The Dancing House (Ginger, left, and Fred) includes Céleste restaurant.
THE bad news about Prague is that your guidebook is probably already out of date, as some of its brightest and best attractions have appeared only in the last couple of years and several old favorites have been recently renovated, redecorated or otherwise renewed. The good news is that you now have another reason to go off the beaten track and explore the city’s courtyards and cobblestone lanes. With luck, you’ll find something that no one else has discovered.
Friday
3 p.m.
1) GREAT GLASS
The soaring stained-glass windows of St. Vitus Cathedral have inspired generations of the faithful and visitors alike. For an up-close glimpse of original windows and the master craftsmen who made them, visit Old Town’s overlooked Umelecke Sklenarstvi Jiricka-Coufal (U Milosrdnych 14; 420-737-666-851; www.vitraz.cz), an “artisanal glassworks” where some of the cathedral’s windows were produced and are now restored. Replicas of historical windows are available for purchase. A reproduction of a medieval window depicting Charlemagne, resplendent in knight’s armor and wielding a sword, costs 30,000 koruna (about $1,500 at 20 koruna to $1).
7 p.m.
2) DINING HOUSE
One of Prague’s most prominent modern constructions is the Dancing House, a curvy riverfront building designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic, resembling a couple — often called Fred and Ginger — in midstep. In March, the restaurant Céleste (Rasinovo Nabrezi 80; 420-221-984-160; www.celesterestaurant.cz) opened on the top floor of the building, with views of the river and Prague Castle. Served alongside the panoramic scene are the inventive creations of Gwendal Le Ruyet, like an intensely flavored lettuce velouté, with chunks of garlicky escargots and aromatic tarragon foam, costing 275 koruna; a recent entree of skate in a light green crab sauce was 590 koruna.
10 p.m.
3) SKY HIGH
Most hotel bars in Prague are forgettable, lacking locals and atmosphere, but not so Cloud 9 (Pobrezni 1; 420-224-842-999; www.cloud9.cz), a sky-high lounge that opened in the Hilton Prague last September. (Be aware that the Hilton Prague and the similarly named Hilton Prague Old Town are not the same.) Long and spacious, the bar has many intimate nooks and corners, along with spectacular views of the Vltava River and city rooftops. Though house cocktails like the Mystic (vodka, fresh lime, brown sugar and plenty of peppery, house-made ginger syrup; 160 koruna) are excellent, the nonalcoholic “mocktails,” like the Baby Zombie made with guava and citrus juices (80 koruna), and Ginger Rain, with ginger syrup, ginger marmalade and lime (100 koruna), are even more refreshing, and perhaps a better accompaniment to the bar’s finger-food platters (with enough snacks for about four people, 890 and 990 koruna). Normally open until 2 a.m., the party can go much later, as it did when the entire Slavia Praha soccer team showed up to celebrate a player’s birthday recently.
Saturday
10 a.m.
4) MODERN MEMENTOS
Skip the crystal shops and get some unusual souvenirs at Futurista (Soukenicka 8; 420-222-311-453; www.futurista.cz), a new boutique featuring work from local designers. T-shirts bearing crude expressions in Czech and anti-Communist slogans cost around 300 to 500 koruna, while the Czech designer Maxim Velcovsky’s white ceramic “Republica” bowl, shaped like the Czech Republic itself, is 1,590 koruna. If Bohemian glass is a must have, try the Artel Design Shop (Celetna 29, entrance on Rybna; 420-224-815-085; www.artelglass.com), which updates traditional crystal designs with modern colors and shapes, like the asymmetrical “Glacier” bowl by the American designer David Wiseman (82,800 koruna), and 60s-style “Mod” Champagne flutes (5,900 koruna each).
