Spain's Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is sure to become even more popular with the release of Emilio Estevez's The Way. Here are the highlights, plus suggestions for softiesIf you only have time to walk a section of the Camino, click hereSaint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (France)This small, picturesque French town at the foot of the Pyrenees is the starting point of the classic route ? the Camino Franc�s. Be warned: the first day's walk is almost all uphill. (From the UK take the train to Biarritz via Paris with Eurostar, or fly with easyJet from Gatwick or Ryanair from Stansted.)Go pilgrim The pilgrim information office (+33 5 5937 0509, chemins-compostelle.com, open mid-March to mid-November) will arrange dormitory accommodation for "bona fide pilgrims" ? those proceeding on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback.Go posh Fine Basque cuisine is on offer at former coaching inn Les Pyr�n�es (+33 5 5937 0101, hotel-les-pyrenees.com, doubles from ?105).RoncesvallesThe 12th-century Augustinian monastery here has long been famous for its hospitality to pilgrims. The monks no longer wash the pilgrims' feet, but those attending each evening mass are given a traditional blessing intended to protect them from harm and ensure that they find what they are seeking. The monks undertake to pray for the pilgrims on each succeeding day of their journey, in return for which the pilgrims are asked, upon reaching Santiago, to say a prayer for the monks of Roncesvalles.Go pilgrim Albergue de Peregrinos Itzandegia (+34 948 760 000, tinyurl.com/69wtu2g, ?7).Go posh The modest but cosy Hostel Casa Sabina (+34 948 760 012, tinyurl.com/6c39xwu, doubles from ?45).PamplonaA dozen pilgrims were once fed in the cathedral here every day, in front of the main altar in full view of the congregation. The gothic cathedral, with its distinctive cloisters, is still worth visiting. When passing through any town or city on the route in the middle of the day, the pilgrim will find men�s del d�a posted outside bars and restaurants. These are excellent value, as they offer three courses and half a bottle of wine for around ?8-12. On Sundays and feast days the price goes up slightly, but so does the quality.Go pilgrim Albergue de Jes�s y Mar�a (+34 948 222 644, ?6).Go posh Hemingway stayed at the Gran Hotel La Perla (+34 948 223 000, granhotellaperla.com, doubles from ?260), an eclectic mix of antique and contemporary.Eunate Just before reaching the town of Puente la Reina, it's worth taking a short detour to visit this strange church. It's an octagonal structure surrounded by a ring of arches, and you're meant to circumnavigate it a certain number of times before entering. This was once the site of a pilgrim cemetery, and there are said to be ties to the Templars.Santo Domingo de la CalzadaThe motto of this town is: Donde cant� la gallina despu�s de asada, (where the roast chicken still sang). This refers to an incident in which a pilgrim, falsely accused of theft, was miraculously saved from the gallows, his innocence being made evident when a chicken that the mayor was about to consume suddenly sat up on the plate and cackled. Ever since, a pair of live chickens has been kept in a cage inside the town's cathedral ? pilgrims used to be invited to pluck feathers from them for good luck. These days feathers can be purchased in the cathedral shop.Go pilgrim Casa de la Confrad�a del Santo (+34 941 343 390, dorm beds ?7).Go posh Gothic arches bear witness to the Parador de Santo Domingo's 12th-century origins as a former pilgrims' hospice (+34 941 340 300, tinyurl.com/6zwrwmj, doubles start at ?133).Gra��nThe refuge here is known in the lore of the present-day Camino as a "genuine" refuge. Accommodation in earlier times might have been just a room with straw spread on the floor, and the refuge in Gra��n, in the bell tower of the village church, has merely replaced the straw with exercise mats. By this time walkers will have become part of a "pilgrim family", a group of individuals of various nationalities who progress at more or less the same speed, and thus meet up time and time again. So why not sleep side by side by side on the floor then?Go pilgrim The Iglesia Parroquial de San Juan Bautista (+34 941 420 685, make a donation).Go posh Options are limited; in nearby Castildelgado, try El Chocaltero (+34 947 588 063, from ?46).BurgosA long walk through modern urban sprawl will bring the pilgrim to this city's fine historic core. This is the city of El Cid, who was once banned from its precincts, but whose remains now rest in its cathedral. The old quarter is well known for its tapas bars, each of which displays its speciality on the counter. A pub crawl in Burgos is more a matter of eating your way from bar to bar.Go pilgrim Albergue Municipal (+34 947 460 922, beds ?4). Go posh The elegant Mes�n del Cid (+34 947 208 715, mesondelcid.es, doubles from ?65), opposite the cathedral.Le�nAt the core of this city is a magnificent cathedral, noted above all for its stained glass windows. Also worth a visit is the Basilica of San Isidro, with its Royal Pantheon and 12th-century murals. The city also takes pride in its embutidos ? sausages ? which include cecina, salami-like and made from beef. And it's said of Le�n that you could go to a different bar every