The Via Tolosana is a route for those who have time and are looking for space. It is the southernmost of the four great French routes, also known as the voie d’Arles. It is certainly a tough one. This is not a route to start with if you have never walked for a week.
You start in Arles, in warm, open countryside. After Montpellier the road begins to climb. At Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert the hills begin, and in the Haut-Languedoc the climbs follow one another quickly. That calls for patience in your legs. After that you walk through Toulouse and on across rolling country to the Pyrenees. The last day is the hardest: a climb of more than 500 metres to the Col du Somport, the highest point on any of the routes to Santiago. At the pass you walk into Spain.
September is the best month. It is warm enough then, but not oppressive. In July the temperature during the day reaches around 32 degrees, and on this route that is no fun. In January, March and November it is cool and often rainy. At Somport you join the Camino Aragonés, which goes via Jaca to Puente la Reina and the Camino Francés. Santiago is still far away by then, but you have already come a long way.