Noon
5) A LITTLE BREAD
Not to be missed are a number of the city’s delicatessens, pastry shops and cafeterias that have been serving lunch and treats since early in the 20th century. Jan Paukert (Narodni trida 17; 420-224-222-615; www.janpaukert.cz) is a 93-year-old deli that claims to have invented the chlebicek, or “little bread,” a popular open-faced sandwich topped with any number of ingredients, including roast beef, ham, egg salad, salami and smoked salmon (19 to 28 koruna each). To burn up some of the calories from lunch, walk a couple of blocks to the Mysak pastry shop (Vodickova 31; 420-731-653-813; www.gallerymysak.cz), which was founded in 1911 and reopened in like-new condition last year. There, you can get the house karamelovy pohar, a bowl of ice cream topped with caramel, chocolate and walnuts, for 120 koruna. Before indulging again, get some more exercise with a 40-minute walk across the Vltava River to the Holesovice district for an apple tart (28 koruna) at the Erhartova Cukrarna (Milady Horakove 56; 420-233-312-148; www.erhartcafe.cz), a 1937-vintage confectionery that was renovated with pitch-perfect period décor in 2007.
4 p.m.
6) ART TOWN
It might not yet rival Venice, but Prague has several new museums, galleries and biennales that have started to position it as a serious forum for modern art. One of the biggest is the Dox Center for Contemporary Art (Osadni 34; 420-224-930-927; www.doxprague.org), which opened more than 30,000 square feet of exhibition space last fall. It has a show opening on June 4 that will include an extensive exhibition from the Scottish artist Douglas Gordon. A more intimate space, the three-year-old Hunt Kastner Artworks (Kamenicka 22; 420-233-376-259; www.huntkastner.com) is a single-room gallery. Running through June 6 is an exhibition featuring photographs and installations from the young Czech artist Jiri Thyn.
7:30 p.m.
7) END OF THE LINE
Though the Czech Republic is home to more than 100 breweries, it is challenging to find anything beyond a few international mega-brands in the city center. For a full night of rare brews, take the No. 11 tram out to Namesti bratri Synku, where you will find Zly Casy (Cestmirova 5; 420-604-241-454; www.zlycasy.eu), a pub with a rotating selection of microbrews and hearty Czech pork-with-more-pork fare (entrees, around 90 koruna). On a recent visit, the taps included a fragrant chestnut-honey lager from Milan Rambousek. About five minutes away, the brewpub Pivovar Basta (Taborska 49; 420-261-222-530; www.ubansethu.cz) serves one of the city’s richest and most full-bodied amber lagers (30 koruna a half liter, about a pint), as well as seasonal specials and pickled sausages (44 koruna). To finish up the night, get back on the No. 11 tram and continue out to its terminus at Sporilov, where you’ll find the Prvni Pivni Tramway, or the “first beer tram” (Na Chodovci 1a), a theme pub with three standard beers and one rotating microbrew. Decorated with old tram seats, the pub even has strategically placed tram handrails over the urinals in the men’s bathroom; also in the men’s room: graffiti by the Czech cartoonist Igor Sevcik. Be sure to cover your ears: throughout the night, the bar staff rings an old tram bell when each guest leaves.
Sunday
11 a.m.
8) A TASTE OF AMERICA
Soak up the previous night’s excess with brunch at the newest Bohemia Bagel branch (Dukelskych hrdinu 48; 420-220-806-541; www.bohemiabagel.cz), a life-saving stalwart for the city’s expatriate community and anyone craving a taste of American fare. The menu includes bagel sandwiches, burgers and diner classics like huevos rancheros and pigs in a blanket (full brunch menu, 199 koruna). Once you’re ready to get back on that horse, consider the 1.5-liter pitcher (about 50 ounces) of mimosas, enough for seven friends or one very thirsty individual, for 350 koruna.
THE BASICS
Czech Airlines flies direct to Prague daily from Kennedy International Airport in New York, while Delta will do the same three days a week starting June 18. Many other airlines serve the city via connections in Europe, and one-stops can be cheaper. A recent online search found nonstop round-trip prices from New York in June from $777 to $1,219.
A taxi from Ruzyne Airport takes about 40 minutes to the city center and costs about 600 koruna, $30 at 20 Czech koruna to $1. Or you can take bus No. 119 from just outside the arrivals lounge to Dejvicka, the terminus station, and transfer to the metro or a tram from there, all for a single 26-koruna ticket.
