Via Tolosana

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Arles (Alyscamps / Saint-Trophime) → Candanchú (ruins of the Santa Cristina Hospital, behind the Col du Somport)
• Length: 786.4 km — the FFRandonnée continues on to Jaca, which lies about 30 km lower in elevation, bringing the total to 815; the route is the same
• Elevation gain: ↗ 12,654 m / ↘ 11,054 m — a net ascent of 1,600 meters: This route ends at the top. Highest point: Col du Somport, 1,632 m — the highest point on all the Compostela routes
• Duration: Approx. 6 weeks (40 stages in 8 sections; the trail operator estimates 43, but for more athletic hikers, 32–34 are feasible)
• Waymarking: The red-and-white GR markers along the GR 653; the trail markings are considered “moins régulier et clair” than those on the Puy Trail—be sure to pack a GPS track or topographic guide
• Access route: The Via Aurelia ends right in Arles—those coming from Italy can continue on without interruption; in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, the Voie de Piemont joins it and runs alongside it for the last four stages
• Connection: From Candanchú, the Camino Aragonés continues to Puente la Reina, where, according to the Codex, all four routes converge “into a single one”—there, the Camino Francés awaits; in Toulouse, the Voie de Garonne branches off
• UNESCO: 9 World Heritage sites across 8 components of the “Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle en France” inscription (1998)—including Arles as a Roman city (1981) and the Canal du Midi (1996) along the route
• Character: The southernmost, sunniest, and least-traveled of the four classic French routes — “la plus ensoleillée, la plus méridionale, la plus latine” (Georges Véron); quiet, and for that very reason, with few amenities: Reservations are mandatory, not just recommended

Overview

Around 1135, the Codex Calixtinus lists the routes to Santiago —“Cuatro son los itinerarios que conducen hacia Santiago” —, and the first one he mentions is yours:“El primero pasa por Saint-Gilles, Montpellier, Tolosa y Somport” (Quoted here and throughout from the Spanish translation of Book V). Three of these four names still appear in the same order on the signposts along the GR 653—a guidebook that is 890 years old and still accurate. No other Way of St. James is described in such complete detail: The Codex describes the starting cemetery down to the exact mile, directs you specifically to the tomb of St. William, and explains that the hospice at your destination pass is one of Three Pillars of the World. You start at a cemetery and end up at the third pillar of the world.

In between 786.4 Kilometers and 12,654 meters of elevation gain: the Alyscamps of Arles, “le plus grand cimetière chrétien d'Occident” the Hérault Gorge with the Pont du Diable from 873, the Espinouse low mountain range, the watershed at Seuil de Naurouze, Saint-Sernin in Toulouse—the largest surviving Romanesque church in France—and finally up the Aspe Valley to the Col du Somport, 1.632 m, the highest point on all the Compostela routes. Nine UNESCO monuments in eight World Heritage sites adds this route to the list, along with Arles—which earned its second UNESCO designation in 1981—and the Canal du Midi, designated in 1996. And it remains the quietest of the four classic routes: In Toulouse, the Voie de Garonne from; in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, the Voie de Piemont... and at the destination, the Camino Aragonés — No one keeps track of the number of pilgrims on the Voie d'Arles itself, and the fact that no one counts them says it all.

Founded in 804, set ablaze in 1208, excavated in 1987

804 William of Aquitaine—Count of Toulouse, described in Charlemagne’s Codex as “alférez egregio” his standard-bearer—bids farewell to the emperor and to the world and retreats to the Gellone Valley. As a parting gift, Charlemagne gives him a Piece of crossbeam along with 800 that he had received from the Patriarch of Jerusalem; The relic remains in the abbey to this day from Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. The codex turns the visit into a marching order:“los que van a Santiago por la vía tolosana, deben visitar el sepulcro de San Guillermo.” — Anyone walking along the Via Tolosana should visit the tomb of St. William. The detour into the Hérault Gorge is therefore not a 21st-century tourist attraction, but a directive dating back to the 12th century. You can reach it via the Pont du Diable, whose construction contract was signed by 873 as stated in the Gellone cartulary—the abbeys of Aniane and Gellone each built one half, “chaque abbaye construit la moitié du pont.” Only the cloister is not actually divided in half there: purchased in 1906 and passed on to Rockefeller in 1925, it now stands in the Cloisters in New York.

