El Camino Francés
(The French Way)
The Pilgrimage to Santiago
Today there has been a re-awakening of interest in the old pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, which is in the north western corner of the Iberian peninsula.
For most people
the pilgrimage to Santiago means following a route which first of
all crosses over the Pyrenees from France and then travels
westward across northern Spain. The usual route goes by way of
Pamplona, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, León, Ponferrada
and Portomarin.
Often, the Camino forms the main street or Calle Mayor as it
passes through a village which may have changed little since the
middle ages.
Castrillo de los Polvazares
The Goal
In Santiago itself the great Romanesque Cathedral is now encased in 18th century splendour; but the heavily carved Romanesque "Portico de Gloria" remains to welcome the pilgrim or visitor now as in medieval times.
The View from Obradoiro Square
The Confraternity of Saint James publish a detailed
guidebook for the French Route entitled:
PILGRIM GUIDES TO SPAIN
No. 1 THE CAMINO FRANCÉS £5-00
It can be obtained by visiting the on-line bookshop at the Confraternity Web Site
For more details of the Camino Francés please visit the Confraternity's web site.
The following Hyperlink leads to a Netherlands site which has details about one of the characters of the route.
An Interesting Personality of the Camino
Text Copyright of the Confraternity of
Saint James
Last Revised:
August 23, 2004
