Which Section of the Via Francigena Should You Walk?

The Via Francigena is published here as an 84-stage route of about 1,900 km from Canterbury to St Peter's Square. Almost nobody walks it in one go. The realistic question is which part to walk with the time you have, and the answer depends on four things: how many days you have, how much climbing you want, when in the year you can go, and how easily you can get to the start and away from the finish.

This guide compares the nine sections the stage pages are grouped into. Every distance, climb and hour below is summed from the same stage data those pages are built from — 83 stage pages in the cache we compute from — not copied from a guidebook.

The nine sections at a glance

"Stages with rail access" counts the stages the data flags as having a railway station on the day — useful for knowing where you can join or leave a section without a taxi.

England — Canterbury to Dover (stages 1–2)

Two short days, 33 km, through Kent countryside on parts of the North Downs Way, from Canterbury Cathedral to the White Cliffs and the ferry port. Both stages are graded easy; the only warnings in the data are road sections near Canterbury, a steep descent into Dover and windy clifftop paths. Best for a weekend, a symbolic start before a longer trip, or anyone who wants to leave from kilometre zero. Both ends are on the railway.

France — Calais to Jougne (stages 3–30)

The longest section by far: 28 stages, 699 km and 190 walking hours, which is more than a third of the whole route. It is not one landscape but four. The first eight stages cross the flat marsh and rolling Artois farmland of Pas-de-Calais; stages 9 to 15 pass through the coal basin and the Somme and Chemin des Dames battlefields to Reims; stages 16 to 22 cross Champagne, including the exposed chalk plain around Coole; and stages 23 to 30 climb steadily through Langres, Franche-Comté and the Jura to the Swiss border. The average day is 25 km, the longest in any section, and six of the twelve stages of 30 km or more on the whole route are in France.

Best for people who want quiet, unhurried walking, gîtes and small towns rather than crowds, and who have a month or more. Twelve stages have rail access, so it splits well: Calais to Reims (13 stages), Reims to Besançon (12), Besançon to the border (3). The two hard-graded stages, Ornans–Pontarlier and Pontarlier–Jougne, carry mountain-weather warnings and best months of June to September only.

Switzerland — Jougne to the Great St Bernard Pass (stages 31–40)

Ten stages, 192 km, but 5,147 m of ascent — more climbing per kilometre than any other section. The first seven days are gentle: down from the Jura to Orbe, across the plateau to Lausanne, then the Lavaux vineyard terraces along Lake Geneva and the flat Rhône valley to Martigny. The last three days are the Alps. Martigny to Orsières climbs 785 m, Orsières to Bourg-Saint-Pierre 921 m in only 14 km, and Bourg-Saint-Pierre to the pass 1,023 m, finishing at 2,469 m with no shelter on the way and scarce water.

Best for walkers who want the Alpine crossing itself; see the Great St Bernard Pass guide for the seasonal window and the bus alternative. Lausanne, Vevey, Aigle and Martigny all have rail access, so Lausanne to Aosta (stages 34–42, nine days) is the classic Alpine trip.

Aosta Valley — the pass to Ivrea (stages 41–46)

Six stages, 120 km, mostly downhill: 2,020 m of ascent against 4,257 m of descent. The first day drops 1,271 m from the pass to Etroubles and the data warns it is hard on the knees; after Aosta the valley floor is broad, with castles on the outcrops and vineyards and orchards along the Dora Baltea. Five of the six stages are graded easy. Aosta and Ivrea have rail access.

Best paired with the Swiss stages rather than walked alone, or as a gentle week for someone who wants mountains without climbing them.

Po Valley — Ivrea to Piacenza (stages 47–52)

Six stages, 160 km, 807 m of ascent — the flattest walking on the route, across the rice paddies of Vercelli and the Lomellina and over the Ticino and the Po to Piacenza. Four of the ten flattest stages on the whole route are here. Every stage is marked minimal shade, and the warnings repeat the same advice: exposed, carry water, mosquitoes near the paddies, and Mortara–Pavia at 32 km is flagged "consider splitting". The best months in the data are April to June and September to October; July and August are not listed for any stage.

