Via Gebennensis (Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard)

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard (2,187 m, Italy/France border) → Yenne (233 m), junction with the Via Gebennensis
• Length: 153.7 km
• Duration: 7 stages, approx. 7–8 days
• Elevation: ↗ 1,565 m / ↘ 3,519 m
• Highest point: 2,187 m at km 0 on the pass; after that you descend about 1,400 meters over the first 15 kilometers
• Landscape: high Alpine pass with a stone circle, larch forest, the Isère valley of the Tarentaise, balcony villages, the Combe de Savoie with its vineyards, the shore of the Lac du Bourget
• Waymarking: Yellow arrow on a blue background from the top of the pass, a gap of about 3 km straight through Chambéry, from Yenne on the scallop shell and red-and-white blazes of the GR 65
• Traces of St. James: two Jameses: the Apostle in Séez, Aime, Villaroland, Myans and Challes-les-Eaux, with the oldest St. James in Savoy in Conflans; plus Jacques de Tarentaise, the valley's first bishop
• Accommodation: hospice on the pass (summer only), then accueils jacquaires on a donation basis, gîtes, campgrounds and hotels; there are no pilgrim albergues in the Spanish sense
• Connecting routes: in Yenne the Via Gebennensis to Le Puy-en-Velay; from there the Via Adresca (from Gillonnay), the Via Podiensis (from Le Puy); on the Italian side, in Aosta, the Via Francigena (Italy) (about 53 km Aosta – pass, not in Camino Ninja)
• Best time: late June to late September; the pass road is usually open only from June to October, and snow often lingers up top into June
• Associations along the way: whole route: Association Rhône-Alpes des Amis de Saint-Jacques

Overview

Most Caminos start at a church door. This one starts at 2,187 meters, on a pass people were crossing before the Romans ever got here. On the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard you'll find a circle of 46 stones, the remains of two Roman way stations, an 11th-century hospice, and a column that once held Jupiter and now holds a saint. The border between Italy and France runs straight through the stone circle. From here you walk almost nothing but downhill for six days, all the way to the Rhône.

Along the way lies a landscape you probably know from ski trips: the Tarentaise, Albertville, the 1992 Olympic city, the vineyards of the Combe de Savoie, then Chambéry, the old capital of the Dukes of Savoy, and the Lac du Bourget. In Yenne you join the Via Gebennensis, coming from Geneva. You'll have arrived from above, over the Alps, like the Romans.

Other Names

Via Gebennensis (Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard) is a working name used by Camino Ninja. In our system, feeder routes are named after the main route they lead to, with their starting point in parentheses. So this route isn't part of the Via Gebennensis itself, which runs from Geneva to Le Puy. It takes you there.

The Association Rhône-Alpes des Amis de Saint-Jacques (ARA) calls the route "Partir du col du Petit-Saint-Bernard pour Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle" and lists it as a Bretelle de raccordement, a connecting branch: it's meant to bring pilgrims from the Tarentaise, Albertville and Chambéry onto the GR 65 to Le Puy at Yenne. It was worked out by a team from the association's Savoy group and is described in three booklets (as of February 2026). From Aosta to Albertville the route is also a section of the Via Sancti Martini, the Way of St. Martin, a Council of Europe Cultural Route. The Romans called the pass Alpis Graia; in Italian it's the Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

This route is ideal for you if you're coming from the Aosta Valley and want to keep going to Santiago, or if you're looking for a Camino with a grand opening: high mountains on day one, then valleys, towns and a lake.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if your knees don't like long descents. The first day loses 1,380 meters over 14.5 kilometers, and in total you go down 3,519 meters. It's also not for you if you expect pilgrim infrastructure like in Spain: there are no albergues, hardly any pilgrims, and the accueils jacquaires are private hosts you need to call 24 to 48 hours ahead. Right in the middle of Chambéry the waymarking drops out for about 3 kilometers. Between Albertville and Chambéry you spend a long time on a flat valley floor crisscrossed by roads and rail lines. And outside of summer it's not for you: there's snow up top, the pass road is closed, and so is the hospice.

