Europe’s pilgrimage routes are booming – here are 10 of the best

What the devil is going on? Despite our secularising world, pilgrimage is enjoying a boom not seen since the Middle Ages. In the past few decades, the numbers of people walking to Santiago de Compostela – today’s most popular pilgrimage destination – have increased dramatically; from 74,324 in 2003 to 440,370 in 2023. And 2024 is already 12 per cent up year on year.

But why? Perhaps because pilgrimage is the original form of mindful travel. In a noisy, angry world, the simple act of walking each day toward a defined goal is an appealing, powerful prospect. Covid accelerated this trend: we faced mortality, looked to reevaluate our lives. A pilgrimage forces you to ask what’s important.

You don’t have to walk to Santiago. You don’t have to rough it in hostels. You don’t even have to walk (an e-bike pilgrimage, maybe?). There are as many pilgrimages as there are people. But here are a few to consider.

1. Camino Francés, Spain

Santiago is Europe’s premier pilgrimage destination, and the Francés is the most popular route, followed by almost 50 per cent of pilgrims. It starts over the French border, crosses the Pyrenees and cuts across northern Spain’s vineyards, hills and plains. It is ideal for those seeking the full “pilgrim experience”, not for those seeking solitude. If you haven’t time to walk it all, covering the final – busy – 100km from Sarria is enough to earn a compostela (pilgrim’s certificate).

How to do it

Camino Ways offers a 35-night Camino Francés trip from £3,890pp including half-board accommodation, excluding flights; a six-night Sarria to Santiago trip costs from £650pp. csj.org.uk/camino-frances

2. Via Francigena, England to Italy

This mammoth, multi-country meander traces the route described by Sigeric, then Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from Rome in AD 990. It takes in bits of England, France, Switzerland and Italy, but the latter has the most developed infrastructure – thorough waymarking, some pilgrim hostels – making it the best stretch to focus on. The Tuscan sections, taking in gorgeous medieval towns such as Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Siena, are especially divine.

How to do it

Walks Worldwide (01962 302085) offers a seven-night Lucca to Siena Francigena trip from £749pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. viefrancigene.org/en

3. St Olav’s Waterway, Finland

Olav Haraldsson was the Viking king who brought Christianity to Norway. He died in 1030 and, ever since, pilgrims have followed various Ways of St Olav to reach his tomb in fjord-side Trondheim. One of the quirkiest strands is St Olav’s Waterway, a pilgrimage-cum-ferry hop from medieval Turku across some of the Finnish Archipelago’s 20,000 isles, passing charming harbours and churches en route. Committed pilgrims can continue into Sweden and beyond.

How to do it

Regent Holidays (0117 453 3001) offers a seven-night Finnish Archipelago Trail by E-bike trip, via parts of the pilgrimage, from £2,195pp including B&B accommodation and flights. stolavwaterway.com

4. St Cuthbert’s Way, Scotland & England

Following in the footsteps of the seventh-century saint, this trail is a strong contender for Britain’s most satisfying pilgrimage. A manageable length, and not too tough, it starts at handsome Melrose Abbey, crosses the Scottish Borders, enters the wilds of Northumberland National Park, passes St Cuthbert’s Cave (where his body was once hidden) and reaches the North Sea; here, pilgrims must wait for low tide to cross to Holy Island, site of Cuthbert’s original shrine.

How to do it

Absolute Escapes (0131 610 1210) offers a five-night St Cuthbert’s Way trip from £625pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. stcuthbertsway.info

5. Camino Primitivo, Spain

The Primitivo is said to be the original way to Santiago, tracing the route taken by King Alfonso II in the ninth century, after he heard St James’s remains had been found. It’s also said to be the most challenging, with steep ascents and descents, and the most beautiful, with exceptional mountain views. Beginning in Oviedo, the former capital of Asturias, it takes ancient paths through lush peaks and valleys, via traditional villages and centuries of Spanish history.

How to do it

Macs Adventure (0141 530 5452) offers a 15-night Camino Primitivo trip from £1,380pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. csj.org.uk/camino-primitivo

6. St Francis Way, Italy

Francis of Assisi – one of the most venerated Christian saints – liked to wander, seeking the divine in nature and spreading ideas of peace. This pilgrimage in his name visits key sites from the saint’s life as well as the wonders of central Italy: Renaissance Florence, the forest-cloaked Apennines, hilltop Santuario della Verna (where Francis allegedly received the stigmata), ancient Gubbio and Spoleto, explosive Marmore Falls, Assisi itself.

How to do it

Walkers’ Britain (0800 008 7741) offers a 32-night St Francis Way trip from £3,790pp including B&B accommodation, some dinners, excluding flights; a six-night Assisi-Spoleto trips costs from £695pp. viadifrancesco.it/en

7. Kerry Camino, Ireland

Back in the Middle Ages Irish pilgrims would head to St James’ Church in Dingle and thence sail to northern Spain, to continue their walk to Santiago. The short-but-spectacular Kerry Camino, which also has links to sixth-century St Brendan, apes that journey, with spots to get your pilgrim passport stamped en route. It begins in Tralee and wends down Ireland’s dramatic Dingle Peninsula, via ancient oratories, bogland and beaches, lively pubs and wave-bashed shores.

How to do it

Utracks (0800 0744 135) offers a five-night Kerry Camino, with an extra loop to Slea Head, from £720pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. kerrycamino.com

8. Pilgrim’s Way, England

A route followed by many a medieval pilgrim, this ancient track connects Winchester’s hefty cathedral to the shrine of Thomas Becket, the martyred archbishop famously felled in Canterbury. The trail runs via the River Itchen, the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, first following St Swithun’s Way and then the North Downs Way – the two meet at Farnham Castle. Along the way lie woods, water meadows and vineyards, priories, burial chambers and medieval inns.

How to do it

Walk A While (01227 752762) offers a 14-night Winchester to Canterbury trip from £1,875pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. explorekent.org

9. Camino Portugués Coastal, Portugal & Spain

Those after a more sea-salty way to reach Santiago might try the Portuguese Coastal Way, long used by pilgrims disembarking at Atlantic ports. It’s a breezy, easy route, running from lively Porto via golden beaches, seaside villages and fine medieval towns. A ferry across the Minho River delivers pilgrims into Spain; last stop before Santiago is Padrón (of pepper fame), where the boat carrying St James’s body was allegedly moored.

How to do it

Exodus Adventure Travels (020 8772 3747) offers a 14-night Portugal Coastal Way trip from £1,349pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. csj.org.uk/camino-portugues

10. Via Jacobi (Jakobsweg), Switzerland

Traversing all of Switzerland, from Lake Constance to Lake Geneva, this Way of St James might be one of the most majestic. The Jacobi links up historic paths that pass churches, monasteries and chapels, UNESCO-listed St Gallen, lake-hugged Interlaken and lovely Lausanne. But best, it skirts the northern edges of the mountains, so pilgrims are flanked by the lofty Central Swiss Alps, the Bernese Oberland, the Freiburger Alps and Jorat’s endless forests.

How to do it

Eurotrek (+41 44 316 1000) offers an 18-night Rorschach-Genf Via Jacobi trip from £2,888pp including B&B accommodation, excluding flights. viajacobi4.ch; jakobsweg.ch