night for a year, and even then have barely scratched the town's boozy surface.Go pilgrim Albergue Municipal (+34 987 081 832, around ?5).Go posh The Hotel Par�s Spa (hotelparisleonl.com, doubles from ?63) in the town's old quarter.Villafranca del BierzoThis is an intriguing little town, in which it is worth staying the night. If possible stay at the Ave F�nix, a refuge risen from the ashes of a former refuge, itself constructed on the site of a medieval hospice. Here, on certain nights, a queimada ceremony is performed to remove malign spirits from the pilgrim's path and conjure up helpful ones.Go pilgrim Albergue de Peregrinos Ave F�nix (+34 987 542 655, albergueavefenix.com, beds ?5).Go posh The Parador de Villafranca del Bierzo (+34 987 540 175, tinyurl.com/67abxo2, doubles from ?109) has views of the Ancares mountains.O CebreiroThis small Galician village, dating back to Celtic times, is now a Spanish national treasure. The village church was the site of another purported miracle, in which "stale bread and sour wine" were one day transformed into flesh and blood. At 1,300m, the village has magnificent views in all directions, and from here on the road to Santiago is almost all downhill.Go pilgrim Albergue de O Cebreiro (+34 660 396 809, ?5).Go posh Hotel San Giraldo de Aurillac (+34 982 367 125, doubles from ?50), serving pilgrims since the ninth century.Santiago de CompostelaSo here you are, at last. By all means attend the midday pilgrim mass at the cathedral, at which you may be able to witness the swinging of the Botafumeiro, a giant censer. Find your way afterwards to Casa Manolo, a pilgrim-friendly restaurant in Plaza de Cervantes (+34 981 582 950, casamanolo.es). A subsequent stroll through the Alameda, a hilltop park dividing the old city from the new, will provide you with a panoramic view of the cathedral. Of the city's museums, one of the most interesting is the Museo del Pueblo Gallego (museodopobo.es), a folk museum housed in a former monastery. And for an atmospheric watering hole, try the Caf� Derby on the Plaza de Galicia.Go pilgrim Albergue Acuario (+34 981 575 438, acuariosantiago.com, ?10).Go posh The beautiful five-star Parador de Santiago (800 97 334 226, parador-de-santiago.h-rez.com, doubles from ?180), right next to the cathedral, dates from the 1500s.FinisterreThree more days of walking, or two hours on a local bus, will take you to what was long regarded as the end of the world. Walk out to the lighthouse. For a final Camino experience, remove and burn your walking clothes, take a plunge into the sea, and when you come out get dressed in something new. Then say goodbye to the Camino ... or perhaps not. The true Camino, according to its modern-day lore, begins only when you reach the end.Go pilgrim Albergue de Fisterra (+34 981 74 07 81, ?5).Go posh The modern Playa Langosteira (+34 981 706 830, hotelplayalangosteira.com, doubles from ?50), near the beach.Robert Mullen is author of Call of the Camino (Findhorn Press, �7.99), who first walked the route in 2005 and returns for several months each winter to run a pilgrims' refugeTIME POOR? HERE ARE SOME SHORT CUTSIf you don't have six weeks to walk the whole 500 miles, here are some trips that include a section of the CaminoNip in at the end and take the gloryA lovely Spanish tour company run by two brothers, Javier and Jaime, Away from the Crowds (awayfromthecrowds.com) has hand-picked charming hotels along a self-guided walk covering the last 113km of the way, from Sarria in Galicia to Santiago de Compostela. The trip takes eight days and costs ?599pp, excluding flights. An alternative cycle trip from Astorga to Santiago, also takes eight days, but covers 268km and costs ?642pp. Both include breakfast, maps and luggage transfer; the walk includes five dinners, too.Take it easy ? and ditch the backpackOn a "slow travel" walking week on the Camino with Inntravel (01653 617000, inntravel.co.uk) you split the week's accommodation between just two country houses (so there's no lugging your stuff around in a backpack) and drive between them. You spend two days in La Rectoral de Cobres, in San Adrian de Cobres, taking short coastal walks into the fjords of Galicia's Rias Biaxas and to see some 4,000-year-old rock art, and maybe take a boat out to C�es island. Then you head to Casa del Trillo, near Muxia, from which there are day trips to Santiago, and to walk part of the lesser-known Pilgrim's Route, across moorland and into hamlets, to Finisterre. This costs from �510pp, including breakfast, two dinners and car hire, but not flights.Alternative routesSpecialist company Follow The Camino (020-8816 7328, followthecamino.com) has dozens of ways to do various versions of the pilgrimage, costing from �382 a week. As well as the classic route, the Camino Frances, it offers a Portugal way, a Finisterre way (going east from the coast), and a northern way, along Spain's north coast, plus an English way for seafaring pilgrims, starting on the coast from Ferrol, covering 118km, or A Coru�a, just 74km. Guided and self-guided trips are available, and you can travel on foot or horseback, by bike or by car and, for the Portuguese route, by boat.Santiago de CompostelaSpainWalking holidaysCycling holidaysguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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