Pamplona (Basque: Iruña) is a city in Navarra, Spain. It is most famous world-wide for its San Fermín festival, held each year from July 6-14. San Fermín festival includes the legendary "Running of the Bulls", which features the daily bullrun or "Encierro" in Spanish. Pamplona is a beautiful green city and ranks the highest in environment and recycling cities in Spain & Europe. There are many interesting things to do and explore in Pamplona for a traveler as it is the first main city on the route of St. James (Camino de Santiago).
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Pamplona offers to very different faces to the visitor: while in San Fermín festival, the city is driven by music, drinking and the incredible number of people celebrating and packing the streets. People from all over the World "pay tribute" to San Fermín by having fun, and for the more adventurous, run in front of six bulls at 08:00. If you want to see the bullrun from the street, you must be in the spot at least two hours in advance to secure yourself some good sights of the event. The rest of the year, Pamplona is a tranquil and yet vibrant place full things to do. It is indeed a great place to walk the streets and parks.
Aside from the evening bullfights, at 11:00 some mornings during San Fermin, there is a chance to enter the bullring for free, and watch student bullfighters hone their craft. Pamplona's bullring is the second largest in Spain. To gain free access to the main event in the bullring after the bullrun is to run at the last segment of the bullrun to gain access to the bullring for free. July 5 is becoming an extra day of fun, as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has a "running of the nudes" to protest the bullfights. No-one is totally naked, though, as it's against the law. Museo de Navarra, Cuesta de Santa Domingo, ☏ +34 94 842 64 92.
Sanfermines, the Festival of San Fermín, is held city-wide July 6-14. It begins with the txupinazo, a rocket fired from the City Hall balcony at noon on the 6th. A large street party ensues that night and for the rest of the week. The best-known feature is the encierro (running of the bulls) every subsequent day at 08:00 (not on the 6th since the festival only starts at noon). Six bulls run through town centre towards the bullring; the adventurous and foolhardy run in front of them. If you want to run with the bulls, then arrive at the track for 07:30.
Outside Sanfermines day, many eateries close at 15:30. Dinner is served up from 21:00 There is plenty of restaurants in the old city, from budget menús del día for lunch to more expensive and renowned venues. Navarra's cuisine stands out for the quality of its vegetables, e.g. asparagus, artichokes, piquillo red peppers. Plus, visitors can always try typical Spanish dishes. In Pamplona, tapas are called "pintxos", and in contrast with other places in the south of Spain do not come free of charge with drinks. However, most of these "pintxos" are small-sized nouvelle cuisine dishes, so it is really worth to try.
In Pamplona you can find good wine from Navarra, try it! it's really good. You can order it in every bar as "tinto" (red wine) or as "clarete" or "rosado" (rose wine). Besides there's a liquor called "Patxaran" that should be tried. You should also make sure you try the Sangria. It's a red wine punch, usually with some fruit, red wine, and some honey to sweeten. The alcoholic content can vary greatly from place to place. Calle San Nicolas, Calle Estafeta, and Calle de Jarauta are all lined with different bars, pubs, and bodegas. Most do not have signs so feel free to wander around in and out of these places. Alhambra, Bergamin 7, ☏ +34 948 245007. 13:00-15:00, 21:00-23:00.
Watch out for the bulls! There is quite a lot of pickpockets at sanfermines time, experts at spotting visitors, so try to be careful, do not leave things unattended. Suspect from those gypsies that just want to talk to you or do palm reading. At San Fermines do not wear flip-flops or sandals, as streets are quite filthy and there can be broken glass pieces on the ground. Traditionally locals wear white t's and pants, a red neckerchief and some kind of red scarf round their waist. You can buy this outfit at street shops and mingle with the crowd.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Aug, Pamplona typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 7 rainy days.
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