Aula· Spain, city by cityNavarra
Pamplona
«Pamplona es famosa por los encierros de los sanfermines en julio.»Pamplona is famous for the running of the bulls during the Sanfermines in July.
The capital of Navarre, world-famous for the San Fermín bull run. It is a green city with a fortified and lively historic centre.
Did you know
Hemingway brought the world here.
Ernest Hemingway made the Sanfermines famous in his novel 'The Sun Also Rises', turning Pamplona into a global tourist destination.
How they talk in Pamplona
Castilian and Euskera coexist on signs; «Iruña» is the Basque name for the city. «Poteo», «pintxo», «txistorra» and «agur» are words that are also regularly heard from those who speak Castilian.
auzolan
Community or neighborhood work done together. Basque term for a practical collaboration in which the inhabitants contribute to the good of the neighborhood or the town.
Everyday life in Pamplona
The «encierro» at eight o'clock sharp
From 7 to 14 July the bulls run for eight hundred and twenty metres of fenced-off streets to the arena, and people run in front. It lasts just over two minutes, and before that, they sing to San Fermín three times.
«A San Fermín pedimos.» — To San Fermín we ask.
Wearing white and red
During the Sanfermines, you only wear white with a red sash and handkerchief around your neck: the handkerchief is tied at noon on 6 July and taken off at midnight on 14 July, singing «Pobre de mí».
«Ponte el pañuelo al cuello.» — Put the handkerchief around your neck.
The walls as a park
Pamplona preserves the entire bastioned wall, and you can walk on and under it: the Vuelta del Castillo, the lawn inside the citadel, is where the people of Pamplona run and take their children.
«Damos la vuelta a la Ciudadela.» — Let's go around the Citadel.
The Thursday «pintxo pote»
In the neighbourhoods, on Thursday evenings, many bars offer a pintxo plus a drink at a fixed price: you go out early, do the rounds and go home for dinner. It is a weekly ritual, not a promotion.
«El jueves hay pintxo pote.» — On Thursday there is pintxo pote.
What to eat in Pamplona
Chistorra
Thin pork sausage with paprika, roasted and served in pieces inside bread.
Pochas
Fresh white beans, not dried, cooked with a little something: vegetables, or quail, or clams.
Espárragos de Navarra
White asparagus grown underground, thick and tender, with mayonnaise or oil.
Ajoarriero
Shredded salt cod with garlic, peppers and tomato, cooked slowly in a pan.
Festivals in Pamplona
San Fermín
from 6 to 14 July
Nine days that begin with the «chupinazo» at noon and end by singing «Pobre de mí» at midnight, with a candle in hand.
What to see in Pamplona
Catedral de Santa María
Gothic inside, with a neoclassical facade added to the front in the 18th century.
Ciudadela
16th-century Renaissance star fortress, which has become the city's large park.
Calle Estafeta
The eight metres of width where the encierro of San Fermín passes.
Plaza del Castillo
The arcaded square in the centre, with the Café Iruña from 1888.
Where Pamplona comes from
The name is that of Pompey
74 BC
Pompaelo
Pompey founds a camp here and gives it his own name: from «Pompaelo» comes Pamplona.
778
Roncesvalles
Charlemagne tears down the walls; on the way back his rearguard is destroyed at the mountain passes.
11th–15th century
The three cities
Three walled boroughs in dispute with each other unite into a single city only in 1423.
16th century → today
The citadel
After the annexation to Castile, the star fortress is built, which today is the city park.
Born here: Pablo Sarasate, violinist and composer.
Want to learn Spanish by travelling across Spain?
In Aula every lesson is a city lighting up on the map — Pamplona is one of them. Two hundred lessons from A1 to C2, free, starting from your level.
Start from Pamplona →