1208 this route becomes the setting for the toughest story a Camino de Santiago website can offer. Saint-Gilles, your first stop along the way, was—based on visitor numbers—“le quatrième lieu de pèlerinage de la chrétienté” — the fourth-largest Christian pilgrimage site, after Rome, Jerusalem, and Compostela: the tomb of the hermit Ägidius, whom, according to legend, a doe nursed with her milk until a royal hunting arrow struck the saint instead of the animal—as an act of penance, the king founded the monastery around 680. At the January 15, 1208 On the steps of this very abbey church, the papal legate will Pierre de Castelnau were put to death, and Innocent III declared the Albigensian Crusade. On June 29, 1209 At the same spot, Count Raymond VI of Toulouse submits: naked, with a rope around his neck, scourged and dragged through the nave—before the eyes of the pilgrims. The crusade that ravaged southern France began on a Way of St. James—this one. You can read about what happened next throughout the entire account: In Castres (Tarn), the relics of St. Vincent were scattered in 1561 — All that's left is a gargoyle —, in 1573, the body of Saint Fulcran—which had remained intact for five centuries—was lowered into the Lergue River in Lodève, while in Saint-Gilles, monks were drowned in the crypt’s well. It was not until August 29, 1865 There, Abbé Goubier lifts a sarcophagus from the rubble, on which six words are inscribed: IN HOC TUMULO QUIESCIT CORPUS BEATI AEGIDII. — The body of Blessed Ägidius rests in this tomb. The fourth-largest pilgrimage site of the Middle Ages was back on the map.

And 1987 People began to unearth what the Codex considered indispensable. It lists three hospices, “de extraordinaria utilidad”:“el hospital de Jerusalén, el hospital de Mont-Joux y el hospital de Santa Cristina” — Jerusalem, the Great St. Bernard Pass, and the Somport Pass. Two of these are household names. The third is the row of stones in the grass at Candanchú, “a orillas del río Aragón”: First documented in 1100 through a donation by King Pedro I, briefly the burial site of Pedro II in 1213, burned down in 1706, and finally disappeared in 1835 — Systematically excavated since 1987; designated a Bien de Interés Cultural since 2006. The DB endpoint for this path is located exactly there: The path ends at the third pillar of the world. And because this approach deals honestly with evidence, cross-checking also belongs here: The hospital in Lacommande In Béarn, founded by Gaston IV and officially recorded in January 1128, it remained in operation for about 670 years—and the municipality itself states: “on ne dispose à l'heure actuelle d'aucun témoignage direct du passage de pèlerins"par Lacommande." A pilgrim hospital, open for 670 years, and not a single pilgrim recorded. This is not a shortcoming of the sources; this is the source itself: the Via Tolosana is historically documented as a route traveled by counts, legates, and popes— Those who slept in the hospices didn't write anything down.

Other Names

This trail has three Latin names, and each one tells a different story. Via Tolosana It is named after Toulouse, its largest city and its de facto center. Via Arelatensis He is named after Arles, where he began—which is why, in French, to this day Voie d'Arles or Chemin d'Arles. And Via Egidiana It is named after Saint-Gilles because that is where, in the Middle Ages, the reason people came in the first place was located: the tomb of Saint Giles, the fourth-largest Christian pilgrimage site in terms of visitor numbers. In the French hiking trail network, it is numbered GR 653, including two FFRandonnée topoguides (Arles–Toulouse and Toulouse–Jaca). A bit of trivia: Our foreign-language page URLs include historically established names such as “Toulouse Road” or “Rue de Toulouse”—this is a legacy of technical translation, not an actual road name. The proper name remains the same in every language Via Tolosana.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not

This route is for you if you’re looking for peace and quiet and don’t view culture as just a bonus. It’s the least-traveled of the four classic French routes—as one pilgrim put it in the official route guide: “La Voie d'Arles est un très beau chemin, calme, peu fréquenté, ce qui laisse la sérénité.” You’ll get nine UNESCO monuments, the watershed of France, the highest pass on all the Camino de Santiago routes—and six weeks of authentic Romanesque portals: Saint-Trophime, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Sernin, Oloron. It’s also ideal for anyone who prefers to make the pilgrimage in stages: All eight stage endpoints are accessible by train or bus, and starting from Toulouse, the route forms a complete, self-contained three-week journey.

