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International route · Spain

French Way

Hiking route · 768 km · 13,462 m ↑ · 35 stages

By public transportMulti-day

Distance768 kmone way

Ascent13,462 mdescent 13,382 m

Highest point1,510 mlowest 169 m

Walking time228 hDIN 33466, no breaks

Grade–not graded

Effortmulti-day35 stages

iThe route

French Way in brief

French Way is a 768 km long-distance trail from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

It climbs 13,462 m and descends 13,382 m, topping out at 1,510 m; it starts at 169 m and ends at 249 m.

Walked end to end it takes about 228 hours (DIN 33466, without breaks), spread over 35 stages.

22% of the route runs through forest.

The best months are March–April and June–September, judged by temperature and rain at the highest point.

At the high point the warmest month, July, averages 23° by day.

A bus stop or station lies within 800 m of the start or the finish. There is a car park near the start.

Facts

Distance: 768 km
Ascent / descent: 13,462 m / 13,382 m
Highest / lowest point: 1,510 m / 169 m
Walking time: 228 h
Effort: multi-day
Steepest kilometre: 20 %
In forest: 22 %
Best months: Mar–Apr · Jun–Sep
Start: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
Finish: Santiago de Compostela
Network: International route
Stages: 35

Download GPX

iiMap & profile

The line on the ground

Elevation profile

Height every 20 m · dashed lines: stage ends

Move along the profile to follow the route on the map.

iiiWhen to go

The year month by month

Janpossible
Febpossible
Margood
Aprgood
Maygood, wetter
Jungood
Julgood
Auggood
Sepgood
Octgood, wetter
Novpossible
Decpossible

Climate at the high point (1,510 m)

Averages 1981–2010 adjusted to the height with 6.5 °C per km; daylight at the start

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high	5°	6°	9°	12°	15°	20°	23°	23°	20°	14°	8°	6°
Average low	-3°	-3°	-2°	0°	3°	6°	8°	8°	6°	3°	-1°	-2°
Precipitation	110 mm	90 mm	80 mm	87 mm	90 mm	48 mm	31 mm	33 mm	71 mm	130 mm	127 mm	162 mm
Daylight	9 h 20 min	10 h 32 min	11 h 53 min	13 h 23 min	14 h 39 min	15 h 22 min	15 h 05 min	13 h 59 min	12 h 32 min	11 h 05 min	9 h 44 min	9 h 01 min

ivForecast

This week on the route

Loading the latest forecast…

vAlong the way

Kilometre by kilometre

km	What	Name	Elevation
60.6	Town or village	Huarte · 0.9 km off the route	441 m
62.1	Town or village	Atarrabia	436 m
63.1	Town or village	Burlata	439 m
66.2	Town or village	Pamplona	460 m
69.2	Town or village	Barañáin · 1.1 km off the route	441 m
72.1	Town or village	Zizur Mayor · 0.9 km off the route	459 m
74.5	Town or village	Galar · 0.6 km off the route	552 m
90.3	Town or village	Puente la Reina	352 m
112.1	Town or village	Estella-Lizarra	430 m
113.9	Town or village	Ayegui	493 m
151.7	Town or village	Viana	469 m
161.8	Town or village	Logroño	380 m
167.6	Lake	La Grajera Reservoir	432 m
174.3	Town or village	Navarrete	502 m
189.3	Town or village	Nájera	496 m
210.9	Sight	Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada	–
210.9	Town or village	Santo Domingo de la Calzada	646 m
283.2	Town or village	Burgos	863 m
283.3	Sight	Burgos Cathedral	–
461.6	Sight	Casa de los Botines	–
461.9	Sight	León Cathedral	–
461.9	Sight	French Way	–
462.2	Town or village	León	844 m
462.3	Sight	Basilica of San Isidoro	–
473.9	Town or village	Valverde de la Virgen	894 m
496.5	Town or village	Villarejo de Órbigo · 1.1 km off the route	817 m
510.5	Sight	Palacio Episcopal de Astorga	–
510.5	Town or village	Astorga	865 m
510.5	Sight	Astorga Cathedral	–
563.6	Town or village	Ponferrada	519 m
570.4	Town or village	Fuentesnuevas	508 m
572.7	Town or village	Camponaraya	492 m
578.3	Town or village	Cacabelos	486 m
586.1	Town or village	Villafranca del Bierzo	506 m
652.9	Town or village	Sarria	422 m
700.1	Town or village	Palas de Rei	552 m
714.8	Town or village	Melide	457 m
728.0	Town or village	Arzúa	408 m
763.1	Summit	Monte do Gozo	372 m
767.8	Sight	Way of Saint James	–
767.9	Sight	Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela	–
768.0	Sight	Hospital de los Reyes Católicos	–
768.0	Town or village	Santiago de Compostela	257 m
768.0	Sight	Plaza del Obradoiro	–