Route & Landscape

From the pass to Moûtiers (km 0–44.9): From the pass you descend through alpine pastures and larch forest via Séez (km 10.9) to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (km 14.5) at 807 meters, then follow the Isère via Landry to Aime (km 28.0). Beyond Aime the route climbs via Montgirod and Hautecour onto a balcony terrace, reaching 1,243 meters once more at km 38.1. Only then does it drop steeply to Moûtiers (km 44.9) at 479 meters.

From Moûtiers to Yenne (km 44.9–153.7): Through the narrow lower Tarentaise you reach Albertville (km 72.6) via Cevins. Then the Combe de Savoie opens up: via Grignon and Fréterive you walk along the foot of the Bauges to Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte; Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny lies 1.4 km off the route. In Montmélian (km 111.0) you cross the Isère, walk beneath Mont Granier through the vineyards to Myans, and via Barberaz into Chambéry (km 126.7). Past the city you reach the Lac du Bourget at Le Bourget-du-Lac (km 138.9). Via Bourdeau the route crosses the Mont du Chat ridge; our map takes it over at around 640 meters, a good 3 kilometers north of the Col du Chat. The association's description offers two options: up over the Col du Chat, or through the 1932 road tunnel, which since 2018 has had a separate gallery for pedestrians and cyclists, painted by Savoyard graffiti artists. Both meet in Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu, from where you walk down to Yenne (km 153.7) on the Rhône.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

The seven stages are a Camino Ninja suggestion, set at towns with accommodation. Distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 153.7 km. The first two days are short because the descent takes it out of your legs; if you're fit, combine them (28.0 km). From Albertville on, the days are long but flat. According to the association's description, it's 75.7 km from the pass to Albertville, 54 km to the Parc de Buisson-Rond on the southern edge of Chambéry, and 25 km from Chambéry to Yenne.

1. Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard → Bourg-Saint-Maurice (14.5 km) — from the stone circle and Jupiter's column, about 1,380 meters down via Saint-Germain and Séez.
2. Bourg-Saint-Maurice → Aime (13.5 km) — an easy stroll along the Isère via Le Plan and Landry to the Basilica of Saint-Martin.
3. Aime → Moûtiers (16.9 km) — the counter-climb via Montgirod and Hautecour to 1,243 meters, then steeply down into the bishops' town; Montgirod has neither food nor a bed, so pack supplies.
4. Moûtiers → Albertville (27.7 km) — through the narrow lower Tarentaise via Notre-Dame-de-Briançon, Cevins and La Bâthie.
5. Albertville → Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny (27.1 km) — via Grignon and Fréterive into the Combe de Savoie; the town lies 1.4 km off the route and has a train station, and the accueil jacquaire will pick you up.
6. Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny → Chambéry (27.0 km) — via Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte, Montmélian and Myans to the ducal city.
7. Chambéry → Yenne (27.0 km) — to the Lac du Bourget, over the Mont du Chat ridge and down to the Rhône and the Via Gebennensis.

The only technically demanding part is the steep descent on day one; poles help. Early in the season, the association warns, expect snowfields on the small alpine road below the pass.

The Pass Where Jupiter Now Goes by Bernard

At the top of the pass, at 2,188 meters, stands a column known as the Colonne de Joux. "Joux" comes from Jupiter. On the road from Mediolanum to Gaul, the Romans had a small temple and two way stations here; the column bore an image of the god and probably doubled as a landmark in the fog. Today it carries a statue of St. Bernard of Menthon. Legend has it that Bernard himself toppled the pagan column. So your very first step takes you past a pedestal where a saint replaced a god.

Bernard, archdeacon of Aosta, had a hospice built on the pass in the 11th century, just as on the Great St. Bernard. It served travelers in both directions, above all pilgrims bound for Rome. In 1466 it passed to the canons of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, and later to the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus of the House of Savoy. Its best-known rector, Pierre Chanoux, founded the Chanousia alpine garden in 1897. During World War II the hospice was badly damaged by bombing and then abandoned. Reconstruction began in 1993, and since 2014 hikers can once again get a meal and a bed there.

