Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France

I have visited 11 (Paris, Amiens, Mont Saint-Michel, Vézelay, Asquins, Clermont-Ferrand, Poitiers, Bourges, Toulouse-2, Gavarnie) out of the 78 components, but here I will talk about just one of them, Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques in Toulouse, as it has not been much talked about previously.

If you are in Toulouse, you would want to visit both the two components, right? I was in Toulouse in summer 2022 and visited Basilique Saint-Sernin but failed to visit this hospital. So when I found myself again in Toulouse in winter 2022, I made sure to visit it.

I tried to find the best way to see this place and did some research. The building, still used today as the administrations for the Toulouse Hospitals and Toulouse University Hospital, has a website where they mention its WH status, even with a virtual tour of the three historical rooms.

Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques

But it does not say how we can actually see them in reality. 

So the first thing I did in Toulouse was to visit the tourist info office behind Le Capitole / City Hall and to enquire how. They said that it was a working hospital and not normally a place for tourists to visit, but only once a year, on the World Heritage Day in September, they opened it up for the public.

OK, well, I'd still go there to see the hospital from outside anyway and to take photos.

I walked around the courtyard (top photo) with …

I visited two properties that are part of this serial site in August of 2017 and three more in June of 2018.

In an otherwise nondescript Rabastens, Notre-Dame-du-Bourg may end up as the first impression that is impossible to beat. The exterior is stately enough, but the interior is simply dazzling. Most vivid colorful frescoes, brilliant stained glass, every little detail is just impossible to take your eyes off. Some parts of the walls are in need of restoration; there was a local conservation worker examining those throughout my visit. The out-of-the-way nature of this church was underscored by the fact that the custodian and I were the only people inside the church for over half an hour. The place was definitely worth the time.

My second target was in Toulouse, at the Basilique St-Sernin. It is among the biggest churches on the pilgrimage route. The intricate bell tower is one of the architectural highlights, but the interior of the basilica was somewhat underwhelming for my taste. It is impressive in a way any big church's interior is, but also sparsely decorated to the point of being on the bland side. The marble altar is undeniably beautiful and don't get me wrong, there are a few other fine features, sculptures, and paintings. The main entry is free, but access to ambulatory and the crypt requires a payment of €2.50. Overall, a worthwhile investment.

The abbey church of St-Avit-Seineur has several fresco remains, but otherwise is a typical …

I had already visited several parts of this WHS by car (some of which are inscribed twice). This year however I arrived in Bayonne by bus from Biarritz and since I had some time to spare before catching the next train to St Jean Pied de Port, I decided to wander about and explore Bayonne first. Although I was going to start my pilgrimage to Santiago from St Jean, I asked for some info at the pilgrims' welcome desk inside the cathedral and since I quite liked the cathedral and the warm welcome I received, I also decided to stamp my credencial for the first time here. However, although I wore the pilgrim shell on my backpack and although there were quite a few other pilgrims passing by, no local greeted me with a "Bon Chemin" as was the case in practically all the other villages, towns and cities I had visited in the previous years. My gut feeling is that nowadays the route of Santiago de Compostela in France is no longer "alive" amongst the locals. Some if not most aren't even aware that a given town or village is right on the camino/chemin. It's as if it is merely a tourist label to attract tourists. Yet it is not why most tourists visit so it's not given much importance. The only exception to this is of course St Jean Pied de Port which lies at the base of the Roncevaux Pass across the Pyrenees. The routes from Paris, …

I have a plan to one day walk some of these routes properly and see a large range of the sites along the way. In the meantime, I am ticking this one off mainly because of a visit to Rocamadour. Seeing as I cycled there in the middle of a summer heatwave - I think that counts as a pilgrimage in many ways! :)

The Rocamadour site is fantastic and I'm a little surprised it hasn't been considered for its own listing.

I'll update this review when (if) I do a decent walk along the routes! :)

I had previously seen Asquins (when I went to Vézelay), Saint Sernin and the Hospital in Toulouse, Saint Guilhem le Désert, le Pont du Diable and Saint Gilles, all in addition to sites being already labelled as WHS on their own such as Amiens, Bourges, Mont St Michel and Paris (Tour Saint Jacques).

But the big part was when I went on the way from Lyon to the south west of France during summer 2013.

We started in Le Puy en Velay with its Hotel Dieu and above all, its magnificent cathedral. The cloister is especially awesome. We then went throughout the countryside to reach Saint Chely d’Aubrac, Espalion and Estaing, each village having a medieval bridge that was used by the pilgrims. The village of Estaing is really lovely. We stopped at a camping in Conques.