To be honest, though, it’s not for you if you need company in the evening and don’t want to make plans in the morning. The very tranquility that makes it beautiful also means it’s sparsely served: “Étant un chemin moins fréquenté, vous trouverez moins d'hébergements et de services.” Between Lodève and Castres, there are stretches where there’s exactly one house—you plan around gaps like that in advance, not while you’re on the road. The Occitanie guide officially rates this section as“difficile” and requires an “randonneur confirmé”; the Espinouse stage from Murat-sur-Vèbre to La Salvetat-sur-Agout is considered"très difficile", and the final day features a 1,000-meter climb in one go. It’s not for you either in midsummer on the first hundred kilometers—flat, open, and shadeless—or in winter at the end: The Somport Pass lies at 1,632 meters, and up there, it’s the snow conditions that decide, not your will.

Route & Landscape

The route begins at nearly sea level and ends at just over 1,500 meters—and along the way, it changes climates just as other routes change states. The first four days take you through the Rhône Delta and the wine-growing plains: flat, bright, hot, with canals and the light of the Camargue; at the beginning, the Alyscamps and the abbey church of Saint-Gilles. Beyond Montpellier, the garrigue takes over—holm oaks, thyme, limestone beneath our feet—in the Hérault Gorge it gets narrow and shady: over the Pont du Diable according to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, then through red Ruffes sandstone to the cathedral in Lodève. From there, the path leads up to the roof of the French section: The Monts de l'Espinouse In the Haut-Languedoc, there are old cattle trails (“drailles”), beech forests, high-altitude pastures, Statuen-Menhire and the lakes of Laouzas and La Raviège—the toughest and most isolated stretch.

After descending via Castres The path runs through the Lauragais in Canal du Midi along and crosses at Seuil de Naurouze the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic—the exact spot where Pierre-Paul Riquet fed water into his canal. Then Toulouse, the brick city with Saint-Sernin and the Hôtel-Dieu at the foot of the bridge. From there on, it’s Gascony: rolling hills, sunflowers, dovecotes, bastides on every other ridge, the cathedral of Auch (Gers), the dungeon of Bassoues. In the Béarn the Pyrenees appear on the horizon—Morlaàs, Lescar, Lacommande—in Oloron-Sainte-Marie You stand at her feet, and then four days pass Aspe-Tal: the Gave, the gorges, the Fort du Portalet in the rock face, with the Chemin de la Mâture above it. From Borce it's "1 000 mètres de dénivelés" on the Somport, 1.632 m — and over there, in the grass next to Candanchú, lie the stones of Santa Cristina.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

786.4 kilometers divides evenly into eight sections each lasting about a week or less—and anyone who makes it through will need 40 daily stages, an average of just under 20 kilometers, or a good six weeks. The trail operator estimates there are 43 stages ranging from 12 to 34 kilometers; from a fitness perspective, 32–34 days is feasible, though not in Espinouse or on the Somport climb—there, it’s wiser to split the stages rather than combine them. The kilometer figures below are taken from the official section lists and stage portals and are therefore marked “approx.”; the track measurements from our route database are authoritative: 786.4 km. Everything is highlighted in red and white as GR 653, but honestly: “Le balisage du GR653 peut être moins régulier et clair”—be sure to bring your GPS track or trail guide, especially when leaving towns and on the plateaus. And the most important thing isn’t right there by the trail: This way, it's the reserved bed that determines the stage, not your physical condition.

