Camino de Santiago through Burgos

Burgos is one of the major staging posts on the Camino Francés — the main pilgrimage route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela. The route through the city is well-marked with yellow arrows and brass scallop shells set into the pavement, leading pilgrims from the eastern suburbs through the old town past the cathedral and out westward into the meseta.

The pilgrim infrastructure is excellent: multiple albergues at different price points, a dedicated pilgrims' office in the cathedral cloister for credential stamps, and restaurants that cater specifically to walkers with the menú del peregrino — a three-course set lunch including wine for around €10. Burgos is typically around 500 kilometres into the route from Saint-Jean, and the stretch ahead across the treeless meseta to León is the most demanding psychological section of the whole walk.

things to do sight
A story
The Camino Francés enters Burgos through the suburb of Gamonal, passes through the historic centre past the cathedral and San Nicolás, and exits westward across the meseta. The city has been a stop on the pilgrim route since the eleventh century — King Alfonso VI of Castile invited French settlers to populate the route, which is why Burgos has a street called "Calle de la Puebla de Francos" (Street of the French Settlement). Some pilgrims still camp at the municipal albergue beneath the castle walls for free.

Other places in Things to Do