Which Section of the Via Francigena Should You Walk?

The Via Francigena is published here as a 90-stage route of 2,179 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 — the 90 stage pages — 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, 31 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 3–36)

The longest section by far: 34 stages, 954 km and 258.5 walking hours, which is more than two-fifths 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 17 pass through the coal basin and the Somme and Chemin des Dames battlefields to Reims; stages 18 to 26 cross Champagne, by the Marne valley and Vitry-le-François; and stages 27 to 36 climb steadily through Langres, Franche-Comté and the Jura to the Swiss border. The average day is 28 km, and eleven of the fourteen stages over 32 km on the whole route are in France, the longest of them Péronne–Seraucourt-le-Grand at 42.6 km.

Best for people who want quiet, unhurried walking, gîtes and small towns rather than crowds, and who have a month or more. Eleven stages have rail access, so it splits well: Calais to Reims (15 stages), Reims to Besançon (16), 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 37–46)

Ten stages, 193 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 in 11.5 km, 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 40–48, nine days) is the classic Alpine trip.

Aosta Valley — the pass to Ivrea (stages 47–52)

Six stages, 113 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 53–59)

Seven stages, 207 km, 875 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. Five 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. Mortara to Pavia is now two stages, split at Garlasco. 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 60–61)

Two easy stages, 54 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 62–64)

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 65–79)

Fifteen stages, 343 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 (65–69) run down the Magra valley and along the edge of the Apuan Alps to Lucca. The heartland (70–76) is Lucca to Siena: Altopascio, San Miniato, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni. The south (77–79) 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. Four are marked scarce water: Lucca–Altopascio, and the three south of Siena, which are also the only Tuscan stages marked 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 80–90)

Eleven stages, 191 km, 3,187 m of ascent, the shortest average day on the route at 17 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 70–76, 133 km, 2,418 m of ascent, seven days with rail at both ends. Or Viterbo to Rome — stages 84–90, 110 km, 2,009 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 44–48, 76.5 km, 2,950 m of ascent, five days over the Alps.

If you have two weeks

Siena to Rome — stages 77–90, 278 km, 5,011 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 40–52, 238 km, thirteen days, Lake Geneva, the pass and the whole Aosta Valley.

If you have a month

Fidenza to Rome — stages 62–90, 628 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 65–90, 534 km, twenty-six stage-days.

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