1. Arles → Montpellier — approx. 89 km, 4 stages (via Saint-Gilles, Vauvert, Lunel) — the edge of the Camargue and the wine-growing region: flat, bright, hot. On the first day, the Alyscamps, on the first evening, the abbey church of Saint-Gilles — on whose steps the papal legate died in 1208. Before reaching Montpellier, you’ll pass through Saturargues and Castries (Hérault).
2. Montpellier → Lodève — approx. 77 km, 4 stages (via Montarnaud, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière) — Garrigue and the Hérault Gorge: via Aniane and the Pont du Diable (873) according to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert to Gellone Abbey with the cross from 804, then through red Ruffes sandstone to the cathedral Saint-Fulcran from Lodève (consecrated in 975). The first serious climbs.
3. Lodève → Castres — approx. 171 km, 8 stages (via Joncels, Le Bousquet-d'Orb, Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare, Murat-sur-Vèbre, La Salvetat-sur-Agout, Anglès, Boissezon) — the highest point of the French section: the Espinouse with Drailles, Statuen-Menhiren and the lakes of Laouzas and La Raviège. The Murat–La Salvetat stage is officially"très difficile" (approx. 28 km, 9 hours, highest point: Rec del Bos, 954 m). In the Mare Valley lie Andabre and the “Commune Halte” Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare; the villages are small, and lodging is scarce—you’ll want to plan this leg of the trip very carefully.
4. Castres → Toulouse — approx. 133 km, 7 stages (via Dourgne, Revel, Saint-Félix-Lauragais, Montferrand, Villefranche-de-Lauragais, Baziège) — from Castres (Tarn), whose most famous relic was scattered in 1561, into the Lauragais: via Sorèze, Les Cassés, and Saint-Paulet to the Seuil de Naurouze, the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and the source of the Canal du Midi (UNESCO 1996), which you follow until just before Toulouse. There is a club-run gîte in Revel.
5. Toulouse → Auch — approx. 95 km, 5 stages (via Léguevin, L'Isle-Jourdain, Gimont, L'Isle-Arné) — Departure from Saint-Sernin, then through the Bouconne Forest into Gascony: rolling fields of grain, sunflowers, dovecotes. Léguevin has its own St. James Association. The goal is the cathedral of Auch (Gers) featuring the choir stalls from 1552.
6. Auch → Maubourguet — approx. 75 km, 4 stages (via L'Isle-de-Noé, Bassoues, Marciac) — The Astarac region of bastides: Barran, with its spiral-shaped church tower, which The 37-meter keep at Bassoues, the large square in Marciac. Short stays, limited availability—book early.
7. Maubourguet → Oloron-Sainte-Marie — approx. 96 km, 5 stages (via Anoye, Morlaàs, Lescar, Lacommande) — the Béarn, and the Pyrenees come into view: Larreule, Anoye, the Romanesque portal of Morlaàs, the episcopal see Lescar with the Refuge Saint-Jacques (since about 1995), the Commanderie of Lacommande — and Oloron, with its UNESCO-listed gateway dating from 1102, where the Voie de Piemont ends.
8. Oloron-Sainte-Marie → Candanchú — approx. 67 km, 3 stages (via Sarrance and Borce/Etsaut) — the Aspe-Tal: the Black Madonna of Sarrance, Osse-en-Aspe, and Accous, the Fort du Portalet in the rock face, with the Chemin de la Mâture from 1772 above it. From Borce — a Codex station mentioned by name — the route goes through Urdos and up "1 000 mètres de dénivelés" to the Col du Somport (1.632 m), then over to the Ruins of Santa Cristina and on to Candanchú.

All eight stage endpoints—Arles, Montpellier, Lodève/Bédarieux, Castres, Toulouse, Auch, Maubourguet/Tarbes, and Oloron—are accessible by train or bus: The route can therefore be broken down into eight week-long trips, with Toulouse serving as the natural midpoint. If you choose to combine stages, do so in the Lauragais and in Gascony, not in the Espinouse and not on the final climb. And one more note: The Codex counted “tres cortas etapas” from the Somport to Puente la Reina—though in the 12th century, stages were considered short only for riders.

