THE WAY OF SAINT JAMES

The Way of Saint James is an important vehicle of cultural and religious communication between the people of Europe and a shared symbol among the countries and regions comprising the European Union. Since the Middle Ages it has been used by pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela, the city which reveres the relics of James the Apostle.

The majority of pilgrims come to Santiago via the so-called “French Way”, but there are also six other historical ways along which to make the holy pilgrimage. The French Way is undoubtedly the most well-known and travelled of them all. It enters Spain at Roncesvalles and Sompot, in the Pyrenees, and passes through the Autonomous Communities of Aragon, Navarre, La Rioja, Castile and Leon, before reaching Galicia.

Also called the “Xacobeo” Way, the Way of Saint James was given World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1985 and declared the First European Cultural Route by the European Parliament.

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Xacobeo 2010