Picture Santiago in the far northwest corner of Spain. The Francés comes in from the east: about 790 km (490 miles) from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, 30 to 40 days, over the Pyrenees, through the vineyards of La Rioja, across the flat meseta between Burgos and León and over the pass at O Cebreiro into Galicia. Correos, the Spanish post office, calls it the right route for pilgrims who want company and a poor one for solitude, especially in summer.
The Portugués comes up from the south: 608 km (378 miles) from Lisbon, 233 km (145 miles) from Porto in 10 to 12 days, or 118 km (73 miles) from Tui in five or six. It is the second most walked route, mostly farmland and forest with a good deal of hard surface, and its coastal variant from Porto is quieter and slightly longer. The Norte follows the Bay of Biscay from Irún for 844 km (524 miles), about five weeks. The Primitivo leaves Oviedo and crosses the mountains for 302 km (188 miles), about two weeks; Correos sums it up as beautiful and hard. The Inglés is the short northern route from the ports where English and Irish pilgrims once landed: 107 km (66 miles) from Ferrol, which clears the 100 km needed for the Compostela, against 68 km from A Coruña, which on its own does not.
Good to know before you go: let your calendar decide before your ambition does. One week points to Sarria, Tui or Ferrol; two weeks to Porto or the Primitivo; a month or more to the full Francés or the Norte. Services are fullest from April through October, and the Francés is busiest on its last 100 km. Published distances differ by a few kilometers from one source to the next, so treat every figure as approximate.