Things to do in Pamplona
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Pamplona
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, green Navarra, long evenings, walls and terraces at their best, pre festival prices.
Harvest, San Fermin Txikito, warm days and thinning crowds, the connoisseur's window, with Irati colour late October.
Best only if San Fermin on July 6 to 14 is the purpose, maximum price and minimum sleep.
Hot if not here for the festival, many local businesses close and the city empties to the coast.
Short cold days with Pyrenean wind and fog, but prices bottom out and museums are empty.
Wettest on the north side in Baztan and Irati, but atmospheric and cheap.
What's on
- San Fermín July 6-14
Chupinazo opening July 6 noon, daily 8am encierros, giants parades, corridas, fireworks and the Pobre de Mi farewell July 14.
- San Fermín Txikito late September
The little San Fermin in the Old Town, giants, music and communal meals at local scale without the international crush.
- Privilegio de la Unión 8 September
Civic celebration of the city's 1423 unification, with concerts, giants and Old Town ceremony.
- San Saturnino 29 November
Feast of the city's patron saint, with concerts, giants and Old Town ceremony for a mostly local audience.
Best things to do in Pamplona
Plaza de Toros de Pamplona
Walk the full bull run route then tour the ring, chapel and corrals for the clearest explainer of San Fermin.
Catedral de Santa María la Real de Pamplona
A sober facade hides a superb Gothic cloister, royal tombs, the OCCIDENS exhibition and a bell tower climb.
Ciudadela de Pamplona
A complete Renaissance star fortress inside a huge green park, and the best free hour in the city.
Murallas de Pamplona
Five kilometres of preserved bastion walls from the Portal de Francia along the Redin bastion, free to walk.
Plaza del Castillo
The vast porticoed living room of the city and the compass point for every first day in Pamplona.
Café Iruña
Belle Epoque cafe founded in 1888 on Plaza del Castillo, famous as Hemingway's favoured Pamplona cafe.
Museo de Navarra
Roman mosaics, Romanesque capitals, the ancient Abauntz map carving and Goya explain Navarra in one visit.
Calle San Nicolás
The core pintxos crawl street, best on Thursday Juevintxo nights when a pintxo and drink deal fills the bars.
Where to stay in Pamplona
Casco Antiguo (Old Town) / Plaza del Castillo
first trip, all-round base
Cathedral, pintxos streets, bullring and the square within 10 minutes on foot, with maximum atmosphere.
Primer / Segundo Ensanche
practical base, and best during San Fermin
Wider avenues, larger modern hotels with parking and soundproofing, still 5 to 10 minutes to the Old Town.
Iturrama / San Juan
local, longer-stay value
Safe residential districts by the university and Yamaguchi Park, with lower prices and a 15 to 20 minute walk to the centre.
Think twice about
- Train station / San Jorge fringe and far north-bank Rochapea edges
Not unsafe, but charmless, cut off by river and rail lines, with a longer less pleasant night walk back.
- Milagrosa / Arrosadia southern sprawl and the Sadar stadium zone
Safe and local but traffic heavy and dull, and a bus ride from everything, unless here for football or arena events.
- Calle Estafeta / Calle San Nicolás during San Fermín
The festival runs 24 hours and streets are partied in through the night, so sleep is impossible if it matters.
- Out-of-town motorway and Burlada-Villava industrial-edge hotels
Sold as Pamplona but you will spend the trip on buses and ring roads for a saving Iturrama gives without the penalty.
Best restaurants in Pamplona
Restaurante Rodero
One star for contemporary Navarrese tasting menus built on vegetables, smoked eel and seasonal mushrooms.
Restaurante Europa
One star in a city institution since the 1930s, classic Navarrese fine dining by Plaza del Castillo.
Restaurante Kabo
One star for a short produce driven tasting menu, arguably the most exciting current cooking in Pamplona.
Restaurante Enekorri
The locals' celebration restaurant just below starred level, with modern Navarrese grills and a serious wine list.
Restaurante La Olla
Traditional Navarrese cooking done generously, pochas, Ribera vegetables, lamb and fresh fish near the bullring.
Asador Anttonenea
Wood fire asador cooking where the grill is the point, chuleton, grilled fish and roasted peppers.
Verduarte
The vegetable first pick in a meat proud city, with creative seasonal largely plant based menus.
