Chemin du Puy

Before you set off

Sleep here the night before you set off. The pilgrims' Mass and blessing is in the cathedral at 7:00 every morning from April to October, and at 7:30 on weekdays the rest of the year. Get your credential the day before at the cathedral sacristy, Espace Europa Compostela (23 rue des Tables) or Le Camino (2 rue de la Manécanterie).

Stage 1 of 29

From Le Puy-en-Velay: 14.5 miles · 2,020 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 2 of 29

Saugues has supermarkets; the next stage crosses the thinly populated Margeride plateau. Pilgrims are welcomed at the collegiate church from 17:00 to 18:30, April to mid-October.

From Saint-Privat-d'Allier: 12.1 miles · 2,070 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 3 of 29

The only place to sleep on this stage. Another way through: walk Saugues to Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole in one long day of about 20 miles. Saint-Alban has 16 places.

From Saugues: 12.0 miles · 1,720 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 4 of 29

From Domaine du Sauvage: 17.5 miles · 1,560 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 5 of 29

Nasbinals sits on the open Aubrac plateau. The route's highest point, about 4,490 ft, comes early the next day, between Nasbinals and Aubrac.

From Aumont-Aubrac: 16.0 miles · 1,400 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 6 of 29

A long day with about 3,900 ft of descent off the Aubrac, and Gronze warns of stony paths that are often waterlogged. Most walkers split it at Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac.

From Nasbinals, over the Aubrac: 20.0 miles · 1,370 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 7 of 29

Gronze calls Estaing one of the prettiest towns on the route: a château on a bend of the Lot, open May to mid-October.

From Saint-Côme-d'Olt, through Espalion: 12.8 miles · 1,360 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 8 of 29

A village of about 240 people, so it fills. Golinhac, 8.7 miles in, has seven places; its communal gîte is open all year but closed on Sundays and Mondays.

From Estaing, through Golinhac: 14.2 miles · 1,920 ft climbon Gronze

Or from Estaing, through Campuac: 14.4 miles · 1,810 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 9 of 29

A short day with the afternoon free. After the abbey's community dinner there's a short organ recital in the lit church, and the upper galleries are open from May to September. The next stage climbs straight out of the valley.

From Espeyrac: 7.5 miles · 930 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 10 of 29

From Conques, through Decazeville: 14.5 miles · 2,340 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 11 of 29

The first real town since Le Puy, with about 10,500 people, a medieval centre and the Champollion museum. A good place for a rest day in a hotel. The Célé valley and Rocamadour variants both start here.

From Livinhac-le-Haut: 15.0 miles · 1,370 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 12 of 29

Gronze notes there are no services between Gréalou and Cajarc. Cajarc sits on the Lot below limestone cliffs.

From Figeac: 19.1 miles · 1,740 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 13 of 29

Gronze calls Varaire a functional end of stage. Limogne-en-Quercy, 5.3 miles earlier, is the bigger village, with a communal gîte (La Halle, €21) and four other gîtes.

From Cajarc, through Limogne: 16.9 miles · 1,470 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 14 of 29

Gronze warns there are no services for 17 miles after Bach, only water points, so carry lunch. Cahors, with about 20,000 people, is the biggest town on the route: the Pont Valentré, the cathedral and an old town in a loop of the Lot.

From Varaire, through Bach: 20.1 miles · 1,080 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 15 of 29

A hamlet of under 200 people. Durand, 770 to 870 yards off the route just before the village, has three more places; Au Chemin de Traverse there is open all year. A daily 18:00 pilgrim Mass includes a foot-washing.

From Cahors: 14.2 miles · 1,470 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 16 of 29

Walled hilltop town, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, with an arcaded square and a Saturday market.

From Lascabanes, through Montcuq: 15.2 miles · 1,730 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 17 of 29

The abbey's Romanesque cloister and carved doorway are among the great sights of the route, listed by UNESCO. With the 80-bed Carmel, beds are rarely a problem here.

From Lauzerte: 17.2 miles · 1,610 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 18 of 29

Walled hilltop village above the Garonne, another of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. Its gîtes close early, the communal one on 6 October.

From Moissac: 13.3 miles · 1,060 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 19 of 29

Miradoux, 11 miles in, has eight places and splits the day neatly. Lectoure is a hilltop town with a cathedral and a Friday market.

From Auvillar, through Miradoux: 20.0 miles · 1,780 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 20 of 29

La Romieu, 11 miles in, has ten places and a fine collegiate church, and many walkers stop there. Condom is the main town of the Armagnac Ténarèze. Its brass-band festival on the second weekend of May books the town out.

From Lectoure, through La Romieu: 19.4 miles · 1,620 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 21 of 29

The second-longest day. Montréal-du-Gers, 9.9 miles in, has six places and splits it in half.

From Condom, through Montréal-du-Gers: 20.8 miles · 1,390 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 22 of 29

A short, flat day. Nogaro is best known for its motor-racing circuit.

From Éauze, through Manciet: 13.0 miles · 810 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 23 of 29

The easiest stage of the route for climbing. Aire, the first town in the Landes, is a reasonable rest-day stop before the long Béarn days.

From Nogaro: 17.0 miles · 680 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 24 of 29

The longest day of the route. Miramont-Sensacq and Pimbo each have five places, so it splits easily.

From Aire-sur-l'Adour, through Pimbo: 20.9 miles · 1,370 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 25 of 29

Pomps, 12.7 miles in, has a communal gîte with half board at €37 and makes a shorter day.

From Arzacq-Arraziguet: 18.6 miles · 1,380 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 26 of 29

After Sauvelade there are 6.8 miles with no beds. Navarrenx is a walled bastide, a fortified town on the Gave d'Oloron.

From Arthez-de-Béarn: 19.6 miles · 1,490 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 27 of 29

No shop, bakery or bar; the gîtes sell basics and cook dinner. Gîte Bellevue at Heguilloret, 0.9 miles before Aroue, is open all year with dorm beds at €16 to €18.

From Navarrenx: 12.2 miles · 780 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 28 of 29

The Tours, Vézelay and Le Puy routes meet at the Gibraltar stone, about 4.3 miles before Ostabat, so from here on you share beds with more walkers. Harambeltz, 2.2 miles before the village, has a gîte beside the Saint-Nicolas chapel, open 1 March to 30 November.

From Aroue: 14.9 miles · 1,890 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 29 of 29

The pilgrim office at 39 rue de la Citadelle issues credentials and registers guests for the municipal refuge. Trains to Bayonne take about an hour.

From Ostabat: 13.9 miles · 990 ft climbon Gronze