Pamplona, Spain: Sunshine Drives, Mountains & My First Aparthotel Stay

Crossing Into Pamplona on a Sunny Sunday

The drive from San Sebastián to Pamplona was short, just over an hour, but honestly one of the most beautiful stretches I’ve seen so far on the route. The sun was out in full force, that perfect, warm November light and the mountains rose around the motorway like a painted backdrop. 

I first heard about Pamplona from a food vendor I met in La Rochelle who sold Iberian ham. Most people know Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls San Fermín, which is every July. It’s a festival that brings thousands from all over the world to watch (or run!) a centuries-old tradition through the streets of Casco Viejo. But outside of festival season? The city is quiet, walkable, and a peaceful reset in between routes. 

Where I Stayed: My First Aparthotel, Kora Kiliki 

Pamplona was my first aparthotel stay of the entire European road trip, and oh my gosh, it changed everything. 

Kora Kilikí is a modern, beautifully designed aparthotel in Lezkairu, one of Pamplona’s newest neighbourhoods. Think clean streets, young professionals walking dogs, trendy cafes with laptop-friendly terraces and fresh bakeries.

The aparthotel blended:

• co-living energy
• co-working areas
• a full gym (my room was right next to it, perfect for accountability)
• a rooftop with incredible views
• your own private studio with a kitchen, balcony, and mountain views

Kora Kilikí Manifesto 

Our lifestyle and travel habits shape our understanding of the world.

Some will cover hundreds of miles just to visit what is expected. And then, there are free spirits: people who live their lives in discovery and, in every trip, discover life itself. At Kora, we are inspired by them.

We are a team of enthusiasts that don’t settle for the usual, but instead live up to our dream of creating spaces for those like us who don’t. Spaces designed not just to stay at, but for you to connect to people, to values, to the environment.

Spaces where moments, ideas, and hopes are shared. To where you may arrive alone but feel embraced, where you may get lost only to find yourself.

From where you may leave after one night or after a whole year, and either way, let your footprint remain, or let ours be imprinted on you.

Because at Kora, the choice is yours.

It summed up exactly why Pamplona, and this stay in particular, felt so grounding. After weeks of movement, Kora gave me something rare on the road: routine without restriction, comfort without stagnation, and a sense of belonging without obligation.

Sunday Night in Pamplona: Bulls, Stone Streets & First Impressions

On my first night in Pamplona, I headed straight out to explore the Old Town. Casco Viejo feels especially atmospheric at night and everything feels layered with history. It’s impossible to walk far without being reminded of Pamplona’s most famous tradition: the Running of the Bulls.

You see it everywhere; silhouettes of bulls, statues frozen mid-charge, countdown clocks ticking towards the next San Fermín, even small religious niches built into walls, watching over the streets. 

I passed the monument to Ernest Hemingway, who helped immortalise Pamplona through his writing, and later stood in front of the Ayuntamiento, imagining these same streets packed shoulder to shoulder every July. 

It felt like seeing Pamplona in its in-between state not the festival version, but the real one. Calm, grounded, and deeply proud of its traditions.

Sunshine, Mountains & A Calm Rhythm

I woke up to bright blue skies, mountains lined up on the horizon and the city already moving below. Sunlight poured straight into the room, the kind that instantly puts you in a better mood. Roly took up his usual post by the balcony doors, alert and curious, surveying everything like he was clocking the neighbourhood. It felt like a proper reset moment. Clear-headed, grounded, and ready to get going.

Exploring Pamplona by Day: Pintxos, Plazas & Local Energy

I headed out from Lezkairu and made my way toward the centre, passing wide avenues that slowly tighten into older streets as you approach Casco Viejo. 

Pamplona during the day is quietly buzzing. Locals popping into bakeries, friends meeting for coffee that turns into wine, pintxo bars already setting up for the afternoon crowd. I wandered through Plaza del Castillo, the city’s social heart, where cafes spill out onto the square and everyone seems to know someone.

The beauty of Pamplona is that it doesn’t feel curated for visitors. It feels lived-in. Authentic. Pamplona might be best known for the festival once a year but the rest of the time, it’s all about balance.

Market Stops, Seafood Obsessions & Cooking In

Food shopping became part of my routine in Pamplona. The fish counters were full of giant prawns, fresh fillets and octopus.

This is where staying in an aparthotel really paid off. Instead of hunting for a table at a restaurant, I took the best bits home. After days of eating out, cooking felt less like effort and more like a small luxury, grounding, satisfying, and exactly what I needed.

It’s not the kind of moment that makes a flashy itinerary, but it’s the kind that stays with you. Good food, your own space, and that rare feeling of not just passing through a place, but briefly belonging.

The Days That Followed: Work, Workouts & Wandering

Pamplona isn’t a packed itinerary city. It’s more of a live well for a few days city.

My routine became:

• Morning sunshine spilling into the room
• Roly’s walk through Lezkairu’s wide boulevards
• Hours of focused work from either my apartment or the communal areas
• Gym sessions that made me feel human again
• Evenings cooking or enjoying in a restaurant 

Understanding Pamplona: The Neighbourhoods

Pamplona is small but layered. Every area has its own personality:

• Casco Viejo (Old Town) I  Historic, full of pintxo bars and plazas. This is where the Running of the Bulls happens
• Primer Ensanche I Elegant streets, early 20th-century architecture, cafes, shops
• Segundo Ensanche I More modern, grid-style, calm and residential
• Lezkairu (where I stayed) I Modern, clean, young, safe, dog-friendly, full of cafes. A peaceful base only 10–15 minutes from Old Town.
• Iturrama I Trendy, student-friendly, sociable
• San Juan I  Local, lived-in, authentic
• Rochapea I Across the river, green and affordable
• Mendillorri I Spacious, park-filled, great for longer stays

Eating, Exploring & Little Pamplona Highlights

Pamplona’s food scene isn’t flashy, it’s authentic. A few stops I found worth making a detour for:

El Horno de la Estafeta - good for grabbing pastries in the heart of the Old Town. 

Akari Gastroteka - dishes that blend tradition and modern flair. Sit down for a relaxed lunch or early dinner with some wine. 

Pescadería La Kontxa and Iruña Fruits - two great stops if you’re shopping for fresh produce or seafood. 

Malafú a lively, modern restaurant.

Across the city you’re never far from things worth seeing between bites. Strolling through the Old Town, you’ll find historic landmarks like the Plaza de Castillo, a central square that doubles as a favourite meeting point for locals and visitors alike.  Nearby, the Pamplona Cathedral and the old city walls and citadel.

And of course, you can trace bits of the Running of the Bulls route through the cobbled streets around town. Even outside festival season it’s fascinating to see where history so vividly meets today’s pace of life. 

Notes From The Road: Pamplona Edition

Pamplona taught me that slower stops matter just as much as scenic ones, that comfort and routine can be a travel luxury, that good accommodation changes everything when you’re living on the road, that a city doesn’t need to be busy to be beautiful.