Site Officiel de Tourisme. Junta de Castilla y León

The Way of St. James or the Pilgrim's Way, as well known, was declared the first European Route of Cultural Interest by the Council of Europe in 1987. In addition, the route is considered World Heritage by UNESCO.

The so-called French Way is the Santiago route par excellence, the most popular itinerary, the busiest and the best adapted of all. It starts at Roncesvalles (Navarra) and reaches the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), covering 750 kilometers. Of those, more than half run by the territory of Castilla y Leon, 450 kilometers.

Although this way is the most internationally renowned, the pilgrims' road to Santiago de Compostela is structured on the the Levante Way, the Cantabrian Way, the Asturian Way, the Via de la Plata and the Portuguese Way.

The pilgrims began to travel through northern Spain, overcoming the considerable obstacles they encountered on the way, in order to reach the end of the medieval world that the land of Galicia represented at the time. The classic 12th century itinerary, which would later become known as ‘The French Way’, is described in detail in what could be termed as the very first travel guide: the Codex Calixtinus.