Pamplona Old Town

Pamplona kept its bastioned walls when most Spanish cities demolished theirs, and about five kilometres survive along with the Ciudadela, a pentagonal star fort begun in 1571 that is now a public park with its bastions and gates intact. Inside the walls, the casco viejo holds the Gothic cathedral with a fourteenth-century cloister often rated the finest in Spain, a neoclassical facade added later, and the tombs of Charles III of Navarre and his queen. The Plaza del Castillo is the social centre, arcaded and lined with cafes including the Iruna, which Hemingway used. Calle Estafeta, the narrow street along which the bulls run in July, is a pintxo street the rest of the year.

What you actually see

• The cathedral cloister - fourteenth-century Gothic work of exceptional quality.
• The Ciudadela - a pentagonal star fort, now a public park.
• Plaza del Castillo - an arcaded square at the centre of city life.
• Calle Estafeta - the bull run street, lined with pintxo bars year-round.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the city is at its most normal then, since July is entirely given over to San Fermin. Autumn brings the Navarrese food season. Winters are cold and wet.

Honest expectations

During San Fermin the old town is impassable and accommodation impossible. Outside it, Pamplona is a quiet provincial capital with fewer visitors than its fame suggests. The cathedral charges and keeps limited hours.

Nearby

The Camino Frances passes through the city; the Baztan valley and the Pyrenees lie north.