The newest splashy hotel is the 160-room Sheraton Prague Charles Square (Zitna 8; 420-225-999-999; www.sheraton.com/prague), which opened in March. Doubles in June start at 3,500 koruna, or $175. A special offer through June includes airport transfer, welcome drinks, flowers and dinner for two in the hotel restaurant, from 6,000 koruna a night, with a two-night minimum .
Generally less expensive but still stylish is the Hotel Yasmin (Politickych veznu 12; 420-234-100-100; www.hotel-yasmin.cz). Opened in 2006, it has 196 rooms decorated by the local designer Barbora Skorpilova. Doubles officially start at 149 euros, about $207 at $1.39 to the euro, but online specials in June were recently as low as 117 euros.
The legend is that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried at what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. Today thousands of people join the pilgrimage route for a spiritual journey and other personal reasons.
(Report: Maja Graham)
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way (Galician: O camiño de Santiago, Spanish: El Camino de Santiago, French: Chemin de St-Jacques, German: Jakobsweg) is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle, Saint James, are buried.
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The Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times. It was considered one of three pilgrimages on which a plenary indulgence could be earned;[citation needed] the others are the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. There are some, however, who claim that the bodily remains at Santiago belong to Priscillian, the fourth-century Galician leader of an ascetic Christian sect, Priscillianism, who was one of the first Christian heretics to be executed.
The Way can take one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the Middle Ages, the route was highly traveled. However, the Black Plague, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th- century Europe resulted in its decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims arrived in Santiago annually. However, since then, the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe. The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites
The pilgrimage to Santiago has never ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James' remains, though there have been years of fewer pilgrims, particularly during European wars. During the war of American Independence, John Adams was ordered by Congress to go to Paris to obtain funds for the cause. His ship started leaking and he disembarked with his two sons in Finisterre in 1779, where he proceeded to follow the Way of St. James in the opposite direction, in order to get to Paris overland. He did not stop to visit Santiago, and came to regret this during the course of his journey. In his autobiography, he gives an accurate description of the customs and lodgings afforded to St. James pilgrims in the 18th century, and mentions the legend as it was then told to travellers:
| “ | I have always regretted that We could not find time to make a Pilgrimage to Saint Iago de Compostella. We were informed, ... that the Original of this Shrine and Temple of St. Iago was this. A certain Shepherd saw a bright Light there in the night. Afterwards it was revealed to an Archbishop that St. James was buried there. This laid the Foundation of a Church, and they have built an Altar on the Spot where the Shepherd saw the Light. In the time of the Moors, the People made a Vow, that if the Moors should be driven from this Country, they would give a certain portion of the Income of their Lands to Saint James. The Moors were defeated and expelled and it was reported and believed, that Saint James was in the Battle and fought with a drawn Sword at the head of the Spanish Troops, on Horseback. The People, believing that they owed the Victory to the Saint, very cheerfully fulfilled their Vows by paying the Tribute. ...Upon the Supposition that this is the place of the Sepulchre of Saint James, there are great numbers of Pilgrims, who visit it, every Year, from France, Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe, many of them on foot. | ” |
| —Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society, [1] | ||
The Christian origin of the pilgrimage has been well documented throughout the centuries, no historical reference has ever been cited for the pagan origins. To this day, many pilgrims continue from Santiago de Compostela to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, to finish their journeys at Spain's westernmost point Cape Finisterre (Galician: Fisterra). Although Cape Finisterre is not the westernmost point of mainland Europe (Cabo da Roca in Portugal is further west) the fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae (literally the end of the world, or Land's End in Latin) indicates that they viewed it as such.
