Pamplona

Yes, this is the town of the "Running of Bulls", one of the most famous events in all the country. Great American writer Ernest Hemingway loved Pamplona for this spectacle which is part of the popular festival of Sanfermines, as he loved bullfighting in general, and this town is one of its centers.

But also if you shouldn't like to participate in something so spectacular as mentioned above, this well cared-for northern-Spanish town certainly has something interesting to offer. Its very well conserved historical center for instance, or the picturesque mountain ranges of the region Navarra, with some of the most original folklore of all Spain. And to the gourmets it won't be anything new if I tell you that here are growing some really fine wines ...

Pamplona proves to us that a medieval town can be adapted to the needs of our century without damaging its integrity.

The 16th century town-walls, which enclose wide areas of the urbanization still today, are impressing. They are, in a way, the backbone of the town and serve to the visitor as orientation for his walks through Pamplona. Alongside them we find nice parks, wide avenues and the oldest monuments.
Pamplona Taurina
Let's start with Plaza de Toros, the bullring, located at the end of the town-walls close to Arga river. Its tradition has made Pamplona world-famous, not least because of the books of Hemingway. It is the location of some of Spain's most important bullfights, specially during the festival of San Fermin, a spectacular event that leads thousands of tourists to Pamplona each year.

Close to the bullring is the square of Plaza de Castillo, where bullfights took place up to 1893. Today you may visit one of the beautiful cafeterias on this square that in a way is the "heart of town", and feel like Hemingway who liked to sit in there when he was in Pamplona.

The Cathedral
Pamplona's gothic cathedral, built between 1397 and 1530, with an 18th century neoclassical façade by Ventura Rodriguez is listed among the most important religious buildings of Spain. Most valuable is its claustrum. In the central nave there is the Kings' Mausoleum of alabaster, built in 1415.

Remarkable are as well its 15th century altar, the 14th century Barbanza chapel, the Fuente de la Cruz with the tombs of the Counts of Gades, the "Adoration by the Kings" and the relics of Holy Sepulchre and Lignum Crucis in its museum.