You have heard the name. You may have seen the photographs: a gravel road disappearing between Tuscan hills, a pilgrim credential covered in stamps, the dome of St Peter’s appearing at the end of a long journey.
And now you are wondering whether you could actually walk the Via Francigena yourself.
The short answer is yes. But the more useful answer is that there is no single way to walk the Via Francigena. You do not need three months, you do not need to carry everything on your back, and you certainly do not need to be an experienced hiker.
The Via Francigena is a route you can adapt to the time you have, the landscapes you want to experience and, most importantly, the kind of walker you are.
This guide covers the practical questions we hear most often from people approaching the route for the first time: where it goes, which section to choose, how difficult it really is, how many kilometres you will walk each day, when to travel, what to pack and what happens to your luggage while you walk.
Think of it as your starting point for planning the Via Francigena in 2026.
The Via Francigena is one of Europe's great historic pilgrimage routes.
Its best-known itinerary begins in Canterbury and travels through England, France and Switzerland before crossing the Alps at the Great Saint Bernard Pass and continuing through Italy towards Rome. The route can then continue south towards Puglia.
For centuries, pilgrims, merchants and travellers used these roads to reach Rome. One of the most important records of the journey comes from Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury, who documented the stages of his return journey from Rome in the late 10th century.
Today, the Via Francigena is a long-distance walking and cycling route rather than one continuous ancient path. It follows a mixture of country lanes, gravel roads, woodland paths, historic tracks and occasional paved sections, connecting cities, villages and rural landscapes along the way.
The Italian section alone covers around 1,000 kilometres, which is one reason the experience can change so dramatically from one section to another.
Absolutely not.
This is probably the most important thing to know if you are considering the Via Francigena for the first time.
Walking the entire route is a major undertaking. Most travellers choose one section, often spending around a week on the trail before continuing their holiday elsewhere in Italy or returning home.
That is not a lesser version of the experience. It is simply how the Via Francigena works for most modern walkers.
You might spend a week walking from Lucca to Siena, continue through the Val d'Orcia, walk the final stretch towards Rome, or begin much further north among the Alpine landscapes of the Aosta Valley.
The question, then, isn't Can I walk the Via Francigena?
It's Which Via Francigena should I walk?
There is no universally “best” section. The right choice depends on your fitness, the season, how much time you have and what you want the journey to feel like.
For many first-time walkers, Tuscany is the natural introduction.
The route connects extraordinary historic towns with some of Italy's most recognisable countryside. Around Lucca, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena, walking days alternate between medieval streets, vineyards, cypress-lined roads and open hills.
It also offers a useful balance for beginners: you experience the rhythm of a genuine long-distance route without needing to commit to the entire pilgrimage.
SloWays also offers easier versions of some Tuscan itineraries, where daily distances can be reduced through shorter stages, additional nights or carefully planned transfers.
The northern beginning of the Italian route feels completely different.
You enter Italy across the Great Saint Bernard Pass before descending through the Aosta Valley towards Ivrea, passing mountain villages, vineyards, castles and the Roman city of Aosta.
Despite the Alpine setting, this is not a technical mountaineering route, although elevation and mountain conditions make it more demanding than some gentler sections.
There is also an important seasonal consideration: the Great Saint Bernard Pass is normally accessible only during the warmer months, so this section has a much shorter walking season than Tuscany or Lazio.
South of Siena, the landscape opens into one of the most celebrated stretches of the entire route.
The Crete Senesi give way to the Val d'Orcia, with long views, hill towns, vineyards and the unmistakable geometry of the Tuscan countryside.
This is a beautiful choice if landscape, food and wine are as important to you as the pilgrimage itself.
For some walkers, the destination is part of the reason for setting out.
Walking towards Rome gives the journey a very clear direction and an arrival that genuinely feels significant. The final stages lead through Lazio before eventually reaching the Eternal City and St Peter's.
If the symbolic side of a pilgrimage appeals to you, even if you are not religious, this can be a particularly satisfying way to experience the Francigena.
For a much more detailed comparison, our guide to which section of the Via Francigena to choose looks at the route from the Great Saint Bernard Pass all the way towards Rome.
