Plantagenet Way

The Mont-Saint-Michel TrailSince their foundation in 1998, the European Cultural Routes have played an active role in building a network of cultural exchanges on a European scale. Then as now, the Camino del Monte and the Camino de Compostela form a network of European itineraries, some of which are shared, enabling people to travel from one shrine to another as part of their long-distance itinerary, thanks to the "shared paths".
Along with Compostela, Mont-Saint-Michel is one of Europe's major pilgrimage shrines and a focal point for itineraries. It is the meeting place and departure point for the jacquets and the arrival point for the miquelots. The archangel and the apostle. The Channel and the Atlantic, the bay between Normandy and Brittany and the distant cape of Galicia. All these elements bear witness to the growing contemporary links between these two sites, which are listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites on the Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela (serial number 868).

The internet portal for the Atlantic Arc pilgrimage routes will help you get to know the sites of the various associations of historic paths in the West, from Normandy to the Basque Country... and from Brittany to Touraine... : Historical and pilgrimage routes of the Atlantic Arc
This portal provides a brief presentation of each of the associations that promote, develop and maintain the Pilgrim's Routes to Santiago de Compostela and Mont-Saint-Michel!

The "Shared Routes" of Compostela and Mont Blanc
There are currently three routes linking these two major pilgrimage sanctuaries.

These three routes join the Tours route and the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, which is signposted and described in numerous guidebooks. They are the "Voie des Capitales", the "Voie des Plantagenêts" and the "Voie de Compostelle". Grand Chemin Montois

Thanks to partnerships with pilgrimage associations in Brittany, Anjou, Maine and Touraine, these shared paths are signposted in both directions. For example, jacquets departing from the Mont follow the stylised yellow shells of Compostela and miquelots, who come from the "south", follow the cyan-blue signposts of the Mont-Saint-Michel Trail.

THE WAY OF THE CAPITALS or Western Route

From Clisson to Mont-Saint-MichelVia Nantes, Rennes and Pontorson, the Voie des Capitales (13 stages) is a high-quality route, rich in monuments and landscapes, which is currently enjoying great success.
This path is signposted towards the Mont with the Association's logo as confirmation markers,
To buy this guide (€12 + postage) (60 p. 2020 edition) To order, see the Boutique]
For more information on this route and its accommodation, see the Haltes pèlerines 44 website for the Loire-Atlantique region and the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques websiteUnfortunately, this site is currently being redesigned.

From Le Mont to Clisson and Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud (Vendée) [towards Compostela].
Setting off from Le Mont on the way to Santiago de Compostela, the route passes through Normandy, Brittany and the Vendée via Pontorson, Rennes, Nantes, Clisson, Montaigu and Surgères before reaching Saint-Jean-d'Angély on the way to Tours.
This route is described as far as the Vendée in the guide published by the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques (€17 + postage) (122 p., 2020 edition), printed individually by Lulu.com. To order it
For more information on this route, the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques website

From Clisson to Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud, this is the Chemin vendéen, run by the Association vendéenne des pèlerins de Compostelle, for the GPX routes of the stages, the downloadable topoguide and the list of volunteer hosts, see the Association vendéenne des pèlerins de Compostelle website. the Vendée Association

THE WAY OF THE PLANTAGENETS

Itinerary presented in "Des racines et des ailes from January 2021

From Angers to Mont-Saint-Michel This route leads from Anjou to Mont-Saint-Michel: it is described in the guide entitled "Le Chemin du Mont Saint Michel - La voie des Plantagenêts" published by Rando-Editions in 2008 and now out of print.
This guide presented the description and heritage of Angers au Mont and du Mont au Puy-Notre-Dame (southern Maine-et-Loire), failing which all that remains are the route descriptions and maps of the Breton Association website.

If you want to set off from Aulnay-de-Saintonge and head for Angers and then Le Mont, the Deux-Sèvres section follows the GR 36, which is signposted in both directions.
For more information on this route, the Breton Association website and the Association des Amis de Saint-Jacques en Anjou website

From Mont to Aulnay-de-Saintonge [to Compostela] [in French]. This route crosses Brittany and Anjou, via Saint-James, Fougères, Vitré, La Guerche-de-Bretagne, Pouancé, Segré, Le Lion-d'Angers, Angers, Doué-la-Fontaine, Le Puy-Notre-Dame, Thouars, Niort, Parthenay before joining the Tours route at Aulnay de Saintonge.
This 23-stop itinerary is described in the guide published by the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques (€18 + postage) (122 p., 2020 edition), printed individually by Lulu.com. to order it
For more information on this route, the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques website