Pamplona / Iruña

History of Pamplona. Pamplona became an important Roman city, and after the fall of the Roman Empire was the object of half-hearted attempts to subdue it by the Visigoths. The Muslim invaders of Spain, too, made little impact on Pamplona, though they occupied the Ribera in the south of Navarre, most notably founding the city of Tudela. The Basques' defeat of the Franks at Roncesvalles in 778 forced Charlemagne to abandon his plans to establish a Frankist buffer area in the zone, like the Spanish March in what is now Catalonia. This and the Christianization of Pamplona favoured the emergence of a Kingdom of Pamplona, later of Navarre, at the beginning of the ninth century, though in fact the monarchs had an itinerant court, the authority in the city being the bishop.

In the late Middle Ages, Pamplona consisted of three populations: the original Basque village, Iruña, rebuilt as La Navarrería (see below); San Cernin or San Saturnino, the middle-class French quarter (the Kingdom of Pamplona having come under the control of France), and the heterogeneous San Nicolás. Conflicts were frequent, and La Navarrería particularly suffered repression: for example, the French sacked it and killed its inhabitants in 1276.

In 1512, Pamplona and its kingdom were captured by Castile, though the French monarchs of the former did not give up. The last effort they made to retake it culminated in the Battle of Pamplona of 1521, the most interesting aspect of which is that one Ignacio of Loyola was severely wounded fighting on behalf of the Castilians, and after his convalescence founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. And for the next three centuries, Pamplona was a frontier town, as its impressive Ciudadela fortress (see below) and city walls bear witness.

Pamplona Travel

Sights. There are two highlights. The first is the main square, the Plaza del Castillo, where you should have something to drink in a pavement café, preferably the Cafe Iruña, and preferably while pretending to be Hemingway (it's easy: wear a wide-brimmed hat and smoke a cheroot). The other is the Ciudadela, a late 16th, early 17th-century fortress which has a series of walls and balwarts so impressive as to make you think military intelligence may not, after all, be a contradiction in terms.

Pamplona has more: a cathedral; the traces of a judería, Jewish quarter, recognisable in the old, narrow streets south and west of the Plaza del Castillo; La Navarrería, next to the judería, founded by Sanchez III in the eleventh century to counter the town's abandonment; and any number of churches, palaces and other old buildings, not to mention bridges and fountains. Pamplona is very well provided with parks, my favourite being La Taconera, sandwiched between city walls, their ditches populated by peacocks and deer.

The Camino de Santiago through Pamplona: Start at the Puente de la Magdalena in the north-east of the city and enter the walls through the Portal de Francia or Portal de Zumalacárregui, visit the cathedral, Plaza Consistorial, and church of San Saturnino, go through the parks skirting the castle and cross the Puente de Zizur. Keep heading west, if you like, you only have about 700 kilometres to go.

Practical Pamplona

Food and Drink. Gourmets, gourmands and gluttons alike are in luck in Pamplona, for this is where Basque, French and Spanish cuisine all meet up. La cocina nueva, the Spanish answer to nouvelle cuisine, is also well established, with the important difference that there are none of those namby-pamby small portions. The order of the day is chuletones de buey or de ternera, enormous ox or veal t-bone steaks. Bull meat is popular at San Fermín and is, of course, brought in from outside - only six bull's tails a day can come from the Feria del Toro, Bullfight Festival, but far more rabos de toro estofado are consumed. Game is good, particularly wild boar and venison. Pork products include txistorra, a kind of chorizo. Fish is surprisingly popular for a highland area, not just the river salmon or trout (stuffed with ham and fried), but hake, sea bream or squid. The market garden area of Tudela provides legumes of note, particularly alubias rojas, red kidney beans, asparagus, tomatoes and peppers. And the climate of Navarre means it is one of the best places in Spain for setas, large, flat-brimmed mushrooms, preferably collected in the wild rather than cultivated. In terms of wine, the produce of the D.O. Navarra rivals that of its neighbour, La Rioja. Its rosados, rosés, are especially striking but both its red and its white wine are noteworthy.

When to Go. If you have the choice, the party-going spirit and the considerable stamina required, San Fermín (July 6-14) is one of the most orgiastic festivals in the world (do remember to book your hotel well in advance, e.g, a year, or be prepared to sleep in the car, if you are going to sleep - many don't). At other times of year, be prepared for cold in winter (Pamplona is in a mountainous area) and spectacular thunder storms in early summer.

Getting Around. Pamplona is a compact city, and you really shouldn't need transport of any kind.

Getting There. The nearest international airport is Bilbao, though there are no connecting flights from there. Iberia connects Pamplona with Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona for 228 € and 174 €, respectively. Long-distance buses connect Pamplona with Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona: the Madrid-Pamplona run is operated by Conda S.A., and costs 23 €. Renfe runs three trains a day from Madrid to Pamplona for less than 50 €, taking about 3 h 50 min, three from Barcelona for less than 40 €, but much slower, taking six hours. In theory, there are five trains a day from Bilbao, changing at Miranda del Ebro, for 11-15 €, but absurdly they all connect with the same train, arriving in Pamplona at 17.07.