Pagan symbols have been claimed to exist along the route; indeed, some younger tourists declare themselves more enamoured by the pagan legends popularly attributed to the walk, than to the Christian history. One such legend holds that walking the route was a pagan fertility ritual; this however is based on the explanation of scallop shell being a symbol of the pilgrimage.[citation needed] An alternative interpretation is that the scallop, which resembles the setting sun, was the focus of pre-Christian Celtic rituals of the area. The Pilgrims' road seems related to prehistoric cults of fertility arriving to Atlantic Europe from Mediterranean shores[citation needed]. Symbols of Ashtarte, the star within a circle, or Aphrodite, Venus coming on a shell, have been found along the roads to Compostela[citation needed] and among the ancient Basques' mythology and legends, those related to Mari, the Mairu and the rising of Megaliths.[citation needed] Joseph Campbell associated the cult of Mari to that of Ishtar and Kali and in pre-Israelites times, the rejected consort of God called "the great prostitute", Asherah.[citation needed] There are also claims that the pre-Christian origin of the Way of St. James was a Celtic death journey, westwards towards the setting sun, terminating at the End of the World (Finisterra) on the "Coast of Death" (Costa da Morte) and the "Sea of Darkness" (that is, the Abyss of Death, the Mare Tenebrosum, Latin for the Atlantic Ocean, itself named after the Dying Civilization of Atlantis).[2][3]
The scallop shell, typically found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meaning.
There are different accounts of the mythical origin of the symbol. Which account is taken depends on who is telling the story. Two versions of the most common myth are:
James the Greater, the brother of John, was killed in Jerusalem for his convictions about his brother. James had spent some time preaching on the Iberian Peninsula.
Besides being the mythical symbol, the scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell is also a metaphor for the pilgrim. As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guided the pilgrims to Santiago.[citation needed]
The scallop shell served practical purposes for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago as well. The shell was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl. Also, because the scallop shell is native to the shores of Galicia, the shell functioned as proof of completion. By having a scallop shell, a pilgrim could almost certainly prove that he or she had finished the pilgrimage and had actually seen the "end of the world" which at that point in history was the Western coast of Spain.[citation needed]
The reference to St. James rescuing a "knight covered in scallops" is therefore a reference to St. James healing, or resurrecting, a dying (setting sun) knight. Note also that the knight obviously would have had to be "under the waters of death" for quite some time for shellfish to have grown over him. Similarly, the notion of the "Sea of Darkness" (Atlantic Ocean) disgorging St. James' body, so that his relics are (allegedly) buried at Santiago de Compostella on the coast, is itself a metaphor for "rising up out of Death", that is, resurrection.[citation needed]
The pilgrim's staff is a walking stick used by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.[4] Generally, the stick has a hook on it so that something may be hung from it. The walking stick sometimes has a cross piece on it. [5]
The earliest records of visits paid to the shrine dedicated to St. James at Santiago de Compostela date from the 8th century, in the time of the Kingdom of Asturias. The pilgrimage to the shrine became the most renowned medieval pilgrimage, and it became customary for those who returned from Compostela to carry back with them a Galician scallop shell as proof of their completion of the journey. This practice was gradually extended to other pilgrimages.[citation needed]
The earliest recorded pilgrims from beyond the Pyrenees visited the shrine in the middle of the 10th century, but it seems that it was not until a century later that large numbers of pilgrims from abroad were regularly journeying there. The earliest records of pilgrims that arrived from England belong to the period between 1092 and 1105. However, by the early 12th century the pilgrimage had become a highly organized affair.
One of the great proponents of the pilgrimage in the 12th century was Calixtus II who started the Compostelan Holy Years.[6] The official guide in those times was the Codex Calixtinus. Published around 1140, the 5th book of the Codex is still considered the definitive source for many modern guidebooks. Four pilgrimage routes listed in the Codex originate in France and converge at Puente la Reina. From there, a well-defined route crosses northern Spain, linking Burgos, Carrión de los Condes, Sahagún, León, Astorga, and Compostela.
The daily needs of pilgrims on their way to, and from, Compostela were met by a series of hospitals and hospices. These had royal protection and were a lucrative source of revenue. A new genre of ecclesiastical architecture, Romanesque, with its massive archways, was designed to cope with huge devout crowds. There was also the now- familiar paraphernalia of tourism, such as the selling of badges and souvenirs. Since the Christian symbol for James the Greater was the scallop shell, many pilgrims would wear this as a sign to anyone on the road that they were a pilgrim. This gave them privileges to sleep in churches and ask for free meals, but also warded off thieves who did not dare attack devoted pilgrims.
