Practical box
- Transport
- Pamplona has no metro. The historic center is small and walkable. RENFE trains from Madrid (3 hours) or Barcelona (4 hours). Pamplona airport has limited international flights; most travelers arrive via Madrid or Barcelona then train. Hotels close to the encierro route are walkable to everything.
- Costs
- Hotels in Pamplona during Sanfermines EUR 280-850 per night, 5x to 8x off-peak (the highest rate of any Spanish festival). Red-and-white fiesta outfit EUR 25-65 (purchased at any Pamplona shop). Beer or kalimotxo EUR 4-9. Tapas EUR 3-9 per pintxo.
- Safety on the night
- The encierro injures 200 to 300 runners per year. 15 deaths since 1924, the most recent in 2025. The risks: getting gored (rare), getting trampled (common), falling and being crushed (the leading injury cause). Do not run if you are drunk, hungover, or have not slept; most injuries hit hungover tourists who run the morning after a long fiesta night.
- Dress
- The traditional Sanfermines dress is white shirt, white trousers, red sash (faja), and red bandana (pañuelo). Universally observed; the entire crowd wears it. Buy at any Pamplona shop for EUR 25-65 total. No dress code at evening venues.
- Ticketing
- Encierro is free to run or watch. Bullfight tickets through the official Plaza de Toros website or via Tu Boleta. Hotels book through Booking.com, Hotels.com, or directly. The grandstand viewing seats along the encierro route are sold by private operators at EUR 60-280 per morning.
Where to go on the night
The named venues and zones that anchor the event. Prices are peak-night, paid at the door or for an advance ticket. Outside the event week these same venues run at a fraction of the cost.
Encierro (Running of the Bulls)
Each morning at 08:00 from July 7 through July 14. Six fighting bulls and six steers run an 825 meter route from Calle Santo Domingo to the Plaza de Toros bullring. Around 2,000 to 4,000 mozos (runners) per day attempt to outrun them. The encierro lasts 2 to 4 minutes.
Where
Calle Santo Domingo to Plaza de Toros
From
Free to participate or watch
Plaza del Castillo afterparties
The central plaza fills immediately after each encierro with drinkers in red-and-white traditional fiesta dress (white shirt, white trousers, red sash, red pañuelo). The morning kalimotxos (red wine and cola), the lunch tapas, the all-day-into-night party.
Where
Plaza del Castillo
From
Free entry; drinks EUR 4-9
Chupinazo opening ceremony
The official opening of the festival on July 6 at noon. A rocket is fired from the City Hall balcony, the crowd in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (around 30,000 attendees) erupts, and the eight-day fiesta begins.
Where
Plaza del Ayuntamiento
From
Free
Bullfight at Plaza de Toros
Each afternoon at 18:30 the bulls that ran that morning are fought in the evening corrida. Three matadors, six bulls, two hours. Spanish-language ceremony with strict bullfighting ritual.
Where
Plaza de Toros de Pamplona
From
EUR 50-280 per ticket
Sanfermines: Pamplona's UNESCO-Equivalent Week
Sanfermines is Pamplona's nine-day fiesta in honor of Saint Fermin, the city's patron saint. The international fame comes from the encierro (running of the bulls) each morning, but the festival itself is a fiesta encompassing the entire city: religious processions, regional Basque-Navarre cultural performances, bullfighting, all-day street drinking, and the traditional red-and-white dress code worn universally by 1 million-plus attendees.
The 2026 festival runs July 6 through July 14. The chupinazo (opening ceremony rocket-firing) is at noon on July 6 from the City Hall balcony; around 30,000 attendees in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. The first encierro is on the morning of July 7 at 08:00. There are 8 encierros total, one each morning July 7 through July 14. The closing "Pobre de mi" ceremony is at midnight on July 14.
The Encierro Route and Risk
The encierro route runs 825 meters from Calle Santo Domingo through the old town to the Plaza de Toros bullring. Six fighting bulls and six steers (the steers keep the fighting bulls together; the fighting bulls are the dangerous ones) run the route in 2 to 4 minutes. Around 2,000 to 4,000 mozos (runners) participate per day. Police clear obviously drunk, hungover, or unfit runners; expect to be checked.
The encierro injures 200 to 300 runners per year. There have been 15 deaths since 1924, the most recent in 2025. The leading injury cause is being trampled or crushed in the corner pile-ups (especially the corner at Mercaderes-Estafeta and the entry into the bullring), not direct bull goring. Hungover and drunk runners are disproportionately injured.
Plaza del Castillo Afterparties
Immediately after each morning encierro, the Plaza del Castillo fills with drinkers in red-and-white traditional fiesta dress. The morning kalimotxos (red wine and cola, the traditional cheap drink), the lunch tapas, the all-day-into-night party. The plaza stays packed from 09:30 through 03:00 each day. Free entry; drinks EUR 4-9.
Practical Pamplona Sanfermines Numbers
Hotels in Pamplona during Sanfermines EUR 280 to EUR 850 per night, 5x to 8x off-peak (the highest rate of any Spanish festival; Pamplona is a small city of 200,000 absorbing 1 million-plus visitors). The premium properties (Gran Hotel La Perla, Hotel Tres Reyes, Hotel Maisonnave) at EUR 580 to EUR 1,400. Apartments via Airbnb EUR 180 to EUR 450. Hotels around the Plaza del Castillo sell out by March. Many travelers stay in Logroño or San Sebastián and day-trip by train.
The traditional Sanfermines dress is white shirt, white trousers, red sash (faja), and red bandana (pañuelo). Universally observed; the entire crowd wears it. Buy at any Pamplona shop for EUR 25-65 total. The dress code is the cultural fabric of the festival; tourists in non-traditional clothes look conspicuous.
Where to stay in pamplona during San Fermines (Running of the Bulls)
Rooms in the core event neighborhoods sell out months ahead and run double the off-peak rate. The map below shows what's still available within walking distance of the action.
Year-round context for pamplona
This page covers the event week specifically. For the broader picture, legal framework, nightlife districts, and year-round venues, see the main TDG pamplona page and Spain country guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
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