The Council of Europe has recognized the routes to Compostela as a “Great Cultural Route”. There is thus markup with specific European signage. This logo can be declined in ceramics or bronze shells nailed on the walls or in the ground of the cities crossed.
The routes crossing the Centre-Val de Loire region are marked and maintained by associations, and, when they use a GR®, by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (FFRandonnées). Non-GR® paths offer a more direct route, signposted differently from the GR®.
Associative and GR® traces to Compostelle
Note : The GPX tracks of the Grande Randonnée (GR®) paths are provided for information purposes only. FFRandonnées is the owner and responsible for the GR®, for more details, consult the FFRandonnées website (French Hiking Federation).
Specificities in the CVL region
In the CVL region, the marking is not put in place systematically on all the routes. When specific signage has been put in place by the region’s pilgrims associations, it completes, where applicable, the marking of the long-distance hiking trails (GR®) identified in white and red by the FFRandonnés.
The ways of Tours and Vézelay, as well as the paths of Dieppe and the Cathedrals, are marked in the direction of Compostela. The Mont Saint-Michel and the Ligeria paths are marked in the direction of Mont Saint-Michel and Rome respectively.
The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is also increasingly practiced by bicycle, taking a route based on quiet roads and often therefore outside the GR®. Specific signage is in place and should not be confused with that of the footpaths.
The markups being, even today, specific to each department, it is therefore necessary to follow the paths while remaining attentive to local specificities.
The pedestrian path marks
Eure-et-Loir and Loiret :
Loir-et-Cher :
The path may or may not be common with the GR®655. When not using the GR®, the route is marked with a sticker or a yellow arrow. See below the three corresponding markings :
Indre-et-Loire :
The path always follows the GR®655.
The Vélo-Route marks
Do not confuse the marking of the pedestrian path with the markup of the Vélo-Route.
