I arrived at the train station at around 1pm to a train load of people getting off here…
This city is busy! Its a university town and the city is full of young kids hanging out but saying that, there are a lot of middle aged people and a particularly large amount of dogs in little winter outfits! They are all over the place… ive never seen so many people pick up poo in my life!!
Easy walk into town from the train station, it’s actually quite a nice scenic route via a park and running aqua waters and then walking up to the town you see the edge of town on the cliff See
My blog post below re: Pamplona train station:
The weather is colder here than Zaragoza! and overcast the whole time with random rain showers – it’s 10degrees but windy so feels much colder – im double gloving!
I met a few people at a beer bar and we got talking, so Pamplona is a university town with 1 public and 1 private university in the area – there really are a lot of young people around here and it’s pretty obvious
I was shocked at how great their English was and was told that in Spain it is mandatory to learn English from primary school to universities, mentioned that not a lot of people I’ve come across speak English and the girl basically said that most of the Spanish don’t put the effort in to learn that’s why!
Night time has its own beauty in these Spanish towns… Everyone is out and about after 7pm literally the town comes to life!
The Piazza Del Castillo is so busy with skateboarders and young people hanging out minding their own business and older couples walking their dogs…
There’s so much going on here! Uni students are at this moment marching and yelling in loud speakers and then the music starts in the square on stage! Wtf is going on!
The architecture was definitely on the smaller scale compared to Zaragoza but there still were a few large churches scattered around
What I liked about this town was that it was smaller and it had colourful tall residential buildings lined on either sides of the narrow streets – hence why the running of the bulls is held here as the bulls can be contained on their route through town
New Portal – One of the gates of the city
I came to learn that the old city walls of Pamplona are one of the best preserved medieval walls in Europe!
Pamplona said to be founded in 74BC by the Roman’s the city has a strategic position close to the French border, the Pyrenees, and the regions of Aragón and La Roja
They kept building and expanding and renovating and adding to the walls so some areas have a different look to them
You can basically walk all around the city walls as they have converted a lot of the areas surrounding the walls to parks and green spaces
THE CITADEL OF PAMPLONA
Also called New Castle is an old military renaissance fort constructed between 16-17th c.
The large part of it is a public park which is enjoyed by so many people who were out and about even in the cold strolling around and hanging out
Walked over to the fort park and climbed the walls of the fort
There were free art exhibitions on in different old buildings around the park, I had a look at a few
COLLEGE CALLASANZ
What a cool unique building! I just love how all these buildings are so different from one another, I havent see anything like this walking around and loved it straight away
PAMPLONA BULL RING
The current bullring was designed by Francisco Urcola and opened in 1922
Calle Estafeta
This street off the main Piazza was going off!
This is also the main street where the running of the bulls takes place and its right next to the bull ring
As you walk down the streets in the old town you can see the buildings are all around 6-7 levels tall and I can picture people leaning out of windows and on balconies watch the running of the bulls take place every July
So many bars and cafes all full with every aged person in Pamplona having a wine or cafe and a band was playing with everyone cheersing and talking really loud in Spanish it was beautiful!
In Spain so far ive seen so many oldies out and about in wheelchairs with walking sticks and pushers they get out no matter what these Spanish I tell ya
The structure is so beautifully made with these huge ornate columns and sits on the hill looking all regal
PAMPLONA CITY WALLS
The five-kilometre walls around the city create an unusual and pretty stroll around its history.
The city walls of Pamplona are one of the most interesting and best preserved military structures in Spain and hold the status of National Monument.
The sad thing I found out was that in 20th c. For the city to expand out, some of the old city walls had to be demolished – I guess its just how it goes
My blog post about the train from Pamplona to Valladolid :
To give you an idea about the train lines
The Wandering Passport 