Picked by our team
Towns worth discovering along the Camino de Santiago, chosen by our team. Open one to see its history and sights, and where to stay.
49 towns on the Camino Francés
View on the mapO Cebreiro is the first village of Galicia, at 1,288 metres, after the hardest climb since the Pyrenees. This was the home of the priest Elías Valiña, who marked the Way with yellow arrows, and in his pre-Romanesque church they tell of the miracle of the Grail. One evening is enough, often in the fog, with 160.9 kilometres still to Santiago.
Camino FrancésO Pedrouzo is the eve: for most pilgrims on the Camino Francés it is the last night, 19.3 kilometers before the cathedral in Santiago. The town is young, functional and full in season, and the way even leads past it through the forest. One evening is enough, and an early night is part of it.
Camino FrancésCamino Primitivo+1Palas de Rei is the gathering place before Santiago: the Codex Calixtinus already knew it as the second-to-last stage stop, and at the edge of town medieval pilgrims met to walk the last 68 kilometers together. Today the map says 67.5. The town itself is plain, one evening is enough, and two public albergues will take you in.
Camino FrancésPamplona is the first big city on the Camino Francés: over a 12th-century bridge and through the Portal de Francia you walk into an old town that in 1423 grew together from three feuding quarters into one city. Santiago is still 710 kilometres away. A rest day is worth it, just not on a Sunday.
Camino FrancésCamino de las AsturiasPonferrada owes its name to pilgrims: around 1082 a bishop had an iron-reinforced bridge built over the Sil for them. Later the Templars guarded the Way from their castle. Today the city is the stage end after the descent from the Cruz de Ferro and the starting point of the Camino de Invierno. An afternoon is enough, just not on a Monday.
Camino FrancésCamino de InviernoPortomarín is a village that moved house: when the Belesar reservoir flooded old Portomarín on the Miño in the early 1960s, the fortified church of San Nicolás was carried up the hill stone by stone. For many it is the first night after Sarria, 92.2 kilometers before Santiago. An afternoon is enough, and the climb up the stairs is part of it.
Camino FrancésIn Puente la Reina the ways become one: just before the town the Camino Aragonés from the Somport flows into the Camino Francés, and at the edge of town an eleventh-century bridge, built by a queen for pilgrims, takes you across the Arga. Santiago is still 686 kilometres away. An afternoon is enough.
Camino FrancésCamino AragonésRabanal del Camino is the last village before the mountain: 1,153 meters high, around 60 residents, a Templar church from the 12th century and monks who sing Gregorian chant in the evening and bless pilgrims. Here you gather yourself for the climb to the Cruz de Ferro. One evening is enough; if you seek more silence, stay two nights at the monastery.
Camino FrancésReliegos is the village a meteorite fell on in 1947: on the morning of 28 December a stone weighing almost eight kilos struck the Calle Real, the street you walk along today. Otherwise Reliegos is a quiet village 12.9 kilometres beyond El Burgo Ranero, with hostels and a bar. A break or an evening is enough.
Camino FrancésTop rated
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