San Fermines in Pamplona

Pamplona during the San Fermin festival is likely one of the hardest things to describe. It is a whole town that holds a week-long party and with everyone dressing in the same way. And more interestingly the festival is full of activities for families and kids to do, and we had our fair share of them to try!

We stayed very close to the historic center where the action occurs every year. It was a short 10-minute walk that felt longer because we were at a not so pleasant 35 °C temperature. After getting our traditional San Fermin clothing, we headed to Plaza del Castillo to get a quick lunch, and from there, we walked around the city to experience the celebration.

The best activity we did as a family was the fire bull, a "run of the bulls" for kids where a bull that has firecrackers goes up the Santo Domingo street behind small kids. Nadia didn't want to run, but in the end, she got in. Napoleon held Oliver in his arms, and as he was running through the street, Oliver kept yelling "faster, faster! It is catching up with us!".

At night, we went together near the ruins of Pamplona Old Citadel and got to see a 20-minute firework show. It more than made up for the fact that we skipped the 4th of July show in NY. At points, it was like the fireworks were exploding just in front of us. By the time we went to bed, it was beyond midnight, and we set our alarms to watch the bulls the next day very early in the morning.Read more