The stone circle, 72 meters across, is older still. Whether Hannibal crossed this pass in 218 BC is one of several theories and remains unproven. On your last day you come close to a second candidate: Theodor Mommsen once argued for the Col du Chat above the Lac du Bourget, a claim now considered refuted. One route, two Hannibal passes, and no proof for either.

Highlights Along the Way

• Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard (km 0) — stone circle, Roman mansiones, Jupiter's column with the statue of Bernard, the hospice and, on the Italian side, the Chanousia botanical garden.
• Séez (km 10.9) — the sixth Roman milestone, the "sextum lapis"; in the church, two statues of the Apostle James and a tombstone carved with scallop shells.
• Villaroland near Landry (around km 20) — the Chapel of Saint-Eustache with a fresco of St. James.
• Aime (km 28.0) — the Basilica of Saint-Martin, built around the year 1000 on the Roman foundations of ancient Axima, with frescoes and a crypt; a Monument historique since 1875. In the parish church the Apostle appears twice, next to a statue of the other James, the bishop.
• Hautecour (km 40.4) — the 12th-century Church of Saint-Étienne, with an altarpiece and a statue of St. Jacques de Tarentaise.
• Moûtiers (km 44.9) — Saint-Pierre Cathedral of the archbishops of the Tarentaise; a basilica is already documented here between 517 and 525. This was the seat of this route's second James: Jacques de Tarentaise, also known as Jacques d'Assyrie, said to have become the valley's first bishop around 426. He shares nothing with the Apostle but the name. When you come across a Saint-Jacques, check whether he carries a pilgrim's staff and shell, or a miter.
• Conflans in Albertville (km 72.6) — the medieval upper town. Its museum holds the 15th-century Saint-Jacques de Thénésol, the oldest statue of St. James in the département. Albertville itself only came into being in 1836, when King Charles Albert merged Conflans and L'Hôpital.
• Montmélian (km 111.0) — the rock of a fortress that Louis XIII besieged in vain for thirteen months in 1630; after its surrender in 1705, the French had it razed.
• Myans (km 117.6) — the Black Madonna. When Mont Granier collapsed on November 24, 1248, burying villages, the debris came to a halt just short of her chapel. Legend has the demons wailing: "Nous ne pouvons pas ! La Noire nous en empêche !" – We can't, the Black One is stopping us. Since 2019 a St. James has kept watch here too.
• Challes-les-Eaux (about 1.6 km off the route) — in the castle chapel, St. James dressed as a pilgrim.
• Chambéry (km 126.7) — the castle of the Dukes of Savoy, and the Sainte-Chapelle, built from 1408 to 1430.
• Le Bourget-du-Lac (km 138.9) — the Priory of Saint-Maurice, founded around 1030 by Abbot Odilo of Cluny.

The Shroud That Came to Meet the Pilgrim

From 1502 to 1578, the Sainte-Chapelle in Chambéry held the most precious relic of the House of Savoy: the cloth known today as the Shroud of Turin. In 1532 the chapel caught fire and the shroud was damaged; the burn marks are still visible. The reason it no longer lies in Chambéry has to do with a pilgrim. Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, had vowed to walk to the Shroud once the plague of 1576 was over. On October 6, 1578, he set out. Duke Emmanuel Philibert wanted to spare him the Alps and had the cloth brought to Turin. It's still there today. His follower Carlo Bascapè wrote: "Carlo già da tempo desiderava vedere la Sindone." Charles had long wished to see the Shroud.

