The granddaddy of them all. Nearly 800km across northern Spain from the French Pyrenees to the cathedral doors in Santiago. Busy, beautifully marked, and unforgettable — this is THE Camino most people mean when they say they are walking the Camino.

The fastest-growing Camino on earth. Starting from beautiful Porto (or Lisbon for the full 640km route), this gentle path winds north through river towns, Roman bridges, and lush Galician green. The coastal variant hugs the Atlantic the whole way.

The most beautiful Camino? Many say yes. Hugging the wild Cantabrian coast past the pintxos bars of San Sebastián, through Basque Country, along cliffs above crashing waves, into green Asturias. Harder than the Francés but the scenery earns every climb.

The original. In 820 AD, King Alfonso II walked from Oviedo to Santiago — the first pilgrimage ever. This wild, remote route through the Asturian mountains and into rural Galicia is for pilgrims who want beauty, solitude, and the hardest popular Camino.

The long one. A thousand kilometers from Seville to Santiago along an ancient Roman road, through the scorching plains of Extremadura and the grand cities of Castile. Fewer than 5,000 pilgrims a year tackle this beast. Go in spring only.

The route taken by British and Irish pilgrims who sailed to Galicia in the Middle Ages. Short, manageable, and genuinely lovely — perfect as a first Camino. The 75km minimum from A Coruña earns your Compostela certificate.

Because reaching Santiago is not enough. Walk west to Cape Finisterre — the end of the known world — where medieval pilgrims believed the Earth stopped. Watch the sun set over the Atlantic, burn your boots (it is a tradition), and feel something you will struggle to explain.

The other entry from France. While most pilgrims cross at Roncesvalles, the Aragonés comes through the Somport Pass and descends through the Kingdom of Aragon — Romanesque churches, medieval bridges, and almost nobody else. Joins the Francés at Puente la Reina.

The medieval alternative when O Cebreiro pass was snowbound. This route drops south through the breathtaking Ribeira Sacra canyon, wine country, and Ourense legendary hot springs before heading north to Santiago. Almost no other pilgrims. Truly remote.

A hidden gem. At Granja de Moreruela, a fork in the Vía de la Plata offers a choice: continue north to Salamanca, or branch west into the wilds of Zamora province. The Sanabrés takes the western fork through ancient monasteries before meeting the route at Ourense.

The route of the Mozárabs — Christians living under Moorish rule in medieval Andalusia who walked north to pray at the tomb of St. James. Starting from Granada or Málaga, through some of Spain most historic landscapes before joining the Vía de la Plata.

Spain most remote long-distance Camino. From Valencia beaches, walk inland across La Mancha, through Castile, and eventually north to join the Vía de la Plata. You will see almost no other pilgrims. You will question everything. You will finish changed.

Start from the exact geographic center of Spain — the Puerta del Sol, Km 0 of all Spanish roads — and walk north. Through stone-village Castile, over the Guadarrama mountains, past Ávila medieval walls, and on to Salamanca. An underrated classic.