Le Puy Route – Camino de Santiago

The Le Puy Route or Chemin du Puy in French is the most popular pilgrimage route in France. It starts near Lyon, in the town of Le Puy-en-Velay until Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port where the Camino Frances commences.

It is a fairly mountainous route with frequent ups and downs. The nature is very scenic and there are many interesting towns this route passes through like Figeac or Moissac.

It is very recommended for pilgrims to learn basic French before taking this route as that will help immensely in booking accommodation and in talking with other pilgrims on the route who are mostly French.

Waymarks are plentiful and it is easy to not get lost here.

The best time of the year to walk this route is the summer but then it is the busiest and accommodation may be difficult to find at times.

Le Puy Route Map
02. Female pilgrim set in a wall at Le Puy 03. Wall sculpture, St. Michael 04. 10th-century chapel of St. Michael on top of a puy or volcanic cone 05. Cathedral cloister, Le Puy 06. View of Le Puy from cathedral 07. Cathedral façade, Rue des Tables 08 Gite d'Escole, Montbonnet 09 Field of wheat and cornflowers in the Velay region 12. Chapel of St. Jacques [Santiago] on a cliff overlooking river Allier 13. Chapel interior 14. Chapel as seen from Monistrol d'Allier 15. Private gite La Tsabone at Monistrol 16 Waymarks 17 View of Saugues, entering the Gévaudan 18. Public gite in campground at Saugues 19. Farmhouse gite at La Roche in the Margeride 20. New house, old style 21 Chapel of St. Roch 22. Pilgrim chapel with scallop shell above window 24 In the Aubrac 25. Modern St. Roch 26. Modern St. Jacques 29. Open Aubrac country 30. Here the GR follows a cattle drove road 33. Domerie d'Aubrac'öremains of a hospice that welcomed pilgrims after the perilous Aubrac crossing 34. Day 7, St-Chely-d'Aubrac 35. Gite d'etape in old quarter of St. Come d'Olt 36. Day 8, Old houses on the river Lot at Espalion 37. Rustic Virgin and Child 38. Pilgrim bridge at Espalion 39. Estaing, at a bend in the Lot 41. Day 11, Abbey church at Conques in the wild Aveyron 42. Pilgrim shelter at Conques 44. Day 15, St. Jacques in church vestibule at Limogne-en-Quercy 46. Day 16, A garriotte (drystone shepherd's hut) 50. Central place in the hilltop bastide of Lauzerte 51. Day 22, GR along the Garonne, leaving Moi 54. Village with furrows and sunflowers 56. Old castle near Miradoux 60. Church of St. Anthony-remnant of Antonin community like that outside Castrojeriz 61. Day 29, Column capitals at Nogaro 62. Home open to pilgrims at Nogaro 66. Early baptismal font at Sensacq 67. Sensacq 68. Portal at Pimbo-spirals, fir branches, saints 70. La Vieille Auberge at Arzacq-Arraziguet 71.Day 32, St. Jacques with a baguette, Arthez 73. Day 33, Béarnese house 74. Béarnese geese 76. Day 36, Where the chemins from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy meet, south of St. Palais 77. Climbing the foothills 79. Day 37, The river Nive runs through St. Jean Pied du Port

Le Puy Route Map