Walking Guide to the Camino de Santiago History Culture Architecture: from St Jean Pied de Port to S

2025 edition now available. Fully updated after I walked the Camino in August / September 2024.

This guide focuses on presenting the essential information in a clear, concise, no nonsense manner. It describes the route which starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and ends in Santiago de Compostela, as well as the optional walk to the sea at Fisterra.

This guide grew out of the caminoguide.net free community-based guide to the Camino which is kept up-to-date with the help of feedback from pilgrims past and present.

The guide includes:

The Route: distances between places with pilgrim hostels, descriptions of difficult points along the route.

Maps: route maps showing the Camino in rural areas and large-scale maps of the major cities and towns showing the location of Pilgrim Hostels and other facilities.

Accommodation: up-to-date and accurate information about pilgrim hostels, the facilities provided and prices. (Please note, this guide is intended for people walking the Camino de Santiago the traditional way staying in pilgrim accommodation, it only contains a small number of recommeded hotels and guesthouses.)

Services: information about services (shops, restaurants, tourist information, internet, etc.) plus the dates of local festivals.

Sights: historical and architectural information about the sights you'll see along the Camino.

History: a brief history of the towns and villages along the Camino, describing significant events, people and legends.

Gastronomy: descriptions of the traditional dishes to watch out for in the different regions and recommendations on where to try them.

Placenames: the meanings and origins of the names of villages and towns.