Via Gebennensis (Saint-Gingolph)

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Saint-Gingolph (380 m, Valais–France border) → Geneva, Cathedral of Saint-Pierre (406 m), starting point of the Via Gebennensis
• Length: 75.6 km
• Duration: 4 stages, 3 days for experienced walkers
• Elevation: ↗ 918 m / ↘ 893 m
• Highest point: 642 m at km 8.9, on the hillside west of Meillerie
• Landscape: cliffs and chestnut slopes between Saint-Gingolph and Évian, the spa towns of the Chablais, flat lakeside farmland to Douvaine, Geneva's wine villages
• Waymarking: In France, a yellow arrow on a blue background from the Saint-Gingolph customs post to the Chens-le-Pont/Hermance customs post, then for the last 17.3 km to the cathedral the Council of Europe scallop shell of the Swiss Friends of St. James
• Traces of St. James: James as a pilgrim in the choir stalls of Évian (15th century) and on the vault of Saint-Hippolyte in Thonon (1699), the Commanderie des Bois in Filly, the scallop shell in the coat of arms of Massongy; in Geneva, bronze scallop shells set in the ground
• Accommodation: hotels, campgrounds and several accueils jacquaires, private hosts for pilgrims; there are no pilgrim albergues in the Spanish sense
• Connecting routes: in Geneva the Via Gebennensis, the Via Lugdunum and the end of the Via Jacobi; near the start the Via Francigena (Switzerland) and the Rhein-Reuss-Rhôneweg (connecting sections not in Camino Ninja)
• Best time: April to October; the route has no high ground and can be walked almost all year
• Associations along the way: whole route: Association Rhône-Alpes des Amis de Saint-Jacques

Overview

On June 23, 1816, two Englishmen climbed into a boat at Cologny and sailed along the south shore of Lake Geneva: Hermance, Évian, Meillerie, Saint-Gingolph. One was Lord Byron, the other Percy Bysshe Shelley. This route follows their course, just in reverse and on foot. That has its advantages: Shelley nearly drowned along the way.

You start in Saint-Gingolph, where the Valais meets France, and walk through the Chablais, the French shore of the lake: over the steep slopes of Meillerie, through the spa towns of Évian and Thonon, past the Château de Ripaille and across flat farmland to Douvaine. At Hermance you're back in Switzerland. Three or four days later you stand in front of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Geneva, where the Via Gebennensis begins. By then you've walked all the way around a lake. Well, half of it.

Other Names

Via Gebennensis (Saint-Gingolph) 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 only begins in Geneva. It brings you to it.

Officially, the Association Rhône-Alpes des Amis de Saint-Jacques (ARA) calls the route the "bretelle du Chablais", a connecting route that brings pilgrims from the Chablais onto the Via Gebennensis (GR 65) in Geneva. The route description by the ARA's Haute-Savoie delegation is titled "Partir de Saint-Gingolph pour Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle" and counts 75 kilometers to Geneva and 1,937 kilometers to Santiago. Geographically, the area is called the Chablais and the lakeshore the Rive sud du Léman; in French, Lake Geneva is Lac Léman.

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 Valais, say from the Via Francigena or the Rhein-Reuss-Rhôneweg, and want to head for Geneva and on to Santiago. It also works if you're looking for a short way in: three or four days, hardly any climbing, plenty of water, good rail connections.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if you're looking for solitude. The south shore is densely built up, and between Évian and Geneva you often walk past roads, suburbs and vacation homes. It's also not for you if you expect pilgrim hostels with dorms: there's only a handful of private pilgrim hosts, otherwise hotels and campgrounds. Between Saint-Gingolph and Évian, food is hard to come by outside the summer season, and from Thonon to Douvaine there are 15 kilometers with almost nowhere to shop. And if your budget is tight, the last stage gets expensive: Geneva is one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

Route & Landscape

From Saint-Gingolph to Évian (km 0–21.3): The waymarking starts at the customs post on the bridge over the Morge. Right behind the village, the trail climbs from the shore onto the slopes. Below you lies Meillerie (km 7.3), where the rock face drops almost vertically into the water. West of it, at km 8.9, you reach the highest point at 642 meters. From Meillerie you share the trail with the GR de Pays Littoral du Léman and stay on the mid-slope for a long stretch, between 500 and 620 meters, over Lugrin and past Neuvecelle, as far as the upper station of the funicular, which can take you down into Évian-les-Bains (km 21.3).