Highlights Along the Way

• Alyscamps, Arles — “le plus grand cimetière chrétien d'Occident” the largest Christian cemetery in the West, according to the Codex “una milla” long and wide: “Tiene una longitud y una anchura de una milla.” This is where Provençal pilgrims gathered before setting out; Van Gogh and Gauguin painted the avenue in the fall of 1888. Arles holds two UNESCO designations: in 1981 as a Roman-Romanesque city, and in 1998 as a pilgrimage site.
• Saint-Trophime, Arles — Romanesque portal and cloister (1100–1150); the codex sends you here first, then to the cemetery — the same order of visitation still applies today.
• Saint-Gilles Abbey Church — West facade, 1120–1160, by three sculptors; crypt, 60 × 33 m, built to accommodate crowds of pilgrims: The city reportedly had 40,000 inhabitants in the 13th century; today, it has about 13,500. On August 29, 1865, the sarcophagus bearing the inscription “IN HOC TUMULO QUIESCIT CORPUS BEATI AEGIDII” was rediscovered here. UNESCO 1998.
• Pont du Diable, Aniane/Saint-Jean-de-Fos — Construction contract dated 873, according to the Cartulary of Gellone, with each abbey responsible for one half of the bridge; one of the oldest medieval bridges in France. According to legend, the builders sent a cat across to the devil as the first soul. UNESCO 1998.
• Gellone Abbey, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert — Founded shortly before 804, with Charlemagne’s relic of the Cross; half of the cloister has been housed at The Cloisters in New York since 1925. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
• Saint-Fulcran Cathedral, Lodève — Consecrated on October 9, 975; the tower is over 57 meters tall; Fulcran’s body, which had remained intact for five centuries, was thrown into the Lergue River in 1573 — the fragments that were salvaged are still venerated today.
• Espinouse and Haut-Languedoc — Statue-menhirs, the Drailles, the lakes of Laouzas and La Raviège; the toughest and quietest week of the journey.
• Castres (Tarn) — Found in Spain in 855, retrieved in 863 with a legal decree from the Emir of Córdoba, and venerated in their own basilica beginning in 884: the relics of Vincent of Zaragoza. Scattered in 1561, the basilica was finally demolished in 1830—all that remains is a gargoyle, and the sanctuary’s floor plan lives on as a street layout.
• Seuil de Naurouze — the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and the source of the Canal du Midi (UNESCO 1996), through which the trail runs along the Lauragais.
• Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse — 115 meters long, with a 65-meter octagonal tower: the largest surviving Romanesque church in France, and—according to its own claims—even in Europe—its rivals are Speyer and Santiago, and the fact that Santiago is among them is the nicer twist. Consecrated on May 24, 1096, by Pope Urban II himself; it houses one of the world’s largest collections of relics (fr.wikipedia lists 128 relics), including the remains of St. James. The church is named after Saturninus, who died around 250 after being dragged down the Capitoline Stairs by wild bulls—the Rue du Taur is still the path the bull ran down today. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
• Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques, Toulouse — Pilgrims’ hospital at the bridgehead of the Garonne, transferred to the Brotherhood of Saint James in 1257, merged in 1313 to form the “Hôpital Saint-Jacques du Bout-du-Pont.” Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
• Sainte-Marie Cathedral, Auch — “completed in 1680 after two hundred years of construction”: 200 years of construction, choir stalls from 1552 featuring over 1,500 carved figures, stained-glass windows by Arnaut de Moles. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
• Commanderie de Lacommande — Hospital from around 1120, document from January 1128, around 50 disc-cross stelae (“une collection, unique en Béarn”) — and in 670 years of operation, “aucun témoignage direct du passage de pèlerins”: the route’s most honest admission of absence. A pilgrim’s lodge once again since 1997.
• Sainte-Marie Cathedral, Oloron-Sainte-Marie — Donated in 1102 by Bishop Roger de Sentis and Gaston IV, explicitly in the spirit of the Reconquista; Marble portal by two workshops, dating from 1120 and 1140. The “Maître d'Oloron” also worked in Lacommande—two sites along this route, one artist. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. Here, the Voie de Piemont one.
• Fort du Portalet, Chemin de la Mâture und Somport — the 900-meter rock tunnel built in 1772 to house the masts of Louis XV’s navy; below which lies the mid-19th-century fort where Vichy imprisoned Léon Blum and Édouard Daladier in 1941—and where Pétain himself, the man who had had them imprisoned, was held from August 15 to November 16, 1945. Behind it, the Col du Somport (1.632 m), “point culminant de tous les chemins de Compostelle” and the Ruins of Santa Cristina Near Candanchú: Excavations since 1987; designated a Bien de Interés Cultural since 2006.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The most natural way to get there is on foot: The Via Aurelia ends exactly at Arles — Anyone coming from Italy via Genoa and Provence can join the Via Tolosana without having to travel a single kilometer out of the way and simply continue on. The Codex documented this traffic in both directions: jacquets set out westward toward Compostela, romieux eastward toward Rome. Arles was the hub of this two-way pilgrimage—and the Alyscamps served as its waiting room. If you are coming from Provence, you can even link up on foot: the Via Domitia, the old Roman road, joins this route right at Montpellier.

