Chemin de Paris Guidebook

Finding a guidebook with maps of the Chemin de Paris route seemed an impossible task. I scoured the internet for maps and books with very little success. Like I mentioned in my previous post, unlike the Le Puy Way, there is very little pilgrim infrastructure on this less travelled route through France. Likewise, there is very little information on the Chemin de Paris, other than a blog post or two with basic descriptions here and there.

It was time to wrangle help from the masses, so I reached out in one of the many Camino de Santiago Facebook groups. Here, only one pilgrim had travelled the route… and he pointed me to the Confraternity of St James based in London. I reached out to learn there are no English guide books for the Chemin de Paris, but there is ONE guidebook in French published by Le Vieux Crayon.

And there it was…

The one and only guidebook on the Chemin de Paris, for a mere € 21.00. Funnily enough, based in Australia, the shipping cost more than the book! But eight days later there it was in my mail box. My future.

Yes, that sounds a little dramatic, but this book really does represent my future.

1. It showed me for the first time the route I will be taking in France
2. It’s in French – a language I plan (and need) to learn before I leave
3. It provides a great base for my fitness regime.

Using the Google translate app on my phone I promptly started deciphering the poetic description on the first page. And I mean it, the description is beautiful and poetic and presents imagery that has been filling my dreams for months.

However, for the first time I felt truly daunted about the challenge of the Chemin de Paris route. Large almost non-achievable distances between accommodation. Few shops or cafes for the majority of the route. And a very long way out of Paris. Time to break out Google satellite imagery and follow the maps.

Next step, Chartres or Orléans?