From Évian to Geneva (km 21.3–75.6): Via Amphion and Vongy you reach Thonon-les-Bains (km 32.8), the capital of the Chablais. Beyond it the land flattens out: Anthy-sur-Léman, Sciez (km 42.9), the hamlet of Filly, Massongy, Douvaine (km 51.8). Between Corzent and the Port de Séchex, when the wind is calm, you can walk along the shore, past a fishing harbor and beaches; watch out for private property there. The village of Yvoire, the one on all the brochures, lies about 4 kilometers off the route. At Hermance (km 57.4) you cross the border. The blue-and-yellow arrows end here; from now on, the Council of Europe scallop shell of the Association helvétique des Amis du chemin de Saint-Jacques, alongside the Swiss hiking trail signs, leads you through the Geneva countryside via Corsier, Vandœuvres and Cologny (km 71.2) down to the lake and into the Old Town of Geneva.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

The four stages are a Camino Ninja suggestion, set at places with accommodation. Distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 75.6 km. If you're fit, you can do it in three days: Saint-Gingolph – Évian, Évian – Douvaine (30.5 km), Douvaine – Geneva.

1. Saint-Gingolph → Évian-les-Bains (21.3 km) — the only day with real climbing: up above Meillerie and along the mid-slope to Évian.
2. Évian-les-Bains → Sciez (21.6 km) — through Thonon and past the Château de Ripaille into the flat lakeside country.
3. Sciez → Hermance (14.5 km) — via Massongy and Douvaine to the border; a short day with time for the side trip to Yvoire.
4. Hermance → Geneva (18.2 km) — through Geneva's wine villages and over Cologny to the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre.

Nothing here is technically difficult. On the first day, the hillside paths are steep and slippery when wet, and the first stretch out of Saint-Gingolph runs along a road with heavy commuter and truck traffic; walk single file and stay visible. Before Chens, the arrows are missing at a fork in the fields: keep right.

Shelley Couldn't Swim: The Storm off Meillerie

In late June 1816, Byron and Shelley sailed around Lake Geneva. Byron wanted to see the settings of Rousseau's 1761 novel "Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse". Its most famous scene takes place at the rocks of Meillerie: Julie and Saint-Preux are caught there in a storm and nearly lost. Rousseau knew the spot; he had traveled around the lake in September 1754.

The Englishmen got their scene. Past Meillerie the wind picked up, and Shelley later wrote: "The wind gradually increased in violence, until it blew tremendously." The boat almost filled with water. Byron, an excellent swimmer, took off his coat to save Shelley; Shelley couldn't swim and refused the help. A few minutes later they were safe in the harbor of Saint-Gingolph. A few days after that, stuck in Ouchy by the rain, Byron wrote "The Prisoner of Chillon". Six years later, in 1822, Shelley really did drown, in the Gulf of La Spezia.

On your first day you cover this stretch over the cliffs, in the other direction, and dry. You'll see the stone of Meillerie again later: from the quarries, worked from 1800 to 1939, sailing barges carried the limestone across the lake, and it's built into the Palais des Nations and Cornavin station in Geneva.

Highlights Along the Way

• Saint-Gingolph (km 0) — one village, two countries: since the Treaty of Thonon of March 4, 1569, the Morge has formed the border. Both halves share the church, built in 1770. In July 1944, German troops burned down the French half, and its residents fled across the stream into Switzerland.
• Meillerie (km 7.3) — a 13th-century priory of Augustinian canons that answered to the hospice on the Great St. Bernard, the very canons who have been getting pilgrims over the Alps since the Middle Ages. Above the village lies a rock known as the "Pierre à Jean-Jacques Rousseau".
• Évian-les-Bains (km 21.3) — in 1789, the Count de Laizer is said to have noticed that water from a local spring eased his kidney ailment. The owner, a certain Monsieur Cachat, promptly started charging for it; in 1826, Savoy authorized bottling. In 1962, the accords that ended the Algerian War were signed here. In the Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, the 15th-century walnut choir stalls show the Apostles' Creed, among them James the Greater as a pilgrim.
• Amphion (km 25.7) — about 500 meters off the route, the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Rencontre has a 1959 mural by André Poirson: the procession of the Apostles, James included.
• Thonon-les-Bains (km 32.8) — Church of Saint-Hippolyte, raised to a papal chapel in 1439. From 1594, Francis de Sales preached here to win back the Chablais, Protestant since 1536, for Catholicism; at Christmas 1596 he returned the church to Catholic worship. The vault, painted in 1699, shows James the Greater with his brother John.
• Château de Ripaille (km 30.7) — in 1434, Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy withdrew here as a hermit with six companions and founded the Order of Saint Maurice. On November 5, 1439, the Council of Basel elected him pope; as Felix V, he abdicated in Lausanne on April 7, 1449, the last antipope in Church history. The idea that "faire ripaille", to feast lavishly, comes from his banquets is a lovely legend: the expression is older.
• Commanderie des Bois in Filly (km 46.4) — nothing is left of the Cistercian abbey of Filly, founded in 1228, but the stone houses of the commandery at the entrance to the hamlet still stand, one bearing an inscription from 1605. Around 1600, the commandery of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus took in pilgrims from the Valais and the Chablais who wanted to avoid Protestant Geneva. Today you walk straight through it.
• Massongy (km 48.8) — the scallop shell appears in the municipal coat of arms, taken from the Detraz family; you can get a stamp at the mairie.
• Hermance (km 57.4) — a small medieval town with a round tower from 1337/1338; part of Geneva since the Treaty of Turin in 1816. Shelley noted: "a beautiful little village, containing a ruined tower".
• Cologny (km 71.2) — about 500 meters off the route stands the Villa Diodati, where Byron lived in the summer of 1816. It's where Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Polidori's "The Vampyre" were begun.
• Geneva (km 75.6) — Cathedral of Saint-Pierre; since November 28, 2022, bronze scallop shells in the pavement have guided pilgrims through the city.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