It can be. But “the Via Francigena” is too large and varied for a single difficulty rating to be particularly useful.
A flat stage through northern Italy and a hilly day in Tuscany are both part of the same route. A 15-kilometre walk in mild April weather can feel completely different from the same distance during a hot summer afternoon.
When assessing difficulty, look at more than the number of kilometres.
The main factors are:
This is why choosing a trip based only on its total distance can be misleading.
SloWays rates its itineraries by difficulty, and our dedicated guide to how difficult the Via Francigena really is explains these factors in much more detail.
Yes — provided you choose the right section and prepare for it.
You do not need technical hiking skills for many sections of the route, but you should be comfortable spending several hours on your feet and doing it again the following day.
For a first multi-day walking holiday, a shorter itinerary of around five to seven days is often a sensible place to begin. Easier SloWays itineraries reduce some daily distances to roughly 12–16 km, while typical stages across the wider catalogue can extend considerably further depending on the route.
A useful test before booking is simple: go for a several-hour walk on terrain similar to the trip you are considering. Then ask yourself how you would feel about doing it again tomorrow.
Not whether you could.
Whether you would enjoy it.
That distinction matters.
There is no standard Francigena walking day.
Traditional or official stages can exceed 20 km, while itineraries designed for a gentler pace may divide the same route differently.
Across SloWays itineraries, daily stages commonly fall somewhere between roughly 12 and 25 km depending on the section and difficulty level. Easier versions stay towards the lower end of that range, while longer stages are better suited to walkers who are comfortable covering distance over consecutive days.
And kilometres are only half the story.
Before deciding whether a 20 km stage is right for you, check the elevation profile, terrain and season too.
Twenty flat kilometres on a cool day and twenty kilometres over Tuscan hills in summer are not the same walk.
You don't need an athlete's training programme. You do need to prepare your body for repeated walking.
The most useful preparation is unsurprisingly walking itself.
In the weeks before departure, gradually increase the length of your walks and, when possible, practise on consecutive days. Wear the shoes and daypack you intend to use on the trip.
The goal isn't speed.
It's reaching the point where several hours of walking feel familiar enough that you can still enjoy where you arrive.
Less than you probably think.
If your main luggage is being transferred between accommodations, you only need to carry what you require during the walking day.
A typical daypack might include:
Your footwear matters more than almost anything else you pack. Choose comfortable walking shoes or boots suited to the terrain, and wear them before the trip.
The week before departure is not the time to discover that your new hiking shoes rub.
Not on a SloWays self-guided Via Francigena holiday where luggage transfer is included.
Your main bag is transferred to your next accommodation while you walk with a daypack.
This changes the experience considerably. Carrying a full backpack over several days requires substantially more conditioning; walking with water, a jacket and the things you need for the day makes the same route accessible to a much wider range of walkers.
Always check the inclusions of your specific itinerary, as arrangements can vary.
Generally, yes — particularly along established Italian sections — but you should never rely entirely on signs.
Waymarks can be missed, damaged or obscured, and junctions that look obvious on a map can feel very different when you're actually standing there.
On SloWays trips, you also have access to GPS navigation and offline maps through the travel app, together with detailed route documentation and support if you need assistance.
That combination is particularly useful if this is your first self-guided walking holiday: you remain independent, but navigation doesn't need to become part of the challenge.
It depends entirely on the section.
There is no single Via Francigena season because the route crosses mountains, plains, hills and Mediterranean landscapes.
Spring is particularly beautiful in central Italy, with green landscapes, wildflowers and generally comfortable walking temperatures.
Autumn is another excellent choice for Tuscany and Lazio, bringing cooler walking conditions, harvest season and softer landscapes.
Summer can work well in the Alpine sections, while lower-altitude routes in central Italy can become very hot. If travelling in warmer weather, earlier starts and careful water planning become essential.
For the Great Saint Bernard Pass, the walking window is considerably shorter and generally falls between June and September because of snow and seasonal road conditions.
Always choose the season for the section, rather than choosing a month first and assuming the entire Francigena will be suitable.
This depends on how you choose to travel.
Traditional pilgrims may use pilgrim hostels and simple accommodation along the route. A supported self-guided holiday works differently.
