St-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Immediately on leaving Saint-Palais, ride on to Saint-Sauveur Hill, where the Cross to Xibalterre or Gibraltar (the name for St Sauveur in the Basque language!) marks the spot where several pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela (in northwest Spain) meet. All along this stage, you’ll spot many markers for this extremely popular pilgrimage, still much-loved today and rich in heritage. Both cyclists and walkers will appreciate the many related structures dotted along the climbs and descents to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, not just crosses, but chapels, churches, ruined hospices and villages packed with memories, as well as countless gîtes to stop at. The number of walkers and cyclists sharing this track has been growing consistently, showing what a major European route the Scandibérique - EuroVelo 3 is. At the end of the stage, you enter Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port via the Porte Saint-Jacques gateway; the cobbled street taking you down this way makes for a dramatic arrival!

Leaving behind the southern fortified gateways of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, you head towards a famous pass into Spain, the Col de Roncevaux, or Roncevalles, known as the Puerto de Ibañeta in Spanish. For cyclists, the challenge is taking on a true mountain pass. From the village of Arnéguy, where you leave France, it’s then 18km of climbing to get over this Pyrenean col. Even if the slopes are relatively reasonable (the gradients between 4.5% and 7% on average), you need stamina riding through the beech forest of the Valcarlos Valley, so change gear accordingly. The effort brings to mind the famed medieval French epic, La Chanson de Roland, telling of the Basque attack here, back in the 8th century, on Charlemagne’s Frankish army returning from attacking Iberia, including Basque Pamplona. Since the 13th century, Roncevalles collegiate church has, though, been dedicated to welcoming pilgrims and travellers.