<html><div style='background-color:'><P>A traditional starting point, or more correctly a gathering point for pilgrims from all over northern and northwest Europe, was indeed the Tour St. Jacques, the remnant of a medieval church honoring St. James, (4th arr, metro Chatelet) between the Hotel de Ville and the Louvre. From there pilgrims walked across the Pont Notre Dame, past the famed cathedral and thence toward the edge of Paris on the Rue Saint Jacques in what is now the 5th arr. If you have a few hours for sightseeing in Paris, even if you do not plan to begin walking toward Santiago from there, repeating a little of that walk is well worthwhile, for it passes by and near some of the most important historical monuments in France. Those range from the Roman (Musee Cluny), to the medieval (Tour St. Jacques, Notre Dame and many more), the ancien regime (Conciergerie, etc.), the revolution (Pantheon) to the modern (the buildings where the Curies did their scientific wo!
rk at the Universite de Paris). The walk takes one through the intellectual heart of France, past many of the most important scientific and cultural institutions in the world (the Sorbonne, College de France, Institute de Geographie, and Observatoire de Paris among others). A good ending point for a walk on the traditional route out from Central Paris is Place Saint Jacques (on the Boulevard St. Jacques, metro St. Jacques). If you want to do a little more walking, a good return route would be to walk city streets a few hundred meters back to Square St. Medard and then return along Rue Mouffetard with its famous produce markets and lots of fine little places to eat, one of the most picturesque parts of Paris.</P>
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