I walked the Piemont Pyreneen in September/October and alb/gites/hostels were mostly open although that might mean that you have to phone either ahead or when you arrive for a guardian to come and unlock the building for you.
I was mostly alone for the entirety of my walk and my experience was that folks went out of their way to ensure that I was able to use the accommodation available. In some cases the Autumn/Spring is the better time to walk as a number of the hostels are used by school groups during the summer and I was glad to not have to bunk down with 15-20 schoolboys and their chaperones!
hope it works out for this year
bon chemin
 
I know it's still a bit early to be asking, but wondering what folks have any insight as to how likely or unlikely it may be that albergues/gites/hostels on the Via Piamonte (Somport to Narbonne) will be open for business in September/October, 2021. Would especially like to hear from anyone who has walked or is planning to walk this route in 2021 or lives in France.
 
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Hi, Gary. Saw your post but didn't see a reply.
Hi John
Sorry about that. My computer skills are not what they should be.
I walked part of your proposed route about seven years ago and liked it very much. I attempted to send a note but when I checked later the text had all mysteriously disappeared.
I’ll try to remember the parts you might find most useful.
I walked in April found the eastern part of the path almost deserted. In the woods it was occasionally confusing and when it crossed pasture land it would tend to completely disappear. The route was very accurately mapped on the large scale French iGN maps I was able to download with 20 euro for a years subscription. A GPS attachment on a iPod would get me back to the path. I’m not a fast tech adopter.
I found that I couldn’t depend on being able to find supplies in the smaller villages. Some towns were deserted. Lovely towns with Mowed lawns, fresh paint, well tended gardens, but absolutely no people in sight. Stores were closed and all outside water taps locked.
The cemetery always seemed to have one small unlocked gate and an unlocked water tap. I was told later that this might not be intended for drinking but had no problems.
I have no useful information about lodging. I mostly camped in the eastern part and when hit the rain in the west I was adopted by a wonderful French trio that called ahead and booked our lodging.
In the east path was deserted. I met no pilgrims and few people. Traffic increased gradually west of Lourdes.
snow made the Somport pass inadvisable so I continued west to connect with the Camino Francés and cross the border at the lower pass.
I like your choice of trails. The Chemin Piemonte is great. I would like to try it again but with at least a bit more of the language and a working phone.
Best of luck.
(if you want, send me a personal message with your phone number and a best time to call Would love to talk)
 
Thanks so much for the great info, Gary. I'm as definite as I can be about walking this fall. My full route (planned) would be starting in Bayonne on the Baztan Sept. 2, Camino Aragones from Puente la Reina to Somport (which would mean crossing the pass mid-September) and then Via Piamonte to Narbonne. Would love to chat with you as the time approaches.
 
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My experience in 2017 walking the French GR10 (south of the Piemonte) along the Pyrenees was that I could book ahead by email 2-3 days in advance. But day of or 1 day in advance I had to phone. A very simple request for a bed and dinner in basic French was all they required. Just your first name and time of arrival. The French were wonderful.
 
Thanks, Bill. Yes. Planning to make calls/email for private gites. Just hoping that gites and hostels will be up and running by September/October. Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks, Bill. Yes. Planning to make calls/email for private gites. Just hoping that gites and hostels will be up and running by September/October. Fingers crossed.
Looking forward to your reports, The Piamonte is on my list. I put a Piamonte route guide up on forum under Resources.
 
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Thanks, Bill. I've got the website bookmarked now and it will be really useful. Also looking at All Trails maps from Oloron St. Marie to Carcasonne. Guessing the GR 78 continues on to Narbonne but maybe not.
 
For other pilgrims who may be thinking about walking the Chemin de Piedmont later this summer or fall, this will be my first time walking in France and I've got some pretty good lists of accommodations along the way but I've been a bit worried about whether the gites and monasteries along the route will have reopened after the COVID restrictions of this past year and ready to welcome pilgrims. So I've emailed a number of pilgrim associations in France and here (below) is what I've learned so far (still waiting on responses from the pilgrim associations in Aude and Haute Garonne as well as the folks at Webcompostela). Bon chemin!
Amis de Saint-Jacques en Hautes-Pyrénées

I do not have specific information regarding accommodation on the route. In principle all accommodation will be open from the end of June but of course within the constraints of health restrictions, especially for the number of places in the establishments. It might therefore be prudent to make your reservations already for more peace of mind.

