Pamplona's got more than Sangria and Bulls!

Pamplona (or Iruña, - as it is called in Euskera-Basque Language) is a fairly small provincial capital - with a population of less than 200,000 people. It sits under the shadow of the Pyrenees, about 30 miles south of the mountain range. Without the San Fermin Festival, it would probably go mostly unnoticed.

Apart from the San Fermin Festival, perhaps the best thing about Pamplona is its surroundings - the countryside, indeed, the whole of the province of Navarra has striking qualities - particularily its natural landscape.

BARS AND NIGHT-LIFE

Bars and nightlife might seem to be the only thing that exists in Pamplona if you show up in the city right in the middle of San Fermin. They say that Pamplona has more bars than Bangkok! While it has to be admitted that the bars are frequented regularly by the locals all through the year, San Fermines definitely provides an opportunity to have their cash cow. So if you are into drinking, Pamplona will please you to no end. But please be courteous and don't destroy or vandalize the bars as foreigners are doing more and more every year.

THE WEATHER

Summer in Pamplona tends to be hot and dry. But a torrential downpour can occur on occasion as well. Pack accordingly. Most of the days it's pretty hot while it cools a bit at night.

One day, you'll be wanting to take all your clothes off (because it's hot, not because you've had too much sangria). The next day you might be cursing yourself for not bringing a jacket.

LANGUAGES

For some people the lack of language is no problem; but for others it is. In Pamplona, people speak Spanish and Basque, but most haven't got much further than that. Don't expect to have any profound conversations with the locals in any other language. If you want to converse with them it helps to have at least a basic understanding of Spanish. And the advantage is that you can get a much better idea of what's going on around you. If you can't speak to them, you'll still have a great time at the Fiesta, but it probably means that you are going to be spending a lot of your time in the "ghetto" with other foreigners!

Remember that you're not in Spain, you're in Iruña!