The following day, we visited the medieval bridge in Conques and of course, the superb abbey, Sainte Foy, located in the historical village. The abbey is a fine example of Romanesque architecture and is especially famous for its sculpted portal. We then left for Figeac to see the Hotel Dieu, currently the town hospital. It is badly indicated and not promoted and we had to search for a long time before finding it. There is not a lot to see except the facades. Leaving Figeac and on the way to Cahors, we went through the small and lost village of Grealou hosting a Dolmen delimitating the way to Santiago. However, we did not …

We visited the sites of the first sections of the Via Tolosana and the Via Podiensis on our trip through southern France in June 2013; a total of sixteen sites: nine churches and monasteries, five bridges and two former Hôtel-Dieu. The highlights were the cloister of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre at Moissac (photo) and the decorated portal of the monastery church of Ste-Foy in Conques.

The cloister at Moissac is impressive not only by its size, but mainly by the rich decoration. The capitals of the many columns depict characters and scenes from the Old and New Testament and from the live of the saints.

The Church of Sainte-Foy at Conques was a real surprise. The church itself is rather plain, but the tympanum of the portal is marvellous. The reliefs show the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell with more than 100 figures. It is exceptional because of its size, the abundance of details and its surprisingly good state of preservation. In the centre is the figure of Christ in a mandorla, at his right a depiction of the paradise and saints and martyrs, and at his left - much more fanciful - the "devil's world" of hell and perdition with demons and ghastly figures. My favourite scene shows a sinner thrown head first in the jaws of hell. You should also make a detour to the viewing point south of the village, it offers a wonderful view of the abbey and the medieval village (a small road branches off …

You can find churches and cathedrals in this WHS, but, if you can, you have to stay in Conques or Rocamadour overnight, both places will make you feel like you were a medieval pilgrim. St-Jean-pied-de-port is also a charming town, last stop before crossing the Pyrenees.

I've also been to: St-Sernin (Toulouse), St-Guilhem-le-Désert, St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, L'Hôpital-St-Blaise, Périgueux, Bayonne, Bordeaux, La Sauve, St-Gilles, the superbe Arles, Cahors, St-Lizier, Valcabrère, Figeac, Gavarnie (worth a day at the cirque), Rabastens, Amiens, Poitiers, Melle, Saintes, and the stunning Mt-St-Michel.

The Amiens Cathedral, a WHS in its own right, is also part of this Route in France. I wasn't aware of that when I visited. Thanks to Klaus Freisinger (see visitor reviews below) for pointing that out!

My second visit to this elaborate WHS also involved a site inscribed twice: the city center of Bordeaux. Three of its medieval churches are on the Route to Compostela. We visited Saint-Seurin and St. Andre Cathedral. Especially the latter is one of the highlights of Bordeaux. The Route is also widely displayed around Bordeaux, so I guess it receives numerous pilgrims although we didn't see any.

After a third visit, I now think that I safely can tick this one. This time I went to the Tower of Saint-Jacques in Paris. As this is the starting point for the routes across France, this is a major site among the 78. The richly decorated tower can be seen from afar, but there's nothing left of the 16th-century church. The site is located a bit north of the Seine banks. Although it looks in pretty good shape, I was surprised to find no pilgrims here. There's also no way to get in. I just had to make do with a stroll around it, there's a small garden where you can sit and enjoy the view.

Basilica Saint Sernin in Toulouse was my 4th visit. An enormous building in a scruffy neighbourhood, surrounded by a cheap market on the Sunday morning that I …

I visited several sites listed in this WHS : in Paris, Amiens, Arles, Mont-St-Michel, etc. Still I feel that it would make much more sense to only have the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela only as a WHS and not the whole route.

I don't have a problem with the French and Spanish routes being kept separate, I travelled them separately. But what bothers me is the amount of duplication; sites that are on the Route of St James of Compostela as well as being listed separately.

The sites that I have visited that are duplicated include:

Paris (Tour de St Jaques), Arles (Alyscamps), Vezelay church, Mont St Michel, Bordeaux (churches of St Seurin and St Michel, and St Andre cathedral), Bourges cathedral and Amiens cathedral.

The remaining sites that I have visited:

Toulouse - St Sernin basilica, an elegant structure, and Hotel Dieu (metro:St Cypriens)

Agen - St Caprais cathedral (white stone exterior and colouful interior)

Moissac - abbey and cloister (interior decor looked like wallpaper, but was hand painted in the 1960s).