If you're not coming from the south, you'll join the trail along the way—and that's exactly what this trail is built for: Toulouse is the most popular starting point along the route—an airport, a TGV station, or a club-run gîte—and the trail begins right in Saint-Sernin; it’s about 320 kilometers to Somport, a full three-week journey. And in Oloron-Sainte-Marie the pilgrims of the Voie de Piemont On that note—as its sponsoring association puts it: “La voie du Piémont coupe la voie d'Arles à Oloron-Sainte-Marie”; the Piedmont Route intersects the Voie d'Arles in Oloron. From there, both routes run together through the Aspe Valley for the final four stages, heading toward the pass. Your Créanciale You'll need to get one in advance from a St. James Society or in Arles—without it, you won't be able to book the cheapest beds.

Continue the pilgrimage?

Candanchú is not an end, but a handoff—and it takes place at a historically documented site: right at the ruins of Santa Cristina, the Camino Aragonés and runs for about 165 kilometers through Jaca, Sangüesa, and Monreal to Puente la Reina. This is the place to which the Codex reserves its most famous sentence about the network of routes: “en Puente la Reina, en tierras españolas, confluyen en uno solo”—in Puente la Reina, all four routes converge into a single one. From there, the Camino Francés the remaining roughly 690 kilometers to Santiago; anyone who started in Arles will have about two and a half months under their belt by then.

It's worth taking a detour even before that: In Toulouse turns the Voie de Garonne (GR 861, “Via Garona”) heads south and reaches Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges after 129 kilometers—from there, the Voie de Piemont It continues westward and rejoins your route in Oloron-Sainte-Marie. So if you have time, you can take a wide detour through the foothills of the Pyrenees and still cross over via the Somport Pass. The northeastern branch of the GR 653, which comes from Conques, also joins the route in Toulouse—a variant of the Via Podiensis. This makes Toulouse the busiest crossroads in southern France: three roads converge at a basilica. And if you prefer to tackle the four-route logic from the north: the great sister route starts in Le Puy — reachable via the Via Gebennensis from Geneva — and only meets this trail again in Puente la Reina.

Preparation & Practical Information

Three things determine whether a day is good or bad: the bed, the water, and the season. You book the bed in advance — not out of fear, but because the lodgings are small and not always occupied: Jacquaire gîtes require a pilgrim’s passport, private accommodations need at least 24 hours’ notice, and experienced route coordinators recommend two to three days’ notice. About 400 lodging options along the route sound comfortable, but they’re unevenly distributed: good coverage in cities, but sparse in Espinouse and Astarac. Reliable staples include the association-run gîtes in Toulouse, Revel, and Ayguesvives, the Refuge Saint-Jacques in Lescar, the pilgrim gîte in Lacommande, and the “Accueil – Chemins de Compostelle en France” label (which guarantees accommodation within 2 km of the route).

The season is divided into two parts, and the FFRandonnée puts it exactly that way: spring or fall for Arles–Toulouse—the first hundred kilometers are flat, open, and over 35 degrees in midsummer—June through October for Toulouse–Jaca. In the Espinouse, on the other hand, it’s cool, windy, and wet in the spring; the highest point at Rec del Bos is 954 meters. For the final stretch, the simplest rule of the route applies: the Pyrenean ascent at Somport is not attempted in winter—snow conditions ahead of the PGHM Oloron-Sainte-Marie or check with the tourist offices. South of Montpellier and in the Lauragais, you should always pack water in your backpack.

