Via Francigena in England & France: From Canterbury to the Swiss Border
Over 800 kilometers of official stages from the Kilometer Zero stone outside Canterbury Cathedral to the Jura Mountains. The most solitary, untamed, and mentally challenging section of the entire journey to Rome.
Overview & History: The Path of Silence
If you arrive expecting the social atmosphere of the Camino de Santiago with a café every four kilometers, northern France will give you an unforgettable reality check. This first major section follows in reverse the exact itinerary recorded by Archbishop Sigeric the Serious in the year 990 AD on his return journey from Rome to his seat in Canterbury.
After two magical days walking through the county of Kent in England and crossing the English Channel by ferry from Dover to Calais, you enter the vast French regions of Hauts-de-France, Champagne-Ardenne, and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Here you walk past World War I memorials and trenches, across endless wheat and sugar beet fields, through the world’s most famous vineyards around Reims, and finally into the limestone river canyons and deep forests of the Jura Mountains before stepping into Switzerland.
Highlights & Realities Across England and France
| Sector / Region | Key Milestones on Trail | On-the-Ground Reality (What to Expect) |
|---|---|---|
| County of Kent (England) | Canterbury Cathedral (Km 0), Shepherdswell, White Cliffs of Dover. | Impeccable green footpaths, traditional pubs, and the excitement of getting your first stamp before boarding the ferry to France. |
| Pas-de-Calais & Somme | Calais, Wissant, Guînes, Licques, Wisques, Arras, Péronne. | Strong coastal winds at the start, WWII bunkers along the cliffs, and moving British and Canadian WWI military cemeteries. |
| Aisne & Champagne | Saint-Quentin, Laon (hilltop medieval city), Reims Cathedral, Châlons-en-Champagne, Brienne-le-Château. | Vast agricultural plains with very little shade. Accommodation prices spike in the Champagne region, but bivouacking among vineyards at sunset is priceless. |
| Haute-Marne & Franche-Comté | Bar-sur-Aube, Langres, Besançon, Loue River valley (Ouhans), Pontarlier. | The flat landscape breaks up and forest shade returns. Dense woods, turquoise rivers carved into limestone cliffs, and the first serious climbs toward the Alps. |
Official Stage Table: United Kingdom & France (Stages 1 to 31)
Click on any start or end town below to open its exact location in Google Maps and plan your supermarket resupplies, water stops, or camping spots. Personal tip: what is listed in England as a single 31.5 km stage from Canterbury to Dover is best split into 2 relaxed days by wild camping halfway near Shepherdswell so you don’t overstrain your legs on day one.
| # | Code | Start (Map) | Finish (Map) | Km | + Ascent (m) | – Descent (m) | Difficulty | Km from Canterbury | Km to Vatican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom — County of Kent | |||||||||
| 1 | EN01 | Canterbury | Dover | 31.5 | 230 | 231 | High | 0 | 2012 |
| Total United Kingdom (1 stage): | 32 | 230 | 231 | ||||||
| 🇫🇷 France — Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Hauts-de-France) | |||||||||
| 2 | FR01 | Calais | Wissant | 18.4 | 80 | 66 | Medium | 32 | 1993 |
| 3 | FR02 | Wissant | Guînes | 19.9 | 220 | 223 | Medium | 50 | 1974 |
| 4 | FR03 | Guînes | Licques | 15.8 | 200 | 142 | Low | 70 | 1958 |
| 5 | FR04 | Licques | Lumbres | 21.4 | 180 | 205 | Medium | 85 | 1936 |
| 6 | FR05 | Lumbres | Thérouanne | 14.0 | 60 | 82 | Low | 106 | 1922 |
| 7 | FR06 | Thérouanne | Amettes | 17.2 | 90 | 41 | Medium | 120 | 1906 |
