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This comprehensive new guide by an experienced author of guides to pilgrim routes covers the first half of the Via Francigena walking route - 1,900km of contrasting terrain crossing Europe from Canterbury at the south-east corner of England to Rome in Italy. Part 1 takes walkers as far as the Great St Bernard Pass in the Alps and, with its companion volume to be published in 2012, it will make up the first full guide (in any language) to this ancient route, now designated a European Cultural Itinerary and increasingly waymarked and well supplied with accommodation. Illustrated with clear, original sketch maps and colour photographs, the step-by-step route description also includes detailed information about historical sites and all facilities available along the way. Relatively flat sections in northern France, full of historical and cultural resonance from great and ancient cathedrals to the battlefields and cemeteries of two world wars, give way to the mountainous Jura and a strenuous passage over the Alps, via the Great St Bernard Pass, all passing through villages and towns with interesting churches and religious monuments.
Introduction
- History
- Pilgrims through the centuries
- Pilgrim saints
- Geography
- Preparing for your journey
- Choosing your companions
- Planning your pilgrimage
- A challenging pilgrim route
- Equipment
- Getting there
- Accommodation
- Planning the day
- Other practical information
- Using this guide
The Route
- 1 Canterbury to Dover
- 2 Calais to Arras
- 3 Arras to Reims
- 4 Reims to Besancon
- 5 Besancon to Lausanne
- 6 Lausanne to the Great St Bernard Pass
Appendix A Further reading
Appendix B Useful contacts
Appendix C Index of maps
Appendix D Index of principal place names
Appendix E Summary of the route
Alison Raju is a former language teacher and author of three other Cicerone guides to pilgrim routes: "Way of St James: Pyrenees - Santiago", "Via de la Plata" and "The Pilgrim Road to Nidaros: Oslo - Trondheim".