With SloWays, accommodation is pre-booked stage by stage, typically using small hotels, B&Bs, agriturismi and other carefully selected properties suited to the itinerary.
This means you know where you are sleeping before you start walking each morning. There is no need to race another pilgrim for the last available bed or spend the final kilometres of the day searching for somewhere to stay.
You simply arrive.
You don't need to be religious to carry one.
The credenciale, or pilgrim passport, is one of the traditions of the Via Francigena. As you walk, you collect stamps from participating churches, accommodations and other points along the route.
For many walkers, it becomes a physical record of the journey — a page-by-page reminder of where they stopped along the way.
If obtaining the official completion certificate or Testimonium in Rome is important to you, check the current eligibility and stamping requirements before departure, as these can change.
It has deep Christian pilgrimage roots, but you do not need to be religious to walk it.
People approach long-distance routes for all kinds of reasons: history, landscape, food, physical challenge, curiosity, reflection, or simply the desire to spend a week moving through Italy at walking pace.
You can engage with the spiritual history of the route as much or as little as you wish.
The churches, abbeys, pilgrim hospitals and medieval roads are part of its story regardless of what brought you there.
Probably — but don't expect the Camino de Santiago.
The Via Francigena generally has a quieter trail culture than the Camino, and the atmosphere changes considerably by section and season.
Popular Tuscan stretches and the approach to Rome tend to feel more social, while other parts of the route can offer long, quiet periods of walking.
For some people, that's precisely the appeal.
There is enough of a pilgrim culture to feel part of a journey, without necessarily feeling part of a crowd.
Yes.
A self-guided trip is not the same thing as a group trip: you walk independently, choose when to leave in the morning, decide where to stop and set your own pace.
For solo travellers, having accommodation arranged, luggage transferred, reliable navigation and support available removes many of the practical uncertainties without taking away that independence.
If you're considering your first trip alone, we have a separate guide to solo walking holidays and the routes that work particularly well for different types of solo traveller.
This is one of the biggest differences between organising everything yourself and booking a supported self-guided trip.
A wrong turn, a missed connection, unexpected weather or simply realising that tomorrow's stage feels beyond your limits can all happen.
With SloWays, you have access to assistance during the trip. The important thing is not pretending that nothing unexpected ever happens on a walking holiday. It is knowing what to do when it does.
And if you're tired or struggling, continuing at all costs is never the goal. Depending on the route and location, there may be options to shorten or adapt a stage; these should always be assessed according to the specific itinerary rather than assumed to be available everywhere.
Earlier is useful, particularly if you want to walk one of the most popular Tuscan sections during spring or autumn.
Unlike a city break, a walking itinerary requires accommodation to work as a sequence. Availability in every overnight stop matters, not just at one hotel.
Booking ahead also gives you more time to prepare physically, test your footwear and understand the stages before departure.
If your dates are flexible, however, that flexibility can make planning considerably easier.
Both are valid ways to walk the Francigena.
Organising it independently gives you complete control, but also means researching stages, finding suitable accommodation in every stop, arranging luggage if you don't want to carry it, managing navigation and solving logistical problems yourself.
A supported self-guided trip sits somewhere between fully independent travel and a guided group.
You still walk without a guide and make the day your own. The difference is that the practical framework — accommodation, route information, luggage arrangements where included and on-trip assistance — has already been organised.
For travellers who want independence but don't particularly want a second job planning their holiday, that's often the sweet spot.
Don't begin by asking which section is the most famous.
Start with three questions:
How many days do I have?
How far can I comfortably walk for several days in a row?
What do I most want to experience?
If the answer is medieval towns, classic Tuscan landscapes and a well-established introduction to long-distance walking, Lucca to Siena is difficult to beat.
If you want Tuscany at a gentler pace, look at one of the Easy Via Francigena options.
If the pilgrimage destination itself matters most, consider a section that takes you towards Rome.
And if mountains are what make you want to put your walking shoes on, look north towards the Great Saint Bernard Pass and Aosta Valley.
The Via Francigena isn't one journey. That's precisely what makes it such a good first Camino.
You don't have to adapt yourself to the route.
You can start by finding the part of the route that suits you.
Explore our Via Francigena walking holidays and find the section that matches your time, experience and pace.
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