| 8 | FR07 | Amettes | Bruay-la-Buissière | 14.9 | 50 | 128 | Low | 138 | 1891 |
| 9 | FR08 | Bruay-la-Buissière | Arras | 35.0 | 150 | 123 | High | 153 | 1855 |
| 10 | FR09 | Arras | Bapaume | 25.5 | 50 | 3 | Medium | 188 | 1828 |
| Subtotal 9 stages in Nord-Pas-de-Calais: | 182 | 1080 | 1013 | ||||||
| 🇫🇷 France — Picardy Region | |||||||||
| 11 | FR10 | Bapaume | Péronne | 26.0 | 80 | 145 | Medium | 214 | 1803 |
| 12 | FR11 | Péronne | Seraucourt-le-Grand | 31.6 | 70 | 57 | Medium | 241 | 1771 |
| 13 | FR12 | Seraucourt-le-Grand | Tergnier | 18.3 | 20 | 36 | Medium | 272 | 1753 |
| 14 | FR13 | Tergnier | Laon | 33.2 | 300 | 167 | High | 290 | 1720 |
| 15 | FR14 | Laon | Corbeny | 23.4 | 230 | 327 | Medium | 324 | 1696 |
| Subtotal 5 stages in Picardy: | 133 | 700 | 732 | ||||||
| 🇫🇷 France — Champagne-Ardenne (Grand Est) | |||||||||
| 16 | FR15 | Corbeny | Reims | 34.8 | 30 | 34 | High | 347 | 1662 |
| 17 | FR16 | Reims | Trépail | 26.1 | 270 | 183 | Medium | 382 | 1636 |
| 18 | FR17 | Trépail | Châlons-en-Champagne | 24.4 | 10 | 101 | Medium | 408 | 1611 |
| 19 | FR18 | Châlons-en-Champagne | Le Meix-Tiercelin | 38.2 | 250 | 196 | Very High | 432 | 1573 |
| 20 | FR19 | Le Meix-Tiercelin | Brienne-le-Château | 32.9 | 130 | 147 | High | 471 | 1540 |
| 21 | FR20 | Brienne-le-Château | Bar-sur-Aube | 27.6 | 140 | 101 | Medium | 503 | 1513 |
| 22 | FR21 | Bar-sur-Aube | Châteauvillain | 33.4 | 310 | 245 | Medium | 531 | 1479 |
| 23 | FR22 | Châteauvillain | Langres | 42.2 | 590 | 374 | Very High | 564 | 1437 |
| Subtotal 8 stages in Champagne-Ardenne: | 260 | 1730 | 1381 | ||||||
| 🇫🇷 France — Franche-Comté (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) | |||||||||
| 24 | FR23 | Langres | Champlitte | 37.6 | 180 | 401 | Very High | 606 | 1400 |
| 25 | FR24 | Champlitte | Dampierre-sur-Salon | 17.2 | 70 | 123 | Medium | 644 | 1382 |
| 26 | FR25 | Dampierre-sur-Salon | Gy | 26.1 | 150 | 151 | Medium | 661 | 1356 |
| 27 | FR26 | Gy | Besançon | 32.0 | 490 | 446 | High | 687 | 1324 |
| 28 | FR27 | Besançon | Étalans | 28.2 | 520 | 229 | High | 719 | 1296 |
| 29 | FR28 | Étalans | Ouhans | 28.4 | 350 | 305 | High | 748 | 1267 |
| 30 | FR29 | Ouhans | Pontarlier | 16.9 | 280 | 84 | Medium | 776 | 1250 |
| 31 | FR30 | Pontarlier | Sainte-Croix (CH) | 23.1 | 690 | 390 | High | 793 | 1227 |
| Subtotal 8 stages in Franche-Comté: | 210 | 2730 | 2129 | ||||||
| Total 30 stages in France: | 785 | 6240 | 5255 | ||||||
Accommodation & Wild Camping: How to Survive in France
The biggest challenge of crossing France along the Via Francigena is that the network of pilgrim hostels is minimal and spread far apart. Unless you want to pay €60 to €90 a night for commercial Chambres d’hôtes or rural hotels, carrying your own tent is the smartest decision you can make.
- The pilgrim’s lifesaver: The Town Hall (La Mairie): In small French villages, visiting the town hall or speaking with the mayor (le Maire) with your Pilgrim Credential in hand opens incredible doors. They will often let you pitch your tent for free on the municipal soccer pitch, next to the church, or even unlock a community room with a bathroom and power outlet.
- Municipal Campsites & Accueil Pèlerin: Don’t miss historic religious welcomes like St. Paul’s Abbey in Wisques, volunteer host families (Accueil Pèlerin), or France’s ultra-affordable municipal campsites (€5.50 to €10 per night with hot showers).
- Bivouacking (Overnight Wild Camping): In France, bivouacking (pitching a small tent at dusk, between 7:00 PM and 9:00 AM the next morning) is widely tolerated outside national parks or fenced private property. A polite “Bonjour, je suis pèlerin pour Rome…” works wonders with local farmers.