St Lizier - St Peter's cathedral (bus from Boussens)

Auch - huge cathedral that dominates the skyline (train from Toulouse)

Figeac - Hospital St Jacques, still part of the town's hospital (a scenic bus route links Figeac and Cahors through the Lot valley).

Cahors - cathedral with stunning stained glass, and Valentre bridge.

Valcabrere - St Just church (train/bus to Laures-Barbazon)

Comminges - St Bertrand's cathedral with wood carvings and huge organ (walk from Valcabrere then climb 142 steps).

Gavarnie - parish church, being restored (a series of connecting buses from Lourdes)

Oloron Ste Marie - St Mary's cathedral, lots of stained glass and wood carvings (train from Pau)

Bayonne - cathedral with English and French royal coats of …

I actually never planned to visit this WHS although it consists of so many sites that it is hard to miss on a trip to France. Last July, I saw the Saint-Jacques Tower (fortunately without the scaffolding described by Ian) on my first full day in Paris and I later visited the huge Amiens Cathedral (also a WHS in its own right). Unfortunately, I was not able to visit the Alyscamps cemetery while in Arles due to time constraints, but I have seen photos and it looks quite interesting.

The historic and religious importance of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, whether in Spain, France, or beyond, is obvious - what is unique to the French site is that it includes several component sites that are inscribed on their own merits as well. Of the sites I have visited, these include the Cathedrals of Amiens and Bourges, as well as Mont St. Michel and the Alyscamps necropolis in Arles. Vézelay would also be on this list.

I also visited the Gothic-style Tower of St.Jacques in central Paris, next to the Louvre on the rue de Rivoli. It is actually the only remaining part of the former church of St. Jacques de la Boucherie, a popular stop for pilgrims on the Way of St. James. It is set in a pleasant park right in the heart of Paris and was for many years renovated and covered by scaffolding. A nice sight, but nothing extraordinary. Many tourists have probably wandered by already and ignored it, but for WH collectors it is an easy pick.

On a separate trip, I have visited the Church of St. Hilaire le Grand in Poitiers (close to the centre), as well as the 3 listed churches in Bordeaux (the massive Cathedral of St. André, and the basilicas of St. Michel and St. Seurin).

On yet another trip, I saw the 2 inscribed buildings in Toulouse - the Basilica of St-Sernin (very impressive, apparently the largest remainig Romanesque building in Europe) and the Hôtel-Dieu …

Reading this site's description is like reading a gazetteer of French towns and villages west of the Paris/Rhone axis – it contains 69 different locations (out of 800 possible ones linked to the pilgrimage route). But think what it would have been like if France had followed the approach of Spain for its “Route” and inscribed its entirety together with 30 metres either side! Instead the “locations” are usually 1 building per town and cover the 4 starting points at Paris, Vezelay, Le Puy and Arles together with places as varied as Mont-Saint-Michel and Bordeaux. 10 cathedrals are included, together with abbeys, churches and hospices. 7 of the locations are already inscribed in their own right, usually because of their role in the pilgrimage route – a nice bit of double counting!

However, as Els’s “themes” section shows, Christian sites are heavily over-represented in the WHS list and this site should surely have been combined with the 2 Spanish Compestela route sites and some of the separate French pilgrimage route sites such as Vezalay and Bourges as well !. All this duplication does seem “overkill”- If the UK can agree to “give up” Hadrian’s Wall and subsume it with a German site under a combined “Frontiers of Rome” how come France was given a separate inscription for this site in 1998?

Leaving aside these issues, there is no doubt that the inscription contains many interesting and even significant buildings. Most of the towns and villages would well justify a couple …

The Pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compestela plays a large role in European history and as such is very justified in being inscribed on the WH list however I would like to support what Paul Tanner has said below about the viability of this site, it is an inscription that would make much more sense if it was to be combined into a much larger single site containing all the routes in the many Western European countries, the separate inscriptions suggest the route is a manifestly different entity in France than it is in Spain (or in the other countries) which seems to run against the importance of the route. The Council of Europe made the route to Santiago its first cultural route and this recognition makes much more sense when it is not broken up into separate national entities.

I visited Arles, which is one of the starting points of the four main routes in France, and I can strongly recommend a visit out les Alyschamps to see the Church of St Honorat, it is also a very interesting WHS site in itself.

I visited Mt St Michel in 2006 and there is are a few Scallop shells around the town (picture), keep an eye out for the nice hand basin just inside the main gate.

About 15 years ago I visited the charming town of Rocamadour, as mentioned below, it was a lovely place, with a great Eagle sanctuary and prehistoric cave (frustratingly not part of the very …