French Way by bike from León

Route for Pilgrims

Day 1: Arrival at León and Accomodation

You will arrive in León on your own or if you wish, we can arrange your transfer to this city from any airport or station you arrive at. From here, depending on your arrival time, you can visit different emblematic places in the city, such as the mansions and palaces in the historic city centre, the Cathedral of León, the Convent of San Marcos or the Jewish quarter. Moreover, the wide ranfe of gastronomic delights will allow you to start the Camino with plenty of energy! Do not miss the opportunity to visit one of the towns with the longest history on the French Way.

Day 2: Stage León – Astorga

You leave the big city behind to enter the Castilian plain and the wheat fields. You will have to choose between two variants, one that runs through Villar de Matarife and the other that follows the historic route to San Martín del Camino. After two asphalted stages today you will be walking through a path parallel to the N-120 that goes next to the agricultural landscape with many slopes.

Once again, after San Martín del Camino, you will have the possibility of choosing one of the two existing variants, with the same destination: Astorga, full of Roman remains such as its famous thermal baths, medieval buildings and modernist houses. On the way it is important to make stops in places such as Puente de Órbigo or the Church of San Juan Bautista. After arriving in Astorga, you will be able to visit different points of interest and enjoy emblematic places such as the Roman sewers and forum, the Episcopal Palace or the Roman thermal baths.

Day 3: Stage Astorga – Ponferrada

The first kilometres will be a succession of typical villages of the Castilian plain, all of them framed within the area formerly known as the Country of the Maragatos or the Somoza. You will walk among ashlar buildings and remains of the old muleteers, those who were in charge of transporting goods across the length and breadth of the peninsula with the help of pack animals. On the other hand, halfway this stage, the gentle undulations of the plain are slowly replaced by the ascent to the Bierzo region, through the mountains of León.

We say goodbye to the vast and inhospitable Castilian plains to be welcomed by the Bierzo mountains and their rich vegetation, which will accompany us on one of the hardest parts of the stage for our legs.

On our arrival to Ponferrada we can enjoy more relevant spots. To name a few: The Clock Tower (iconic symbol of the town), The St Tomas de las Ollas Church, The St Maria de Vizvayo Church or The Templar’s Castle.

Day 4: Stage Ponferrada – O Cebreiro

Step by step you will leave behind the endless straights between dry and monotonous plains, to start walking among the vines and the exuberant vegetation of the Galician community. You will travel through villages steeped in the history of the Pilgrims’ Route to reach the historic Villafranca del Bierzo.

Today you will open the doors of Galicia, specifically through the mountain pass of O Cebreiro, a pre-Romanesque settlement where you can look out over the Galician community from its famous pallozas. Bear in mind that there is a steep climb to reach the village of O Cebreiro, so be prepared for the challenge, it will be worth it once you see the views that await you at the top.

Day 5: Stage O Cebrerio – Portomarín

After the tough stage you faced yesterday, today there are just over twenty kilometres between the mountains of O Courel and Os Ancares. You’ll breath the purest air surrounded by deep and big valleys crowded with holly trees, oaks, chestnuts and ash trees. Enjoy as well the architecture and the manners inherited from the ancient cultures.

Once in Triacastela you will have the option of reaching the town of Sarria through two alternative routes, the main one (the most chosen) or the secondary one, the latter with the aim of visiting the famous monastery of Samos.

Once past the town of Sarria, the stage offers a pleasant route, separated from paved roads and embracing the most rural Galicia, where you can enjoy the countryside and the small villages of the Councils of Sarria, Paradela and Portomarín, as well as crossing rivers over medieval bridges and discovering numerous ecclesiastical vestiges from Roman times.

Day 6: Stage Portomarín – Arzúa

The first part of the stage runs over a lot of asphalt, divided by the Ligonde mountain range, the natural division of the Miño and Ulloa river basins. Dozen of Romanesque churches as well as the Lameiros Cross or the Castromaior site will smooth the effect of walking by the pavement road.

In this stage you will leave Lugo and enter in A Coruña. At this stage, the province of Lugo is abandoned to enter the last of the provinces through which it passes, the province of A Coruña, where it enters through the village of O Coto, bordering both provinces. Once in Arzúa do not hesitate to take your time to find a place where you can rest and taste its Denomination of Origin cheeses, valued as one of the best cheeses in the world.

Day 7: Stage Arzúa – Santiago de Compostela

At this point, the last 40 km will separate you from your goal, to enter the Obradoiro square and contemplate the magnificent Cathedral of Santiago. You will pass through the villages of O Pedrouzo and Santa Irene, the latter of which has an imposing chapel in honour of San Pedro, surrounded by a leafy oak grove.

On the final part of the route you will pass Monte do Gozo, called this way due to the feeling you get when you see the Cathedral for the first time after so many kilometres. However, at this point you may feel a mixture of feelings: joy because you are reaching your final destination, but also sadness because you will be at the end of one of the greatest adventures you have ever undertaken.

Day 8: Santiago de Compostela

Breakfast in your Accommodation A day off to visit all those monuments that, besides the Cathedral, have made this town so special. If you have plenty of time, do not hesitate to stay a couple of days more to enjoy this city. You could visit The Old Town and try the local gastronomy. Santiago joins a wide rage of attractions to charm the pilgrims

After breakfast our services will be finished.