The Way of Saint James: The Route to Your Inner Self

The Way of Saint James is the quintessential spiritual pilgrimage in Spain. Many writers have embarked upon the journey as way of looking inside themselves and have gone on to describe their experiences as something magical and revealing which transformed their lives.

The journey through the splendor of the landscape and the discovery of monuments filled with symbols and mysteries are combined with a feeling of solitude which overwhelms the traveler, whether you are making the journey by car or on foot, with the aid of a walking stick and the pilgrim’s shell hanging around your neck, as many people continue to do every year.

The Way of Saint James, recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage site, has throughout the centuries generated an extraordinary spiritual, cultural and socio-economic vitality, leading to the creation of the first large-scale medical assistance network in Europe, as well as cathedrals, monasteries and villas. Some of these emblematic buildings are still used to shelter pilgrims today, albeit in the form of Paradores de Turismo.

The journey includes some of the most impressive Paradores, such as the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos in Santiago, the final stop on the journey; the Hostal de San Marcos in León or the Parador in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. In all, there are eighteen Paradores along the old French Route, the Coastal Route and their proximities, including those located in such emblematic venues as Bielsa and Sos in Aragón, Olite, in Navarra, Fuente Dé and Santillana del Mar in Cantabria or Villafranca del Bierzo in León, among others.