viUnderfoot

Surface, shade and gradients

Forest

under trees 22 %
measured every 50 m

Gradients

< 5 %: 75 %
5–10 %: 17 %
10–15 %: 6 %
15–25 %: 2 %
≥ 25 %: 0 %

viiStages

35 stages from start to finish

#	Stage	Distance	Ascent	Descent	Highest point	Walking time	Grade
1	Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Auritz	27.0 km	1,440 m	714 m	1,430 m	9 h 55 min	–
2	Auritz – Larrasoaña	23.8 km	527 m	918 m	951 m	7 h 45 min	–
3	Larrasoaña – Zizur Mayor	20.2 km	351 m	394 m	538 m	6 h	–
4	Zizur Mayor – Puente la Reina	19.0 km	392 m	494 m	763 m	5 h 55 min	–
5	Puente la Reina – Estella-Lizarra	21.8 km	489 m	414 m	497 m	6 h 40 min	–
6	Estella-Lizarra – Los Arcos	21.0 km	434 m	407 m	674 m	6 h 25 min	–
7	Los Arcos – Viana	18.4 km	384 m	359 m	578 m	5 h 35 min	–
8	Viana – Navarrete	22.5 km	363 m	331 m	524 m	6 h 35 min	–
9	Navarrete – Azofra	21.5 km	328 m	285 m	666 m	6 h 10 min	–
10	Azofra – Grañón	21.7 km	379 m	202 m	744 m	6 h 15 min	–
11	Grañón – Villambistia	22.4 km	360 m	228 m	867 m	6 h 25 min	–
12	Villambistia – Agés	20.8 km	409 m	305 m	1,158 m	6 h 10 min	–
13	Agés – Burgos	22.5 km	204 m	302 m	1,075 m	6 h 15 min	–
14	Burgos – Hornillos del Camino	20.7 km	196 m	242 m	923 m	5 h 45 min	–
15	Hornillos del Camino – Castrojeriz	19.7 km	198 m	211 m	936 m	5 h 30 min	–
16	Castrojeriz – Boadilla del Camino	19.0 km	215 m	247 m	913 m	5 h 20 min	–
17	Boadilla del Camino – Carrión de los Condes	24.9 km	123 m	70 m	849 m	6 h 30 min	–
18	Carrión de los Condes – Terradillos de Templarios	26.0 km	117 m	72 m	900 m	6 h 45 min	–
19	Terradillos de Templarios – Bercianos del Real Camino	23.7 km	176 m	203 m	881 m	6 h 25 min	–
20	Bercianos del Real Camino – Reliegos	20.3 km	80 m	112 m	882 m	5 h 20 min	–
21	Reliegos – León	25.0 km	210 m	194 m	897 m	6 h 50 min	–
22	León – Villadangos del Páramo	20.7 km	239 m	182 m	919 m	5 h 45 min	–
23	Villadangos del Páramo – San Justo de la Vega	23.5 km	161 m	213 m	915 m	6 h 20 min	–
24	San Justo de la Vega – Rabanal del Camino	23.9 km	360 m	51 m	1,150 m	6 h 40 min	–
25	Rabanal del Camino – Riego de Ambros	20.2 km	441 m	667 m	1,510 m	6 h 30 min	–
26	Riego de Ambros – Camponaraya	22.2 km	187 m	617 m	922 m	6 h 30 min	–
27	Camponaraya – Trabadelo	22.8 km	401 m	329 m	585 m	6 h 40 min	–
28	Trabadelo – Acibo	19.6 km	911 m	131 m	1,348 m	6 h 35 min	–
29	Acibo – Balsa	21.9 km	316 m	935 m	1,354 m	6 h 55 min	–
30	Balsa – Leimán	23.9 km	613 m	703 m	898 m	7 h 40 min	–
31	Leimán – Castromayor	23.1 km	566 m	599 m	668 m	7 h 20 min	–
32	Castromayor – Mato	22.0 km	474 m	575 m	726 m	6 h 50 min	–
33	Mato – Arzúa	21.4 km	492 m	607 m	499 m	6 h 45 min	–
34	Arzúa – Arca	21.1 km	508 m	601 m	410 m	6 h 45 min	–
35	Arca – Santiago de Compostela	18.8 km	414 m	449 m	392 m	5 h 50 min	–

Average stage: 21.9 km; shortest 18.4 km, longest 27.0 km.

viiiPhotos

Seen along the route

ixGetting there

Start, stops and airports

Start: 43.16234° N, 1.23723° W · 169 m
Finish: 42.88049° N, 8.54575° W · 249 m
Car park at the start: yes · 23 m
Stop at the start: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port · Railway station · 622 m
Stop at the finish: As Galeras, 16a · Bus stop · 298 m
Nearest airport: Biarritz Pays Basque airport (BIQ) · 41.2 km
Nearest airport: San Sebastián Airport (EAS) · 49.8 km

Conditions change: check the official sources, the signposts and the weather before you set off. Walking times follow DIN 33466 and do not include breaks. Route data as of 2026-10-16. Report an error