Pamplona is a modern, welcoming city with vestiges of its medieval past throughout the town providing visitors a glimpse into a fascinating culture. This culture can be lived and seen in the culture, people and gastronomy of the region.
As the capital of the region of Navarra, and as a key stopping point along the Camino de Santiago, it has been receiving pilgrims at the Magdalena gate for centuries. That makes the gate an ideal starting point for any visit, where you can discover and explore the city walls. Visiting the city takes you to the XII-century Santa Maria la Real Cathedral, with its neoclasiccal facade and French-style gothic cloister. Stops along the way also should include the Plaza del Castillo and the Church-Fortresses of San Nicholas and San Saturnino.
Nonetheless, when we talk of Pamplona, everyone immediately thinks of San Fermin, the most internationally recognized festival in Spain: The Running of The Bulls. Immortalized by Hemmingway and visited by thousands every year, this festival runs from noon on July 6 through midnight on July 14. In between the torino festival includes everything from bullfights, “el chupinazo”, parades, and giants. Be aware that the San Fermin Festival usually fills up months in advance, and last-minute booking can be extremely difficult and expensive.
While you are there, don’t miss the chance to try the rich chorizos, sausages and, during the San Fermin fetival, any dish made from toro de lidia. Navarra is also well known for producing rosé wines of excellent quality, and missing out on one of these fantastic, underappreciated wines would be to miss out on a piece of the culture of the land itself.
From The Spanish Touch we propose you take the opportunity to spend a few days enjoying this unique tradition (from as close or far as you want. It can be easily included in a visit to Baque Country, Rioja and/or Barcelona. To visit the town of Pamplona at any time of year, contact
The Spanish Touch or visit our webpage and we can create your personal itinerary taking you to the sites and activities that most interest you.
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (more commonly referred to as Sant Pau) is a major part on the Modernista Route in Barcelona. The hospital is actually the most important and largest complex of modernista buildings in Europe. Currently visitors have limited access to the complex due to the rehabilitation of the buildings that is being carried out, but even so in July daily guided visits were established so that people can still see the buildings, not only from the outside, but also the tunnels of the historic ocmplex, that served to connect the various medical buildings without having to go outside). The buildings, most of which no longer function as an active part of the hospital itself, represent one of the crowing acheivements of the architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner, one of modernisme's most recognized figures.
Castles, Churches and Mosques are found throughout Spain. Sitting on top of Roman ruins, perched on mountains majestically surveying the region below, or caught right in the middle of the hustle-and-bustle of daily life in a Spanish city, these monuments have been celebrated, ignored and even forgotten through the ages. However, as Spain digs deeper into itself in an attempt to finally shake free from the "Sun and Beach" image it cultivated in the late 60s and 70s, more and more resources are being allocated to the restoration and recovery of these treasures. The monuments in Spain tell a story of a country that has seen the progress of the Western world over the last 2000 years. Spain's history is littered with stories of these monuments, from the grandest (The Alhambra in Granada) to the local (The 11th-century Romanesque church in Taull). However, in recent years some of the most fascinating have been brought to the forefront. The history of Spain, like any country, is more than a history of the biggest cities - discovering medieval towns like Besalu or Montblanc add to the richness and the experience of this country's incredible cultural heritage. Spain's comparatively recent push to re-discover and present its storied history has already yielded results in many of the cities and towns around the country, and as the work progresses, here's hoping the best is yet to come.
Throughout our years of guiding people through the beautiful cities of Spain one of the principle attractions, for both Spanish people and visitors, has been the markets, both open-air and enclosed. Perhaps, unconsciously, behind this seemingly simple concept of buying/selling local products there is something more? An unending number of stories await us at the doors of these places, waiting for you to discover them for yourself. 
