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Pamplona, Spain

Pamplona, the capital of Navarre in northern Spain, is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermin fiesta, and for being one of Ernest Hemingway’s favourite cities. Hemingway visited Pamplona numerous times and wrote about the city and his experience of it in his first major novel, The Sun Also Rises. A tour of Pamplona can include a walking tour around the city retracing the writer’s footsteps. This beautiful city is also a popular stop for walkers following the ancient pilgrim route, the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). On our Small Group Tour of Spain & Portugal, we spend the morning of Day 5 in Pamplona with a local guide, on the way from Calahorra to Bilbao.

Small Group Tour

Small Group Tour of Spain & Portugal

24-Day Tour · Barcelona to Granada · Small group, up to 16 travellers, solo travellers welcome

On Day 5 we travel from Calahorra to Pamplona, where a local guide traces the city’s rise from an army camp for the Roman general Pompey to the capital of the semi-autonomous Navarre region. After lunch at own arrangements we continue to Bilbao in the Basque Country.

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Pamplona was founded in Roman times in 75 BC by general Pompey, who later joined Julius Caesar and Crassus in the First Triumvirate and was married to Caesar’s daughter, Julia. Tradition says he founded it as a Roman military settlement in his fight against Quintus Sertorius, leader of a revolt against Rome and who was then supported by Calagurris (modern-day Calahorra in the La Rioja region).

By the 9th century, it had become the capital of the kingdom of Navarra, which enjoyed great prestige during the Middle Ages until 1512, when its territories south of the Pyrenees mountains were conquered by Ferdinand of Aragon and later annexed to the Crown of Castile. The otherwise quiet city of Pamplona explodes into life in July for the San Fermin fiesta with its daredevil bull running, brought to fame through Hemingway’s novel. If you want to experience Pamplona’s bullfighting culture, free up your evenings: the bullfights in the Plaza de Toros usually begin at 6:30 pm each evening of the San Fermin festival.

The running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain

San Fermin fiesta, Pamplona, Spain

On a walking tour, visit Pamplona’s picturesque old town dating from medieval times. This district is dominated by its cathedral–Catedral de Santa María–exhibiting a variety of architectural styles, from a Neoclassical facade to French Gothic elements. Other notable monuments include the San Saturnino church and the Museo de Navarra, housed in a former 16th-century hospital.

Catedral de Santa María, Pamplona, Spain

After your city tour, continue to enjoy the amazing landscapes and cuisine of northern Spain by venturing out of Pamplona to walk the Way of St James. There are plenty of accommodation styles to choose from; some hotels also offer luggage transfers for those walking the Camino, especially solo travellers.

Seeing Pamplona on our Spain and Portugal tour

Pamplona comes early in the northern stretch of our 24-day Small Group Tour of Spain & Portugal, which follows a Spain and Portugal itinerary from Barcelona to Granada. On Day 4 we take the high-speed AVE train from Barcelona to Calahorra, the Roman Calagurris mentioned above. On Day 5 we travel to Pamplona, where a local guide shows us the city, then after lunch at own arrangements we continue into the Basque Country for dinner at our hotel in Bilbao. On Day 6, after the Guggenheim, we travel on to Burgos. Groups are small, up to 16 travellers, with an Odyssey Program Leader, and the tour is rated Level 2 (Moderate).