I will forward your email to ACIR Toulouse which (perhaps) has more complete information.

ACIR Toulouse

Unfortunately we have very little information on this route. We advise you to call and if possible to reserve your place in the accommodation during this period of health crisis.

VPPYR

Unfortunately no, I have no feedback from this information. try to contact them directly, see tourist offices and local St Jacques associations for alternative solutions.
 
For other pilgrims who may be thinking about walking the Chemin de Piedmont later this summer or fall, this will be my first time walking in France and I've got some pretty good lists of accommodations along the way but I've been a bit worried about whether the gites and monasteries along the route will have reopened after the COVID restrictions of this past year and ready to welcome pilgrims. So I've emailed a number of pilgrim associations in France and here (below) is what I've learned so far (still waiting on responses from the pilgrim associations in Aude and Haute Garonne as well as the folks at Webcompostela). Bon chemin!
Amis de Saint-Jacques en Hautes-Pyrénées

I do not have specific information regarding accommodation on the route. In principle all accommodation will be open from the end of June but of course within the constraints of health restrictions, especially for the number of places in the establishments. It might therefore be prudent to make your reservations already for more peace of mind.

I will forward your email to ACIR Toulouse which (perhaps) has more complete information.

ACIR Toulouse

Unfortunately we have very little information on this route. We advise you to call and if possible to reserve your place in the accommodation during this period of health crisis.

VPPYR

Unfortunately no, I have no feedback from this information. try to contact them directly, see tourist offices and local St Jacques associations for alternative soluti
Hi John
I've attached this PDF file of a guide listing accomodation on the Voie du Piémont .It is dated 2019 but the information listed hasn't changed much since then.l hope it will be of some use to you.Although it is in french it is not difficult to follow ,lists names and telephone numbers of accueils jacquaires, gîtes etc.
Bon chemin
 
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File attached.
 

Attachments

  • Guide 2019 des haltes Saint-Jacques, voie du Piémont-Pyrénéen Montpellier via Carcassonne.pdf
    531.7 KB · Views: 21
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File attached.
Thank you so much. Yes, I've seen this guide and I'm finding it quite helpful in planning my stages. Just wanted to get a read on how likely or unlikely that many of the accommodations will be open this summer and fall as folks begin to emerge from the COVID restrictions.
 
Hi John - I live in SW France in the Dordogne and I can give you an idea of how it is here for us. This is a big tourist area and friends with gites and hotels are currently almost full throughout the season. A friend runs a small hotel and she is only opening at weekends but is full every weekend ... she is fully open in July and August and full again.

This year our lockdowns have been short... so lots of restrictions for 4 weeks but then life for us has been pretty much as normal. We've not be able to travel internationally and we've had a curfew but apart from that shops and schools have been open and I've met up with friends and really I think we've escaped lightly... certainly for us here now things are much better than is depicted in the UK press. Our friends think we struggle to get food!

Numbers are falling and restrictions are being lifted and more and more people have been vaccinated. Of course who knows if numbers will go up again but for now things are very good.

We're planning to walk part of the Aragones in July, I hope to walk part of the CF in September and we plan to fly to Porto to walk to Santiago at the end of September.

I understand fully that things can change but at the moment I would say its entirely possible to find accommodation open... but it might be busy!

I hope this is helpful
 
Thank you so much, LesBrass. This is SO helpful and puts my mind at ease. I was just on the verge of buying a small tent (even though I've never camped on the Camino before) just to be sure I'd have somewhere dry, if not warm, to stay. But I think that by calling a day or two in advance and having a Plan B and Plan C in my pocket I'll probably be OK. Thank you so much for the update on the COVID experience in SW France. Glad to hear that you all are doing OK (so far). Wishing you a bon chemin for your Camino journeys this summer and fall.
 
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John the only thing I would add is that the French holiday season will be slowing down by the autumn... so calling ahead would be useful. I love the area you plan to walk... wish I had time to walk all these glorious trails 😂. I hope you have a wonderful walk.
 
Yes, I'll be sure to call ahead at least a day (should I try to make it two days?) ahead. I'm really looking forward to this. First time walking one of the Caminos in France. Early fall should be beautiful. All the best on your way.
 

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