For centuries, every summer, Pamplona's herdsmen had to drive the bulls from the outskirts to the ring where they would be fought, and the city's young men insisted on running in front of them even when the authorities banned it. That habit gave birth to the encierro, and a Hemingway novel published in 1926 made it world famous. Twelve stops between Philip II's pentagonal fortress, the chapel of the saint whose feast changed dates, the pens where the run begins, the old hospital turned museum, the balcony of the opening rocket, the bend where the bulls skid, Estafeta street, the passage that empties into the ring, Hemingway's café square, the quarter razed in 1276, the cathedral of the kings of Navarre and the gate where pilgrims enter. Approximate audio duration: 25 minutes.
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Pamplona: el trabajo de llevar toros a la plaza que se convirtió en la fiesta más famosa del mundo
Durante siglos, cada verano, los pastores de Pamplona tuvieron que llevar a los toros desde las afueras hasta la plaza donde se iban a lidiar, y los mozos de la ciudad se empeñaron en correr delante de ellos aunque las autoridades lo prohibieran. De esa costumbre nació el encierro, y de una novela de Hemingway publicada en 1926, su fama mundial. Doce paradas entre la fortaleza pentagonal de Felipe II, la capilla del santo que cambió de fecha, los corrales donde empieza la carrera, el viejo hospital convertido en museo, el balcón del chupinazo, la curva donde resbalan los toros, la calle Estafeta, el callejón que desemboca en el ruedo, la plaza de los cafés de Hemingway, el barrio que fue arrasado en 1276, la catedral de los reyes de Navarra y la puerta por donde entran los peregrinos. Duración aproximada de audio: 25 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~25 min of audio · 3.37 km on foot (~50 min walking) · about 1 h 15 min in total
You are standing before the moats of the Citadel, a star of stone and grass in the middle of Pamplona. Today it is a park where people walk their dogs. For more than three centuries it was the military heart of the city.
Before the bulls, you need to understand this: Pamplona was always a fortress town. The Roman general Pompey founded it around 75 BC as a winter camp. The name comes from him: Pompaelo.
In 1512, Ferdinand the Catholic conquered the kingdom of Navarre and joined it to Castile. Pamplona became a border city facing France. His great-grandson, Philip II, decided to armour it.
W…
2
The Saint Who Changed His Date
You are in front of the church of San Lorenzo, at the end of Calle Mayor. From outside it looks like any other church. But inside, in a baroque chapel, is the image that gives its name to the whole fiesta.
According to tradition, Fermín was the son of a Roman senator of Pompaelo. He was baptised by a preacher called Saturninus, became the city's first bishop and was beheaded in Amiens, in northern France. Almost no documents survive about his real life. But the devotion is very old.
In 1186, a bishop of Pamplona brought a relic of the saint from Amiens. From then on the city celebrated San F…
3
Where the Gate Opens
You are at the foot of the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, beside the pens where the encierro begins. Look up the slope. At eight in the morning, from the seventh to the fourteenth of July, six bulls and a herd of tame steers charge up here at full speed.
The encierro did not begin as a religious rite. It began as a chore. The bulls for the fights came in from the countryside and had to be taken to the ring. Herdsmen drove them through the streets at dawn, when nobody was around.
Except somebody was. The city's young men started jumping in front and running with the bulls. For centuries the authori…
4
The Hospital Beside the Bulls' Path
You are halfway up the slope, facing a sixteenth-century stone doorway with carved reliefs. It is the entrance to the old Hospital of Our Lady of Mercy, Pamplona's great hospital for nearly four centuries. Today it is the Museum of Navarre.
The hospital worked here from the mid-sixteenth century. When the city built a new hospital in the twentieth century, the building was left empty. In 1956 it opened as a museum.
Inside are pieces that tell the whole story of the region. Roman mosaics from the villas around Pompaelo. Romanesque capitals from the old cathedral. And a portrait by Goya: the M…
5
The Balcony of the Opening Rocket
You are in the Plaza Consistorial, facing the Town Hall. Look at the eighteenth-century baroque facade, with its columns and iron balconies. At the top, allegorical figures and the city's coat of arms.
This building stands here for a specific reason. In the Middle Ages, Pamplona was not one city but three: the burgh of the Navarrería, the burgh of San Cernin and the town of San Nicolás. Each had its own wall, its own laws and its own enemies, who were often the neighbours.
