The Walking Pilgrim

Modern Routes - Route Details

Via Turonensis GR655
Tours, Poitiers, Aulnay de Saintonge, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Saintes, Mirambeau, Bordeaux, Belin, Ostabat

Route map

  • North of the Gironde
    waymarked by the FFRP as the GR655: from Tours via Poitiers and Saintes as far as the Charente-Maritime/Gironde border. (See other page for route from Paris.) A topoguide for this is published by the FFRP. Note that the straight-line connection is the main road, which the GR tries to avoid, so ends up being some 100km longer.
    The Amis de St Jacques in Tours have a guide to the section as far as Port de Piles on their website. The Amis des Chemins de Saint-Jacques en Vienne website includes an overview of the route in Vienne. There is some information on the route in the Saintonge on the Saintonge en Ligne site and that of the magazine Xaintonge, and on the route in Poitou-Charentes on the Communauté de Communes de Parthenay site. The section through Charente-Maritime has long been marked by concrete plinths, and the departement produces a free 1:30,000 map, available from the Conseil Général
  • in Gironde
    a route, with alternatives between Blaye and Bordeaux via the Médoc and via St André-de-Cubzac, has been created by the Association Régionale des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle en Aquitaine; there is also detailed mapping on their site
  • In Bordeaux, a route has been signed by the city council and a free leaflet produced. See their website for some further information
  • south of Bordeaux
    The various Amis de St-Jacques have marked the route with yellow arrows and the stylised scallop motif from the former priory at Cayac on the southern edge of Bordeaux (where there is a small pilgrim refuge) to the meeting with the Le Puy and Vézelay routes at Gibraltar/Ostabat.
    There is a complete guide of the route through the Landes on the Société Landaise des Amis de Saint Jacques site. There is also some outline info on the site of the Landes Conseil Général. The Pyrénées-Atlantiques Amis de St Jacques describe their section on their website.
    See Camino Navarro for continuation into Spain
For more info, including additional mapping, see Via Turonensis site. See also Tranquilles sur la Voie de Tours vers Compostelle. Lepère Edns publish a Paris-Tours-St Jean guide which combines GR and Amis routes.

Confraternity of St James produces English: guide | factsheet

Detailed mapping for sections (compare with list above):

  • Tours-Ostabat
kmcumul kmview on map
Tours-Ste Catherine de Fierbois36.9836.98
Ste Catherine de Fierbois-Ste Maure8.2345.21
Ste Maure-Port de Piles17.5062.71
Port de Piles-Chatellerault31.7394.44
Chatellerault-Poitiers38.87133.31
Poitiers-Liguge12.19145.50
Liguge-Fontaine le Comte9.45154.95
Fontaine le Comte-Coulombiers9.42164.37
Coulombiers-Lusignan11.23175.60
Lusignan-Melle45.11220.71
Melle-jcn GR3632.42253.13
jcn GR36-Aulnay8.57261.70
Aulnay-St Jean d'Angely23.29284.99
St Jean d'Angely-Saintes34.58319.57
Saintes-Pons23.06342.63
Pons-Mirambeau31.62374.25
Mirambeau - St Martin Lacaussade31.44405.69
St Martin Lacaussade-Blaye3.64409.33
Lamarque-Le Pian Médoc22.02431.35
Le Pian Médoc - Le Bouscat15.95447.30
Le Bouscat-Bordeaux6.85454.15
Bordeaux-Gradignan/Cayac17.48471.63
Gradignan - Le Barp26.21497.84
Le Barp - Mons - Le Muret26.24524.08
Le Muret - Jcn98.77622.85
Jcn-Dax11.55634.40
Dax - Ostabat75.01709.41
aBlaye - St André de Cubzac29.2829.28
aSt André de Cubzac - Bordeaux23.3552.63
bJcn-St Vincent de Paul8.408.40
bLiaison St Vincent St Paul3.5611.96
vVariante par Cartelègue8.748.74
vVariante par Peyrehorade10.3819.12
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Id: tours