Pamplona

Hemingway's city of the running of the bulls, capital of Navarre and a key stop on the Camino de Santiago, with old-town tapas bars and nearby highlights such as the Royal Palace of Olite, the Bardenas desert and the Irati Forest.

Pamplona (Iruña in Basque) is the capital of the Navarre autonomous community in northern Spain, set in a basin at the southern foot of the Pyrenees. It is world-famous thanks to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and the San Fermín bull-running festival held every year on 6–14 July, and it is the first city the Camino Francés of the Camino de Santiago passes through after crossing the Pyrenees. The city is small, and its old town is ringed by nearly 5 km of walls: Plaza del Castillo, the Town Hall, the cathedral, Calle Estafeta on the bull-run route and the pintxos bars of Calle San Nicolás are all within walking distance, while outside the walls lie the star-shaped Citadel and a chain of parks. Classic day trips abound: to the south, the Royal Palace of Olite, the hill village of Ujué and the Bardenas Reales desert; to the west, Puente la Reina, Eunate and Estella on the Camino, plus the source of the Urederra River; to the northeast, Javier Castle, Leyre Monastery and the Lumbier Gorge; and further north, Roncesvalles and the Irati Forest. Most require a car. The climate is transitional between oceanic and continental, with warm summers and cold, rainy winters; spring and autumn are best for hiking. Pamplona is about 3 hours by train from Madrid, or reachable by bus via Bilbao or San Sebastián. Allow 1–2 days for the city, or 3–4 days including the surroundings. During San Fermín, accommodation prices soar and rooms must be booked months ahead; running with the bulls is extremely dangerous, so be sure to follow the rules.

Top sights

• Plaza del Castillo – The living room of Pamplona's old town, ringed by arcaded cafés and the heart of the Running of the Bulls that Hemingway wrote about.
• Calle Estafeta (Encierro Route) – The most famous straight stretch of the Running of the Bulls, the longest and narrowest section of the roughly 875 m route.
• Pamplona Cathedral – Behind a neoclassical facade lies one of Europe's finest Gothic cloisters. This cathedral was the coronation site of the Kingdom of Navarre.
• Royal Palace of Olite – A fairy-tale Gothic royal palace with towers you can climb, and the most popular day trip from Navarre.
• Bardenas Reales – A rare semi-desert landscape in Europe, where wind-eroded earth pillars look like the surface of the Moon. It is a filming location for Gam…
• Citadel of Pamplona – A 16th-century five-pointed Renaissance citadel, now a green city park and art space.
• Pamplona City Hall – A Baroque city hall whose balcony launches the opening rocket of the San Fermín festival, where crowds in white and red celebrate.
• Church of San Saturnino (San Cernin) – A Gothic fortress-style church with two brick towers in the old town, dedicated to Saint Saturninus (San Cernin), who baptised the people o…
• Church of San Nicolás – A fortress-like church begun in the 12th century. Its thick walls and towers reflect the medieval rivalry between three districts of the ci…
• Museum of Navarre – A regional museum in a 16th-century hospital building, housing Roman mosaics, Gothic murals and a portrait by Goya.
• Plaza de Toros de Pamplona – The finish point of the bull run, seating nearly 20,000 spectators. A bust of Hemingway stands on the avenue in front, and guided tours are…
• Walls of Pamplona & Portal de Francia – Nearly 5 km of well-preserved Renaissance bastioned walls. Pilgrims on the Camino still enter the old town through the French Gate.
• Taconera Park – Pamplona's oldest park, with deer and peacocks in the former moat, beside the city walls and the Church of San Lorenzo.
• Café Iruña – A Belle Époque café opened in 1888. The corner where Hemingway often sat is now marked by his bronze statue.
• Palace of the Kings of Navarre (Archivo Real y General) – A 12th-century royal palace of Navarre, converted into an archive by Rafael Moneo. It is a showcase of old and new architecture blended tog…
• Monumento al Encierro – A life-size bronze group of runners and a bull charging together, the iconic photo spot of the San Fermín bull run.
• Church of San Lorenzo (San Fermín Chapel) – A church housing the silver bust of San Fermín, the city's patron saint. The grand religious procession of 7 July sets out from here each y…
• Museo Universidad de Navarra – A contemporary art museum designed by Moneo, holding works by Picasso, Kandinsky and Rothko, along with early photography.
• Irati Forest – Europe's second-largest beech and fir forest. Its autumn colours make it a hiking paradise at the foot of the Pyrenees.
• Puente la Reina – Where the two French routes of the Camino de Santiago meet. An 11th-century Romanesque stone bridge with six arches is reflected in the Arg…
• Castle of Javier – Birthplace of St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuits. A well-restored medieval castle.
• Monastery of Leyre – A thousand-year-old Benedictine monastery on a hillside, known for its Romanesque underground crypt and the moving Gregorian chant of its m…
• Roncesvalles – The Spanish starting point of the Camino on the Pyrenean pass, and the site where Charlemagne's rearguard was ambushed, as told in The Song…
• Estella-Lizarra – The 'Toledo of the North' on the Camino, with Romanesque palaces and churches and a high-arched prison bridge spanning the Ega River.
• Santa María de Eunate – An isolated octagonal Romanesque chapel in the fields, with a mysterious outer arcade often linked to Templar legends.
• Nacedero del Urederra (Urbasa-Andía) – Emerald-turquoise pools and waterfalls fed by karst springs. One of Navarre's most popular hiking routes.
• Ujué – A medieval stone village perched on a hilltop. The fortress-like Church of Santa María, its lookout gallery over the plains and its caramel…
• Caves of Zugarramurdi – A natural limestone cave traversed by a stream, the site of 17th-century witch trials, with a witch museum nearby.
• Foz de Lumbier – A limestone gorge carved by the Irati River. A disused railway path runs through two tunnels, and griffon vultures soar overhead.

Where to eat

• Bar Gaucho – A famous pintxos bar opened in 1968, renowned for its signature truffle egg, located between Plaza del Castillo and Cal…
• Rodero – A family-run, one-Michelin-starred restaurant next to the bullring, where the chef uses refined techniques to interpret…
• Baserriberri – A famous creative pintxos bar on Calle San Nicolás with Asian influences, whose signature bOOmVeja won the Navarra Pint…
• La Mandarra de la Ramos – A popular tavern on Calle San Nicolás, serving fried peppers and octopus pintxos in a stone-walled dining room hung wit…
• Iruñazarra – An award-winning pintxos bar on Calle Mercaderes near the City Hall, famous for its "Croqueta Gam-Berra" which won firs…
• Zanpa – A bar-restaurant on Calle Estafeta featuring both a pintxos bar and dining tables, famous for its potato and onion tort…

Itineraries

• Navarre: Mountain Forests to Desert Loop – Head north from Pamplona to the Irati Beech Forest, then south to the Royal Palace of Olite and the Bardenas Reales.
• Camino Francés: Roncesvalles to Logroño 9-Day Trek – Walk from Roncesvalles to Logroño, covering about 140 km of the Camino de Santiago across Navarre in six stages.
• Trans-Pyrenees Road Trip: Barcelona to San Sebastián – Drive from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, connecting Andorra, the Boí Valley, Ordesa, Irati, and the Basque Co…