Pamplona and Urederra

TRIP TO PAMPLONA AND UREDERRA

 

PAMPLONA

 

It's time to discover the capital of Navarra: Pamplona. This medieval city is the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Navarra and world-famous for being the city where San Fermin is celebrated every July.  San Fermín is a festival in which brave men and women run in front of bulls throughout the city.

 

 

Some of the places we are visiting in Pamplona:

 

Ciudadela de Pamplona

We are going to discover one of the most beautiful fortifications of Spain. This military building has a peculiar star-shaped form. Besides having its origins in the Renaissance, nowadays a big part of the building is still well conserved and is used as a recreational park by the local citizens.

 

 

Monumento al Encierro

While walking around the city, we are going to make a stop in a special monument called Monumento al Encierro. This life-size monument represents an encierro (running of the bulls across the city) of San Fermín and also the bravery needed to participate in those encierros. It is the best example of all the possible outcomes of this run.

 

Plaza de Toros

We are visiting the exterior part of the Bullring of Pamplona, one of the most well-known bullrings in Spain due to the importance of San Fermín in the calendar of the toreros (bullfighters). This is where the run ends and the bulls enter the ring. Every year the best bullfighters of Spain come to this plaza to face bulls from the most reputed ganaderías (ranches).

 

Casco Viejo y la Plaza del Castillo

The Old Town of Pamplona is probably the most beautiful part of the city, preserving the essence of a medieval city and the memory of the Kingdom of Navarre. Years ago, this part of the city was surrounded by a defensive walls, which can still be seen today in some parts of the city. If we follow the main street, we will arrive to Plaza del Castillo, the heart of the Casco Viejo of Pamplona. This was the place Ernest Hemingway used to drink coffee while he was writing about San Fermín and Pamplona.

 

Cathedral of Santa María la Real

In the Old Town, we can also find the Cathedral of Santa María la Real, probably the most important building of the city. Inside the Cathedral, there is a huge collection of historical and artistic treasures.

 

   Palacio Municipal
​Pamplona City Hall is an example of the city's civil Baroque architecture and had to be built twice.  
 

UREDERRA
 

One of the most incredible sites in Navarre, it was declared a nature reserve in 1987. The source of Urederra is a natural route filled with diverse flora and fauna that makes it especially beautiful. At the Urederra spring, there are waterfalls and natural water pools with breathtaking colors. It is a protected place and it is necessary to book your spot before arriving as the capacity is limited.

  

PLAN B
(In case of rain, we will go to Estella)
ESTELLA
Church of San Pedro de La Rúa:
​The church of San Pedro de la Rúa is located on the edge of the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, in the centre of what was once the medieval town of Estella-Lizarra. It is the city's main church and its 12th-century cloister is considered one of the richest sculptural ensembles of the Navarrese Romanesque style.

Church of Santo Sepulcro:
The city of Estella-Lizarra, an outstanding enclave on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Zone of Navarre, is home to a large number of religious buildings born of the cultural and economic boom of the 12th century.
One of them, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was left unfinished. It is now the visitor's imagination that plunges into the Middle Ages to reconstruct that building, whose surprising façade is one of the best examples of Gothic sculpture in Navarre.
On it, painstaking sculptors delicately carved the apostles and depicted various scenes from the life of Jesus with originality.

Palace of the Kings of Navarra:

In Estella-Lizarra, in the square of San Martín, where the memory of this medieval city formerly populated by Franks and Jews still shines in all its splendor, stands the Palace of the Kings of Navarre, also known as the Palace of the Dukes of Granada de Ega. It is the only civil Romanesque building in Navarre, declared a National Monument in 1931 and built during the last third of the 12th century. Facing the church of San Pedro de la Rúa, it features a magnificent façade with two narrative capitals, one of which represents the battle between Roland and the giant Farragut. Nowadays, it houses the Gustavo de Maeztu Museum.