Best for strong walkers in spring, and for anyone who wants Pavia's Certosa and the Po crossing. Not the place for a first trip in summer.

Emilia-Romagna — Piacenza to Fidenza (stages 53–54)

Two easy stages, 46 km, along the line of the Roman Via Emilia to Fidenza and its Romanesque cathedral. It is a link rather than a destination — the approach to the mountains — and Fidenza has rail access, which makes it the natural start point for the Apennines.

Apennines — Fidenza to Pontremoli (stages 55–57)

Three stages, 94 km, 2,467 m of ascent and the longest average day on the route at 31 km. Fidenza–Fornovo is a 32 km warm-up along the Taro valley; Fornovo–Berceto climbs 1,391 m, the biggest single-day ascent on the entire Via Francigena; Berceto–Pontremoli crosses the Cisa Pass at 1,041 m and then descends 1,267 m into Tuscany. No stage has rail access. Best months are May to October, with only one of the three stages listed for July and August.

Best for fit walkers who want the mountain crossing between the plain and Tuscany. It is the section most often skipped by bus, and the one that most rewards not skipping it.

Tuscany — Pontremoli to Radicofani (stages 58–72)

Fifteen stages, 322 km, 6,676 m of ascent, and the section most people mean when they say "the Via Francigena". It divides cleanly in three. The Lunigiana and the coast (58–62) run down the Magra valley and along the edge of the Apuan Alps to Lucca. The heartland (63–69) is Lucca to Siena: Altopascio, San Miniato, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni. The south (70–72) leaves Siena for the Crete Senesi and the Val d'Orcia and ends with the hardest Tuscan stage, 32 km and 991 m up to Radicofani.

Nine of the fifteen stages have rail access. Three stages — all south of Siena — are marked scarce water and minimal shade. Best months in the data are April to June and September to October, with March and November added for nine stages.

Best for everyone. If you only ever walk one week of this route, walk Lucca to Siena.

Lazio — Radicofani to Rome (stages 73–83)

Eleven stages, 196 km, 3,139 m of ascent, the shortest average day on the route at 18 km, and no stage graded hard. Lake Bolsena, Montefiascone, Viterbo, the Etruscan sunken roads around Sutri, the Via Cassia through the Roman campagna, Monte Mario and the walk down to St Peter's. Six stages have rail access, and the whole of the last 100 km falls inside this section.

Best for anyone walking for the Testimonium, and for a first trip with shorter days.

If you have one week

Lucca to Siena — stages 63–69, 129 km, 2,418 m of ascent, seven days with rail at both ends. Or Viterbo to Rome — stages 77–83, 115 km, 1,961 m of ascent, seven days, and enough distance for the Testimonium (the 100 km rule is explained in the credential guide). Or, in June to September, Martigny to Aosta — stages 38–42, 88 km, 2,950 m of ascent, five days over the Alps.

If you have two weeks

Siena to Rome — stages 70–83, 283 km, 4,963 m of ascent, fourteen stage-days. It has the Val d'Orcia, Radicofani, Lake Bolsena, Viterbo and the arrival in Rome, and it finishes at the Testimonium. Take a rest day in Viterbo and you are still inside fifteen days. The alternative is Lausanne to Ivrea — stages 34–46, 250 km, thirteen days, Lake Geneva, the pass and the whole Aosta Valley.

If you have a month

Fidenza to Rome — stages 55–83, 634 km, twenty-nine stage-days. That is the Apennine crossing, all fifteen Tuscan stages and all of Lazio, with about 12,300 m of ascent. With rest days in Lucca, Siena and Viterbo it runs to thirty-two days. If a month means strictly four weeks, start at Pontremoli instead: stages 58–83, 518 km, twenty-six stage-days.

For the full route and how many weeks it really takes, see how long the Via Francigena takes.