Le Puy Route: 740 km in 30 days

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Stops on this route

Le Puy-en-Velay, France

Le Puy-en-Velay is a dramatic volcanic town in the Auvergne, built around two towering rock pinnacles crowned by a chapel and a giant red statue of the Virgin Mary. Its Romanesque cathedral, black Madonna, and lace-making tradition have made it one of the most distinctive towns in central France.

Conques

Conques is a small medieval village in the Aveyron department, built into a steep valley where two streams meet. It is famous for the Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy, a Romanesque masterpiece that has drawn pilgrims for over a thousand years, and it remains one of the essential stops on the Via Podiensis, the Le Puy route to Santiago de Compostela.

Figeac

Figeac is a market town on the banks of the Célé river in the Lot department, built around a medieval core of merchant houses that grew wealthy from trade along the pilgrimage roads. It lies on a variant of the Via Podiensis and served historically as a waystation for pilgrims heading toward Cahors and on to Santiago de Compostela.

Cahors

Cahors is the capital of the Lot department, wrapped almost entirely by a loop of the Lot river and centered on a well-preserved medieval quarter. The town is known for the fortified Pont Valentré and for the dark, tannic Malbec-based wines that carry its name, and it lies directly on the Via Podiensis as pilgrims cross the river on their way south toward Cahors' cathedral before continuing to Santiago de Compostela.

Moissac

Moissac is a small town in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, set where the Tarn river meets the Garonne canal system, and it grew around the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, one of the most important monastic foundations on the pilgrimage roads to Santiago de Compostela. It lies on the Via Podiensis, and pilgrims following the route have paused here since the Middle Ages to see the abbey before continuing south and west.

Aire-sur-l'Adour

Navarrenx

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a fortified Basque town in the French Pyrenees, built along the Nive river at the foot of the Roncevaux Pass. Its citadel, ramparts, and pink-and-white sandstone houses along the Rue de la Citadelle preserve one of the best-kept medieval townscapes in the region.

Road charges and rules along the way

France

Mandatory equipment: Safety vest (reflective, high-visibility), Warning triangle, Spare bulbs (headlights), Breathalyzer (disposable or electronic), Snow chains

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