Casa Otano
Two floors of Pamplona history on the main pintxos street, serving the classic Navarrese canon at honest prices.
Best bars in Pamplona
Mesón del Caballo Blanco
A small bar on the highest bastion corner with the definitive view over the Arga and Pyrenean foothills.
Outdoor things to do in Pamplona
Club de Golf Castillo de Gorraiz
The most complete visitor round near the city, 18 holes with fast undulating greens and three large lakes.
Club de Golf Zuasti
An 18 hole oak woodland course in a greener valley, the better value and more relaxed round near Pamplona.
Real Club de Golf Ulzama
A connoisseur's woodland course in magnificent beech and oak country, among northern Spain's prettiest inland layouts.
Bardenas Reales
A UNESCO semi desert of eroded badlands and the Castildetierra spire, best explored by 4x4, bike or on foot.
Selva de Irati
One of Europe's largest beech fir forests, reached from Ochagavia, with trails from strolls to full day climbs.
Foz de Lumbier
A flat old railway path through a limestone gorge under cliffs holding a major griffon vulture colony.
Mirador de la Foz de Arbayún
A free drive up viewpoint where vultures and peregrines pass at eye level across the Salazar valley.
Palacio Real de Olite
A fairy tale Gothic palace castle in a working wine town, paired with Ujue and DO Navarra wine tasting.
Best hotels in Pamplona
Gran Hotel La Perla
Pamplona's grande dame on Plaza del Castillo since 1881, with balconies over the square and valet parking.
Eurostars Pamplona
A modern design hotel on the Arga bend with spa, river views and quiet that the Old Town cannot offer.
Pamplona Catedral Hotel
The best located mid range sleep in the Old Town, literally by the cathedral in a converted historic building.
Hotel Tres Reyes Pamplona
A large classic hotel on the Taconera gardens with pool, parking and the easiest car access in the centre.
Hotel Maisonnave
A long running family owned four star in the historic centre with a gym and loyal repeat clientele.
Hotel Yoldi
A historic Ensanche hotel superbly placed for Carlos III shopping, five minutes from Plaza del Castillo.
Hotel Pompaelo Urban Spa
A mid range Old Town hotel by Plaza Consistorial that adds a small urban spa.
Hotel Avenida
A mid range option trading a short walk for space, parking and lower rates than the Old Town core.
Is Pamplona expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €45 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €300 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Club de Golf Castillo de Gorraiz: a few days ahead
- Club de Golf Zuasti: a few days ahead
- Real Club de Golf Ulzama: a few days ahead
- Palacio Real de Olite: a few days ahead
- Nacedero del Urederra: weeks ahead
- Gran Hotel La Perla: months ahead
- Restaurante Rodero: weeks ahead
- Restaurante Europa: weeks ahead
- San Fermin accommodation fills 6 to 12 months ahead, and encierro balconies and fine-dining tables at Rodero, Europa and Kabo go weeks ahead.
- Urederra entry is reserved and capped in season, book the official slot as soon as dates are fixed.
- Olite Palace and bullring tours use timed entry in peak season, and Gorraiz golf and autumn Irati tours need a week or more.
Is Pamplona safe?
- Pickpocketing in San Fermin crowds is the main risk, use front pockets or a cross body bag and leave the passport in the hotel safe.
- Wear closed sturdy shoes during San Fermin, broken glass covers Old Town streets each morning.
- Carry water and start early for Bardenas and the walls in July heat, which regularly exceeds 35 degrees with almost no shade.
Pamplona travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Running the encierro as a dare, it is 875 metres with fighting bulls and serious injuries every year.
- Sit down dinners on Plaza del Castillo tourist terraces at 7pm, wrong hour and you pay for the view.
- Hemingway kitsch over the real places, Cafe Iruna, La Perla and the bullring tour, and trying San Sebastian, Rioja and Bardenas all from a 3 day base.
Getting around Pamplona: public transport and more
- Walk the compact pedestrianised centre, Plaza del Castillo to the cathedral in 5 minutes and the Ciudadela in 10.
- Use the green villavesa city buses for Iturrama and San Juan, and the central Yanguas y Miranda bus station for Navarra day trips.
- Do not drive into the Old Town, parking is perimeter based, hire a car from a centre edge or airport location for day trips.
Who Pamplona suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Pamplona your trip
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