The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela was possible because of the protection and freedom provided by the Kingdom of France, where the majority of pilgrims originated. Enterprising French people (including Gascons and other peoples not under the French crown) settled in towns along the pilgrimage routes, where their names appear in the archives. The pilgrims were tended by people like Domingo de la Calzada who was later recognized as a saint himself.
Pilgrims would walk the Way of St. James, often for months, in order to arrive at the great church in the main square of Compostela to pay homage to St. James. So many pilgrims have laid their hands on the pillar just inside the doorway of the church that a groove has been worn in the stone.
Oddly, the popular Spanish name for the astronomical Milky Way is El Camino de Santiago. The Milky Way was said to be formed from the dust raised by travelling pilgrims in a common medieval legend.[7]. Compostela itself means 'field of stars'.[3]
The Church employed a system of rituals to atone for temporal punishment due to sins known as penance. According to this system, pilgrimages were a suitable form of expiation for some temporal punishment, and they could be used as acts of penance for those who were guilty of certain crimes. As noted in the Catholic Encyclopedia,
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There is still a tradition in Flanders of freeing one prisoner a year[9] under the condition that this prisoner walk to Santiago wearing a heavy backpack, accompanied by a guard.
Today tens of thousands[10] of Christian pilgrims and other travellers set out each year from their front doorstep, or popular starting points across Europe, to make their way to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, some by bicycle, and a few travel as some of their medieval counterparts did, on horseback or by donkey (for example, the British author and humorist Tim Moore). In addition to people undertaking a religious pilgrimage, there are many travellers and hikers who walk the route for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign land. Also, many consider the experience a spiritual adventure to remove themselves from the bustle of modern life. It acts as a retreat for many modern "pilgrims".
Pilgrims on the Way of St. James walk for weeks or months to visit the city of Santiago de Compostela. They can follow many routes (any path to Santiago is a pilgrim's path) but the most popular route is the French Way or Camino Francés; the most common starting points are cities in Spain situated along this route. Historically, most of the pilgrims came from France, due to the Codex Calixtinus. For this reason, the Spanish consider the Pyrenees the starting point. Common starting points along the French border are Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Somport on the French side of the Pyrenees and Roncesvalles or Jaca on the Spanish side.
However, many pilgrims begin further afield, in one of the four French towns which are common and traditional starting points: Le Puy, Vézelay, Arles and Tours. Cluny, site of the celebrated medieval abbey, was another important rallying point for pilgrims, and, in 2002, it was integrated into the official European pilgrimage route linking Vézelay and Le Puy. Some pilgrims start from even further away, though their routes will often pass through one of the four French towns mentioned. Some Europeans begin their pilgrimage from the very doorstep of their homes just as their medieval counterparts did hundreds of years ago.
Pilgrims coming from Northern and Eastern Europe historically passed through Switzerland. Today the historic route has been restored, beginning at the Lake of Constance and ending in Geneva at the French border. The route passes by three traditional pilgrimage places, Einsiedeln, Flüeli Ranft, and the Caves of Saint Beatus. The path also passes through historic cities including St. Gallen, Lucerne, Schwyz, Interlaken, Thun, Fribourg and Lausanne.
In Spain and southern France, pilgrim's hostels dot the common routes providing overnight accommodation for recognized pilgrims, those who hold a credencial. (See below.) In Spain this type of accommodation is called a refugio or an albergue, both of which are similar to youth hostels or hostelries in the French system of Gîtes d'étape; beds are in dormitories, and they usually cost between three and seven Euros per night, but a few operate on voluntary donations and are known as donativos. Pilgrims are usually limited to one night's accommodation.
These hostels may be run by the local parish, the local council, private owners, or pilgrims' associations. Occasionally these refugios are located in monasteries, such as the one in Samos, Spain, run by monks or the one in Santiago de Compostela.