In 1423, King Charles III the Noble signed the Privilege of Union. The three towns merged into one, and the shared town …
6
The Bend Where the Bulls Skid
You are at the end of Calle Mercaderes, right where it turns almost at a right angle into Calle Estafeta. It looks like any other corner. In the encierro it is one of the most feared spots.
Think about the physics. A fighting bull weighs more than five hundred kilos and arrives here at full tilt, after climbing the slope and crossing the square. Its hooves grip badly on the cobbles. When it tries to turn, momentum throws it outwards.
For decades the same scene played out every morning: the bulls skidded, fell and slammed into the fence along the opposite wall. Runners standing there had to j…
7
The Street With No Way Out
You are on Calle Estafeta, the longest and most famous stretch of the encierro. Look ahead: a narrow straight of about three hundred metres, with tall buildings on both sides and iron balconies almost over your head.
The name comes from the post office, the estafeta, that once stood on this street. For most of the year it is a shopping street in the old town, with tapas bars and shops. In July it becomes a tunnel.
Notice something: there is no wooden fence here. The walls of the buildings act as the barrier. The doorways are shut. If a runner falls or tires, there is nowhere to hide. All he …
8
The Final Funnel
You are in front of Pamplona's bullring, at the end of the course. Look at the brick bulk and, in front of it, a stone bust of a bearded man. It is Ernest Hemingway. We will come back to him shortly.
The present bullring opened in 1922. Before that, bullfights were held elsewhere in the city and the encierro followed other routes. This ring fixed the course you have just walked. Today it holds close to twenty thousand people, one of the largest in the world.
The bulls enter the arena through the callejón, a narrow, downward passage that opens beneath the stands. It is a funnel. If a runner f…
9
Hemingway's Square
You are in the Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona's great living room. Look at the arcades, the cafés with terraces and, in the middle, the bandstand. Find the Café Iruña, with its classical front under the arches.
The name comes from a castle the kings built here in the early fourteenth century, pulled down after the Castilian conquest. For centuries this square was also the bullring: fights were held here on wooden stands, before a permanent ring existed.
Ernest Hemingway first came to Pamplona in July 1923. He was twenty-three and a correspondent for a Canadian newspaper. He came back the next …
10
The Quarter That Was Razed
You are on Calle Navarrería, in the heart of the quarter of the same name. Look at the stone fountain in the middle of the street, the Santa Cecilia fountain, from the eighteenth century. All around, bars, balconies with flowerpots and washing hung out to dry.
This is the original core of Pamplona. Here, on the highest ground, stood the Roman city of Pompaelo. And here, in the Middle Ages, lived the native Navarrese, around the cathedral and the bishop.
From the eleventh century, merchants and craftsmen from across the Pyrenees, the Franks, arrived in Pamplona. The kings granted them privile…
11
The Cathedral of the Kings of Navarre
You are in front of the cathedral of Santa María la Real. Look at the facade: classical columns and two sober towers, very eighteenth century. It is the work of the architect Ventura Rodríguez. But do not be fooled: behind it stands a Gothic cathedral.
The earlier Romanesque cathedral partly collapsed at the end of the fourteenth century. The new Gothic one was begun in 1394 and finished in the early sixteenth century. Centuries later, the original front was so decayed that it was replaced by this neoclassical one.
In one of the towers hangs the bell called María, cast in 1584. It weighs abo…
12
The Gate Where the World Comes In
You are in front of the Portal de Francia, the best-preserved gate in Pamplona's walls. Look above the arch: the imperial arms of Charles V, with the double-headed eagle. And on either side, the chains and pulleys of the drawbridge, still in place.
The gate was built in 1553. It is called the French Gate because it faces north, towards the road to the Pyrenees and France. It is also known as the Portal de Zumalacárregui, after a nineteenth-century Carlist general.
From down here you can see what Pamplona was: a city perched on a ravine above the River Arga, guarded by walls. Everything that …
How long does the "Pamplona: How Herding Bulls to the Ring Became the World's Most Famous Fiesta" audio tour take?
It has about 25 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 3.37 km walking route (~50 min on foot). Plan roughly 1 h 15 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "A City That Was a Fortress" (coordinates 42.8126, -1.6501). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Pamplona and pick "Pamplona: How Herding Bulls to the Ring Became the World's Most Famous Fiesta". No account required to start.
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