Markings and Maps: Red-and-white GR markers (GR 653), along with the two FFRandonnée topoguides for Arles–Toulouse (Ref. 6533) and Toulouse–Jaca (Ref. 6534). To be honest, the trail marking isn’t world-class everywhere—“Le balisage du GR653 peut être moins régulier et clair”—so be sure to bring a GPS app or a topoguide, especially when leaving towns and on the plateaus. Gear: good shoes for limestone, granite, and the Drailles; sunscreen for the first week; a warm layer for Espinouse and the pass; and serious rain gear for the Aspe Valley. And plan your daily stages in advance, because accommodations are small, unevenly distributed, and often only open by phone—the easiest way to do this is directly in the Camino Ninja app, where you can put together your stages and plan suitable accommodations right away.

What the journey will cost you

Expect 35 to 55 € per day (As of August 2026), if you stay in gîtes d'étape and cook for yourself or eat the in-house meal—these are estimates based on experience with French gîtes, since no one publishes reliable price lists for the Voie d'Arles. Based on experience, a bed in a dormitory costs between 15 and 25 €, half-board between 35 and 50 €, and a room in a chambre d’hôtes between 55 and 80 €; some association-run “Accueils” operate on a donation basis—there, a realistic contribution is a matter of honor, not a tip. Over six weeks, this adds up to roughly 1,500 to 2,300 € excluding travel to and from the route. Two points are route-specific: First, accommodations are fewer and farther between than on the Puy route—plan for one extra day per week in a hotel or chambre d’hôtes for 70 to 90 €, so you won’t be caught off guard. Second, the destination is a Ski resort: Candanchú thrives in the winter; during the off-season, there aren’t many options, but the prices certainly aren’t low—if you want to save money, head down the last few kilometers to Canfranc-Estación or Jaca. The Créanciale costs just a few euros and is the best investment along the route: it unlocks the 15-euro beds.

Getting Here

Arles has its own train station on the route through Avignon to Marseille—from German-speaking countries, you can take the TGV via Paris or via Lyon/Avignon, or alternatively fly to Marseille-Provence, Nîmes, or Montpellier and continue by regional train. From the train station, it’s about a 20-minute walk to the Alyscamps and Saint-Trophime: the path starts practically right at the platform. The most popular The stopover is in Toulouse — Matabiau TGV station, Blagnac Airport, and from the basilica, it’s about 320 kilometers to Somport; Montpellier, Bédarieux (for the Espinouse), Castres (Tarn), and the town of Auch by bus from Toulouse, Pau, and Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

The Return trip from Candanchú leads down to Canfranc Station and Goat; From Jaca, take the train and bus via Huesca to Zaragoza, then the AVE to Madrid and Barcelona. On the French side, the bus crosses the pass to Bedous and Oloron-Sainte-Marie, then continues by train to Pau—timetables and operators of the cross-border buses vary by season, so be sure to check them shortly before your trip. And in Canfranc, one final highlight awaits: The monumental train station of the Pau–Canfranc line—which opened in 1928 and was shut down on March 27, 1970, following a freight train accident—now houses the control building for the Somport Road Tunnel—8,608 meters, Spain’s longest, opened on February 7, 2003. First came the mountain pass, then the railroad, then the tunnel; on foot, you’ll be traveling along the oldest of the three routes.

• Getting to the starting point: Train to Arles (via Paris or Lyon/Avignon); about a 20-minute walk to the trailhead; airports in Marseille-Provence, Nîmes, and Montpellier.
• Intermediate entry: Toulouse (TGV + Blagnac Airport) is the natural midpoint—it’s about 320 km from there; other starting points: Montpellier, Bédarieux, Castres, Auch (bus from Toulouse), Pau, Oloron-Sainte-Marie—all eight section endpoints are accessible by train or bus.
• Return trip: Candanchú → Canfranc-Estación/Jaca (bus), Jaca → Huesca → Zaragoza (train/bus, then AVE); French side: Bus to Bedous/Oloron-Sainte-Marie, train to Pau — or skip the return trip altogether and continue on the Camino Aragonés.