Most pilgrims have a document called the credencial, which they have purchased for a few euros through a Spanish tourist agency or their local church, depending on their starting location. The credencial is a pass which allows (sometimes free) overnight accommodation in refugios. Also known as the "Pilgrim's passport", the credencial is stamped with the official St. James stamp of each town or refugio at which the pilgrim has stayed. It provides walking pilgrims with a record of where they ate or slept, but also serves as proof to the Pilgrim's office in Santiago that the journey is accomplished according to an official route. The credencial is available at refugios, tourist offices, some local parish houses, and outside Spain, through the national St. James organisation of that country. The stamped credencial is also necessary if the pilgrim wants to obtain a Compostela, a certificate of completion of the pilgrimage.
Most often the stamp can be obtained in the refugio, Cathedral or local church. If the church is closed, the town hall or office of tourism can provide a stamp, as well as nearby youth hostels or private St. James addresses. Outside Spain, the stamp can be associated with somewhat of a ceremony, where the stamper and the pilgrim can share information. As the pilgrimage approaches Santiago however, the increased number of pilgrims cause many of the stamps in small towns to be self-service, while in the larger towns there are several options to obtain the necessary stamp.
The compostela is a certificate of accomplishment given to pilgrims on completing the Way. To earn the compostela one needs to walk a minimum of 100 km (cyclists must cycle at least 200 km). In practice for walkers, that means starting in the small city of Sarria, for it has good transportation connections via bus and rail to other places in Spain. Pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela who have walked at least the last 100 km, or cycled 200 km to get there (as indicated on their credencial), are eligible for this compostela from the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago.
In medieval Catholicism, the compostela counted as an act of indulgence. The pilgrim was entitled to a partial indulgence, or, if the compostela was obtained in a Holy Year, a plenary indulgence. The full text of the certificate is in Latin and reads:
CAPITULUM hujus Almae Apostolicae et Metropolitanae Ecclesiae Compostellanae sigilli Altaris Beati Jacobi Apostoli custos, ut omnibus Fidelibus et Perigrinis ex toto terrarum Orbe, devotionis affectu vel voti causa, ad limina Apostoli Nostri Hispaniarum Patroni ac Tutelaris SANCTI JACOBI convenientibus, authenticas visitationis litteras expediat, omnibus et singulis praesentes inspecturis, notum facit : (Latin version of name of recipient) Hoc sacratissimum Templum pietatis causa devote visitasse. In quorum fidem praesentes litteras, sigillo ejusdem Sanctae Ecclesiae munitas, ei confero. Datum Compostellae die (day) mensis (month) anno Dni (year) Canonicus Deputatus pro Peregrinis
The pilgrim passport is examined carefully for stamps and dates. If a key stamp is missing, or if the pilgrim does not claim a religious purpose for their pilgrimage, the compostela may be refused. The Pilgrim office of Santiago awards more than 100,000 compostelas per year to pilgrims from over 100 countries.
A Pilgrim's Mass in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is held each day at noon for pilgrims. Pilgrims who received the Compostela the day before have their countries of origin and the starting point of their pilgrimage announced at the Mass. Fittingly, there are priests administering the Sacrament of Penance, or confession, in many languages, permitting most pilgrims to complete the indulgence attached to the pilgrimage upon satisfying the other canonical conditions.
Art critic and journalist Brian Sewell made a journey to Santiago de Compostela for a television series The Naked Pilgrim for UK's Channel Five in 2003. Travelling by car along the French route, he visits many towns and cities on the way: stop offs include Paris, Chartres, Roncesvalles, Burgos, Leon and Frómista. Sewell, a lapsed Catholic, is moved by the stories of other pilgrims and by the sights he sees. The series climaxes with Sewell's emotional response to the Mass at Compostela.
The pilgrimage is central to the plot of the 1969 film The Milky Way by surrealist director Luis Buñuel. However, the film is intended to be a critique of the Catholic church, as the modern pilgrims encounter various manifestations of Catholic dogma and heresy.
The Galician government seeks to make the Way into a popular tourist destination. When there is a Holy Compostellan Year (whenever July 25 falls on a Sunday; the next will be 2010) the Galician government's Xacobeo tourism campaign is unleashed once more.
The Way of St. James is most often referred to by the names used in the areas it passes:
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