A pilgrimage on the Way of St. James is on many hikers’ bucketlist. But there are more options than just the Santiago de Compostela. Many routes lead to Spain, such as the Way of St James from the Fulda to the Main. This is an opportunity to set off on a pilgrimage right on your own doorstep that lets you switch off, quieten your thoughts, enjoy nature and move forward a little more day by day under your own steam.

In this Collection, we present the eight stages of the Way of St. James through Hesse. If the whole route is too long for you, you can simply choose a section. Thanks to the excellent local transport network, this is easy to do.

Your pilgrimage starts in Fulda, which is easy to reach by train. After a visit to this eastern Hessian town’s cathedral, you start your 130-kilometre (80 mi) walk through the gentle countryside. The stages are fairly easy with only a few hills to overcome. If you find that some of the hikes are too short, you can just join them together. But don't worry: there's plenty to see along the way. You discover castles, churches and monasteries and the charm of half-timbered houses. This hike is one of the most popular routes in the RMV's ‘Rhein-Main-Vergnügen’ series for good reason.

Along the trail, you regularly pass food outlets where you can enjoy Hessian cuisine. The towns en route have plenty of accommodation too, although the choice is sometimes limited. You can ask in the parish office if they have any tips for pilgrims before you arrive. As mentioned above, you can always reach the nearest big city by bus or train in no time. To enable you to split up or shorten the walk as you wish, we’ve included stations and bus stops in the stage descriptions. They sometimes involve a small detour, but you can ignore these if you do the whole Tour. The best thing to do is to download the RMV app, which gives you the most up to date timetable information and allows you to buy your ticket at the same time: sites.rmv.de/rmv-app.

As you would expect on a pilgrimage, you can collect stamps along your journey in a pilgrim’s passport. You can collect your reward to take home at Punctum in Frankfurt (Liebfrauenstraße 2). Apply for your pilgrim's passport online here (website only available in German): pilgern.bistumlimburg.de/beitrag/hier-pilgerausweis-beantragen.

Immerse yourself in the experience of a pilgrimage and follow this famous route through the state of Hesse. It’s a fantastic opportuntiy to leave everyday life behind for a few days. On a pilgrimage, only the here and now counts. And who knows, maybe the pilgrimage through Hesse will inspire you to make further stops along the long-distance route to Galicia.