Central Portuguese Way of St James

The Central Portuguese Way of St James is Portugal’s main Jacobean route and the second most walked route in the whole European network, immediately after the French Way. It links Lisbon and Porto to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, following the central axis of Portuguese territory until it crosses the border at the river Minho, in Valença, heading for Tui. It forms part of the set of Portuguese Ways of St James and is the variant with the greatest historical and literary tradition.

Route and stages

In its full extent, the Central Way starts from Lisbon and covers some 610 kilometres, climbing up by way of Santarém, Coimbra and Porto. From Porto, the starting point of most pilgrims, around 240 to 260 kilometres remain, normally divided into ten or more stages of twenty to thirty kilometres. After leaving the city along the Douro, the way pushes north, crossing the five great rivers of the Entre-Douro-e-Minho — the Ave, the Cávado, the Neiva, the Lima and the Minho — before entering Galicia.

The key towns of this final stretch are Vairão, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Rubiães, already in border country. The crossing into Spain is made at Valença, over the international bridge on the Minho, and continues by way of Tui, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis and Padrón to Compostela. Ponte de Lima, with its celebrated medieval bridge over the river Lima, is one of the most emblematic stops and, for many, an alternative starting point.

Historical roots

The Central Way makes use, along several sections, of the line of old Roman roads, notably the Via XIX, built in the first century, which linked Braga (Bracara Augusta) to Astorga by way of Ponte de Lima and Tui. This road-building heritage explains the continuity of the route and the density of bridges, paved ways and wayside crosses that still mark it today.

Jacobean devotion took root early in the territory, reinforced by the pilgrimage of Queen Saint Isabel in 1325, who made for Compostela crossing the border through this region. Over the centuries, foreign travellers such as Jerónimo Münzer, in 1495, left accounts of the route, attesting to the continuity of the itinerary as Portugal’s main historical way to Santiago.

Heritage significance

More than a tourist route, the Central Way is a corridor of built and intangible heritage: churches, chapels, former pilgrims’ hospitals, hostels and fountains accompany the whole route. Its contemporary standing coexists with the other national variants — the Coastal Portuguese Way, along the Atlantic, and the Interior Portuguese Way, which climbs up by way of Viseu and Chaves — together forming a network that keeps alive a pilgrimage tradition with centuries of history. The inscription of the Ways of St James on the UNESCO World Heritage list underscores the universal value of this phenomenon, of which the Portuguese Central Way is one of the oldest and most walked expressions.