Pamplona Things to Do

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My 4 year old son loved going on all the rides, it is open during the day and at night, there are a lot of places to eat, games to play and people to watch. Also a big fireworks show at night too. A don't miss for the kids.

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After the bulls (all have bells around neck) leave the holding pen this is the narrow street they run up past the shrine to the plaza contutional (about 300 yards). People say you are crazy to run here but the bulls seemed to stay in line in ths area. Good luck.

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I went to the Parque Yamaguchi and the Planetarium mainly because I figured that, if I was already this far out in this direction, I might as well see the area. Unfortunately, the Planetarium was closed, so I wasn't able to actually see what it had to offer. The Parque Yamaguchi, which is not named after the skater, is in fact named after the city in Japan where St. Francis Xavier stayed. Catholicism didn't take in Japan, but the Saint's valiant efforts are nonetheless honoured in this park. It is, for all intensive purposes, a standard suburban park with pond and playgrounds for children. It is not sculpted or maintained in the same fashion as Jardines de la Taconera, so it might be a better idea for those with kids than for those on their own.

In Paseo Sarasate there are six statues of Spanish Kings.

Several initiatives were instigated in 1895 to make Paseo Saraste more attractive. The statues here were designed by the Italian architect Sachetti for Madrid’s Royal Palace during the reign of Philip V.

The Paseo walk (Promenade) is named after the composer and violinist Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate. He was native to Pamplona and began playing the violin from the age of 5 years old. In his later years he composed a number of pieces. George Bernard Shaw said that he "left criticism gasping miles behind him." During his travels around the world composing and playing the violin, Sarasate returned to Pamplona each year for the San Fermín festival.

Even if you are not doing the whole pilgrim walk through Spain, if you want to walk the route the Santiago Compestala Pilgrims use through Pamplona, start at the city wall at the Gate of France. Next make your way to the facade of the Town Hall, along San Saturnino and Calle Mayor, cross through the park La Toconera and Vuelta del Castillo. Leave the city south towards Puente la Reina.

Any time of year (except during the Fiesta of San Fermin and the Running of the Bulls, at the end of July) in Pamploma, you can walk this route:

The original idea was to get the bulls from their off-site corral to the Bullring and then someone had the idea of having a bit more fun on the way and let them loose on the crowds!

Start at Cuesta Santo Domingo, City Hall Square, Mercaderes, Calle Estafeta, Curva de Telefonica, Plaza de Torros, the Bull Ring.

We started at the La Magdalena Bridge, which is where the city welcomes pilgrims en route to Santiago on the 'French route'. It is the entrance to the old city and Pamplona is ooozing historic buildings, and this is one of the best places to start to see them. These are more or less in order if you take the 'walk'.

Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria La Real, church fortress of San Nicolas & San Saturnine, Museum of Navarre, The Palace of the Kings, Church of San Lorenzo, Pablo Sarasate Museum, City Hall, Camra de Comptos and Plaza del Castillo with its cafe bars.

The "encieros" of San Fermin i.e. the bulls running through the streets of Pampelune/Irunea constitutes an extraordinary witness of the long-lived traditions of Spain. It is always with interest and emotion that I look at them every morning at 08.00 am on the international Spanish TV between July 6th and 14th.

For sure there are injured persons, mostly among the foreign (sometimes drunken) tourists, but it is a part of the game and it is less dangerous, for oneself and for the others, to run in front of the bulls than to drive against sense on the highway.

But the bullfights in the after noon following the "encieros" are often mediocre. The public is that of a football match, nothing to do with the aficionados at the corridas of Las Ventas arenas in Madrid or the Maestranza in Sevilla.

I accept bullfighting as expression of the Spanish culture and tradition but I hate bad toreros.

This year 2010 from 7/07 till 15/07. Encieros at 08.00 h