Town Hall Square Pamplona

Pamplona’s Plaza Consistorial: Where the Encierro Begins

The Plaza Consistorial is Pamplona’s town hall square, a compact baroque space anchored by the 18th-century Ayuntamiento (town hall) building with its ornate neoclassical facade. For eleven months of the year it is a normal city square with outdoor cafe tables, pigeons, and people crossing on their way somewhere else. During the Fiestas de San Fermin in early July, it is where the encierro - the running of the bulls - begins.

The encierro in context

The San Fermin festival runs from July 6 to 14. The running of the bulls happens every morning at 08:00: six fighting bulls, six guide oxen, and hundreds of runners cover the 875-metre route from the corral on Calle Santo Domingo through several streets to the Plaza de Toros bullring. The run takes about three to four minutes. The barriers go up the night before; the crowd gathers from around 06:30.

Running is free but not sensible without understanding the rules. Runners must be over 18, sober (the city polices this, though enforcement is imperfect), and capable of running. You are not allowed to run with a camera or phone in hand, or to grab or distract the bulls. The most dangerous moments are when a bull separates from the herd, which happens at corners. The city’s official advice is to practice running in Pamplona before the fiesta, understand the route completely, and not run if you are at all uncertain.

Watching is the safer and arguably more interesting option. Balcony tickets along the route cost EUR 100-350 and are sold through official channels. Get them months ahead for prime spots.

The square year-round

Plaza Consistorial is the social centre of the Casco Viejo (old town). The square and the streets immediately around it, especially Calle Estafeta (the main encierro street), have some of the best bar-hopping in northern Spain. The format is pintxos: small rounds of bread topped with cured meats, cheese, or seafood, displayed at the bar and typically priced at EUR 2-3 each. The pintxo culture here is directly related to the Basque Country 50km north. Work your way along Estafeta and the parallel Calle San Nicolas between 19:00 and 22:00.

Eating properly

For a sit-down meal, Bar Gaucho on Calle Espoz y Mina is the Pamplona pintxo reference point - the kitchen’s own creations rather than standard toppings, slightly more expensive at EUR 3.50-5 each, consistently good. The Mercado de Santo Domingo in the old town has a Tuesday to Saturday market with stalls selling Navarrese cheese, white asparagus, and piquillo peppers; the asparagus from the Ebro valley is legitimately excellent and cheap at source.

Getting around Pamplona

The old town is compact and walkable. The main sites - the Ciudadela (star-shaped 16th-century fortress turned public park), the cathedral, the old town walls, and the encierro route - can all be covered on foot in a day.

Sleeping

Pamplona outside San Fermin has reasonable accommodation at normal Navarrese prices. The Gran Hotel La Perla on the Plaza del Castillo (the larger central square a few minutes from the Consistorial) is the grand historic choice, from EUR 180-280. The Hotel Eslava near the old town is clean and well-priced at EUR 90-130. During the fiesta itself, prices triple and everything books out a year in advance. Some people sleep in the Ciudadela park during the festival; this is tolerated but not comfortable.

Pamplona is two hours by bus from San Sebastian (excellent food city, worth combining into a trip) and three hours from Bilbao via the AP-15 motorway.