Saint-Gingolph lies at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, where the Rhône valley meets the water. Two Camino Ninja routes come close, but don't end here:

• Via Francigena (Switzerland) — runs along the north shore via Vevey, Montreux, Villeneuve and Aigle to the Great St. Bernard. Across the water, it's only 7.6 kilometers from Saint-Gingolph to La Tour-de-Peilz; on foot, you go around the end of the lake via Le Bouveret to Villeneuve.
• Rhein-Reuss-Rhôneweg — ends in Saint-Maurice in the Valais, about 25 kilometers as the crow flies from Saint-Gingolph; in between lies the lower Rhône valley with Monthey.

The connecting sections aren't in Camino Ninja, so you'll need a separate map for them. If you're coming down the Rhône from the Great St. Bernard, you can switch to this feeder route at Saint-Maurice or Villeneuve and walk on via Geneva to Santiago.

Continue the pilgrimage?

The feeder route ends in Geneva, at the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre. There you have three options:

• Via Gebennensis — the classic route, 347.6 kilometers through Savoy and the Pilat massif to Le Puy-en-Velay
• Via Lugdunum — through the Bugey to Lyon, which you reach after about 172 kilometers, and on into the Forez
• Via Gebennensis (Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard) — the second feeder route to the Via Gebennensis; it comes down from the Alpine pass and joins it at Yenne

From Le Puy, the Via Podiensis leads to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where the Camino Francés continues over the Pyrenees to Santiago. Geneva is also where the Via Jacobi ends, Switzerland's Way of St. James from Lake Constance.

Preparation & Practical Information

Season. The route can be walked almost all year. In high summer the lakeside towns are packed and rooms are expensive; in winter many hotels on the south shore are closed. May, June and September are the loveliest months.

Waymarking and route description. In France, follow the yellow arrow on a blue background; from Hermance on, the Council of Europe scallop shell. The ARA's Haute-Savoie delegation provides a route description with maps, accommodation and stamp locations as a PDF, available via chemins.compostelleenrhonealpes.fr. For hiking maps, it recommends IGN Top 25 3528 ET and 3428 ET.

Accommodation and credential. You can stay in hotels, at campgrounds and with accueils jacquaires, private pilgrim hosts in Évian-Neuvecelle, Thonon, Anthy-sur-Léman, Margencel, Massongy and Douvaine; some will pick you up, in Évian for example at the upper station of the funicular. Always let them know in advance, and book early in summer and for Geneva. 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.

Stamps. In Saint-Gingolph, both customs posts, the mairie and the Bar La Navigation stamp credentials; along the way, the mairie of Massongy; in Geneva, the Cure at Rue Argand 3, the Basilica of Notre-Dame or the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre.

Food. Stock up in Saint-Gingolph before you set off; until Évian, supplies are hard to find outside the summer season. Between Thonon and Douvaine, there's only something in Anthy and in the center of Sciez, a little off the route.

Borders and money. You cross the border between France and Switzerland twice, at Saint-Gingolph and at Hermance. Checks are rare, but you still need ID. For Hermance and Geneva you'll need Swiss francs; there's an ATM at the post office in Hermance.

What the journey will cost you

On the French section, budget 70 to 100 € a day for a room, dinner and breakfast; the spa towns of Évian and Thonon are pricier than the villages (Camino Ninja estimate, as of October 2026). Your credential makes it cheaper: the Auberge d'Anthy gives you a 10 percent discount, and at the campground at the Port de Sciez a chalet for two costs 29.90 € (as of January 2026, according to the ARA route description). In Geneva, even a bed in a youth hostel dorm costs around 45 to 60 CHF (approx. 47–63 €), and a basic hotel room rarely goes for less than 120 CHF (approx. 130 €) (as of October 2026). For four stages, that adds up to roughly 300 to 450 €.

Getting Here

• Getting to the start: Saint-Gingolph station on the Swiss side, by regional train via Monthey from Saint-Maurice; timetables at sbb.ch.
• By boat: from Lausanne-Ouchy, CGN boats cross the lake to Évian, which the ARA explicitly recommends as a starting point; Thonon is also served, and in summer boats stop at Saint-Gingolph too; cgn.ch. In Évian, the free funicular takes you up to the trail in summer from 10 a.m.
• Joining partway: since December 2019, the Léman Express has linked Évian and Thonon directly with Geneva.
• Getting home from the finish: Geneva has its main station, Cornavin, and an airport; from the cathedral it's about a 15-minute walk to the station.