This is the quiet one among the great French pilgrim routes. You walk the GR 654 through open countryside, past small villages and through woods, often with few other pilgrims around you. It suits anyone who likes to walk at their own pace and would rather experience the Camino in silence.
You set off from the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Vézelay, a World Heritage Site and a lovely place to begin. After Vézelay the road splits. You take the branch via Nevers, where the body of Saint Bernadette lies. Then come the fields and meadows of Berry and the green hills of the Limousin, with Limoges along the way. In the Périgord you pass through Périgueux. Then the Landes begin: long, straight paths beneath the pines. The land is flat and still here, and you settle into a rhythm. You finish in Béarn, with the Pyrenees right in front of you.
At Ostabat the routes come together. The Camino Francés begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and from there you walk on to Santiago. At almost 930 kilometres this is a long walk, but not a steep one. What counts is mainly the sum of the days. September is the best month. Winter is cool and wet, so it is better to wait.