Prisión de los obispos (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port)

Saint-Jean- Pied-de- Port - Wikicommons

If we talk about one of the routes with more tradition and history of the Camino de Santiago, the French Way is undoubtedly one of the most popular. Also known as the Main Street of Europe, it is the link between France and Spain in a unique route in which pilgrims must cross the spectacular Pyrenees and cross from east to west the entire Iberian Peninsula to reach Santiago de Compostela and visit its incredible cathedral.

For millennia, believers and devotees from all over the world have used this route to obtain the compostela, but today it is an experience that extends beyond universal beliefs. The French Way allows us to overcome all our limits, disconnect from the daily routine and enjoy landscapes and destinations as unforgettable as the Prison of the Bishops in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

The Bishops Prison is one of the most iconic places in the city of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the inaugural itinerary of the French Way and along the way you will discover places and buildings that take you back in time. The Prison of the Bishops has witnessed many historical events of great importance, since it is a building dating from the fourteenth century and arouses all kinds of emotions by keeping inside cells, dungeons, an incredible subway room and numerous objects of the time. 

The Prison of the Bishops or Prison of the Bishops is one of the most iconic places in the whole city for having one of the most peculiar stories. On the one hand, it served as a residence for the bishops of the diocese of Bayonne during much of the Great Western Schism, and on the other hand the penitentiary founded in the late eighteenth century. These two contrasts are united in a single concept, and today we can find many relics of the time, as well as a mysterious atmosphere that makes you travel to the Middle Ages.