The pilgrim didn't come to the relic; the relic came to the pilgrim. You, on the other hand, stand in Chambéry in front of the chapel where it lay for 76 years, and walk on without ever seeing it.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

You can reach the pass from two sides. From France, in July and August a shuttle bus runs up from Bourg-Saint-Maurice; the rest of the time it only goes as far as La Rosière. You then walk the first stage back down into the valley. From Italy, you come up from the Aosta Valley via Pré-Saint-Didier and La Thuile. Aosta lies on the Via Francigena (Italy), which runs from the Great St. Bernard to Rome; in Camino Ninja it reaches Aosta after about 28 kilometers. According to the ARA, it's about 53 kilometers from Aosta up to the pass, two and a half to three days, which also form part of the Via Sancti Martini. This section isn't in Camino Ninja; the association provides a GPX track on request. From Switzerland, you reach Aosta via the Via Francigena (Switzerland) and the Great St. Bernard.

Continue the pilgrimage?

In Yenne the feeder route ends and you're standing on the Via Gebennensis, at its km 94.6. From here it's still about 253 kilometers to Le Puy-en-Velay, so about 407 from the pass. Along the way you have two branch-offs:

• Via Gebennensis — the direct route over the Pilat massif to Le Puy
• Via Adresca — branches off after about 75 kilometers in Gillonnay and leads via Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye and the Vivarais to Le Puy
• Via Rhodana — via the Via Adresca to La Roche-de-Glun on the Rhône, then south to Arles

In Le Puy the Via Podiensis begins, leading via Conques and Moissac to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where the Camino Francés continues over the Pyrenees to Santiago.

Preparation & Practical Information

Season. This is a summer route. The pass road is usually open only from early June to late October, snow often lingers up top into June, and according to the tourist office the hospice opens from May 20 to October 1, depending on the road. In 2025 the road was closed as early as September 22 for repair work following a 2021 landslide; check before you travel whether the road, the bus and the hospice are open.

Waymarking. Follow the yellow arrow on a blue background; it starts at the border on the top of the pass. On the southern edge of Chambéry, in the Parc de Buisson-Rond, it stops and only picks up again at the northern exit of the city, where the Avenue verte Nord begins by the Charrière-Neuve cemetery. From Yenne on, follow the scallop shell and red-and-white blazes of the GR 65. The three booklets with maps and addresses are available from the association: chemins.compostelleenrhonealpes.fr.

Accommodation and credential. On the pass you sleep at the hospice, open in summer, with 30 beds in 7 rooms; on the Italian side there's a small hotel. After that the accueils jacquaires carry you along: private hosts who take in pilgrims for a donation, in about a dozen places from Séez to Yenne. Call 24 to 48 hours ahead; hosts who live off the route will often pick you up. On top of that there's a gîte in Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu, campgrounds from Séez to Albertville and hotels in the valley towns; book ahead in summer. The easiest way is directly in the Camino Ninja App, where you put your stages together and plan suitable accommodation right along with them. As on all French routes, you need a pilgrim credential (Credencial) to stay in pilgrim accommodation and to receive the Compostela at the end. It's best to order it online in advance so it reaches you in time for the start of your trip. You'll get your first stamp at the hospice, daily from June 15 to September 15, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; more are available at the tourist offices in Albertville and Chambéry, the museum in Conflans and Chambéry Cathedral.

What the journey will cost you

Your first night at the hospice on the pass costs 72 € at the pilgrim rate (as of February 2026). After that, it depends on how often you stay with accueils jacquaires; give there what a bed and dinner are worth. In hotels and gîtes, budget 55 to 80 € a day for bed, dinner and breakfast (Camino Ninja estimate, as of October 2026). For seven stages without any accueils, that comes to roughly 400 to 560 €, not counting travel to and from the route. The S80 summer bus from Bourg-Saint-Maurice up to the pass costs 3 € (as of October 2026).

Getting Here

• Getting to the start: train via Chambéry to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (end of the line), then the S80 shuttle bus up to the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard (July and August), otherwise a bus to La Rosière.
• From Italy: to Aosta, bus to Pré-Saint-Didier and on to La Thuile, then on foot up to the pass.
• Joining partway: train stations in Aime, Moûtiers, Albertville, Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Montmélian and Chambéry.
• Getting home from the finish: Yenne has no train station; the nearest are in Culoz and Chambéry, so arrange a bus or taxi in advance.
• Timetables: ter.sncf.com, aosta.arriva.it