JARAUTA street and surroundings
(San Lorenzo, Descalzos, Santo Andia, Plaza de la O, Plaza Recoletas, Ansoleaga, Campana).
This is the locals classic area: practically everyone from Pamplona will pass through this area at some stage during the Fiesta. Not only are all the normal bars open here but also quite a number of special places just open for these days of the Fiesta. Gourmet's clubs, the "Peñas" clubs, even some normal stores, all tend to stack up on alcohol for these days and become temporary dance-floors for the duration. The atmosphere is pretty hectic and for a young crowd mostly (under thirty) but really anything goes in this area.

The music will be both canned and live and of all types: basque music, jotas, salsa, rock 'n roll, Basque radikal rok, tex-mex, andaluz, or just whatever pop music is popular at that moment. The people dance in the street or inside the bars to whatever music is being played in each particular bar so you can imagine the cacophony of sound !

The Bar Zagit specializes in Reggae and it attacts a lot of african people. The atmosphere is worth seeing when they get down to dancing. Along with the Zagit there are some other good bars, although some of them are not in this Street. The bars are the Sai-Koba, the Askartza, the Lanzale , the Erburu, the Poliki, the Piskolabis, and the Gotorleku. Nice atmosphere.

Jarauta Street is the favourite haunt of the "Peñas", so you can expect to be interrupted by the appearance of a live brass band from time to time in the late hours of the night. Most of them have their premises on this street.

There are lots of brass bands going about. In Descalzos street they often have their own particular party with a band called Jarauta 69 in front of the bar Lanbroa. They play well and create a large gathering in the street to dance to their music (the average age here tends to be thirty and over). They usually start about one in the morning and will probably be playing into the dawn. They usually start about one in the morning and will probably be playing into the dawn. In this area you will find the local of the Errotxapea peña and the music so loud that you don'’ have to enter (if you don’t want to burst your eardrums); you just take your drink and go out to enjoy the weather and the music.

Jarauta also attracts the street vendors who will be selling all sorts of cheap gadgets and whatever kinds of crazy fads that become popular any particular year....wigs, mexican hats, plastic jewellery, sunglasses, baloons, whatever and all at whatever price they can get. Also, lots of little food stands of all sorts of dubious quality and uncertain standards. Sometimes it can be good, but you might just get a dose of the runs just when you don't need it. Depending on the hours it can look very appetizing, but after eating and suffering the consequences, quite a lot of people think of the vendor’s mother/father. Some other people’s stomach is bomb proof. If you come for the festivals you can’t leave without visiting Jarauta street, where you will find a very special atmosphere of the Sanfermin festival. Most of the time the street will be completely full of people, but you have to live it.

Close by, at the Town Hall, the Official Brass Band start playiing their "dianas" at 6'45 in the morning each day. It is a ritual which is repeated each morning and which, along with the morning broth, helps to get the "roughest bodies" back on their feet before the running of the bulls begins. Without a doubt, it is worth checking out, it is enough to raise the dead!

Plural, as well as the No Problem, are two disco bars in the Edificio Singular; you can listen rave, techno and the last innovations in disco music. They are open till early hours in the morning.

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In the main square PLAZA DEL CASTILLO
There is usually an open-air dance which is always well-attended. At 21.00 there is a basque music performance in the Pza. del Castillo (now they are building a parking so the performance was in the Paseo Sarasate) with txistularis and gaiteros and the people meet for typical basque dancing. At the end of the performance they always play a very well known dance called “Larrain dantza”. There is a well-known gastronomic club which just opens it's doors to the general public during the Fiestas - The Gazteluleku - to be found at No. 15, near the Txoko Bar. It's on a first floor flat and during these days sells a special chilled champagne with lemon which goes down a treat. It's usually easy to find as there is always a queue gathered at the stairway and into the street.

The general atmosphere in the main square is similiar to that of Jarauta, but usually with an older and somewhat more refined crowd. It is packed out, but that's no hinderance when it comes to dancing, which is what has brought the crowd there. The music can vary, basque folk music, waltzes, rock and roll, pop, whatever. The bars in the square - Casino Eslava, Baviera, Gure Etxea, Sevilla, and of course, the emblematic Café Iruña, all have a day-long scene going with their tables and seats on the terraces, and at night they go into full swing with music and dancing. There is a special kind of disco-pub called the Subsuelo with free admission which attracts the young crowd.

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The streets San Nicolas, San Gregorio, Comedias and the ones around them (Lindachiquia, Nueva, ...)
Can sport the biggest concentration of bars per square metre in the city. Have a look at the complete list of bars to see it yourself. In this area you can find, for instance, the Roch, the Baserri, the Burgalés, the Ulzama, the Otano or the Anaitasuna. During the year young people who are studying in the universities of Navarra (there are three universities, one of them long distance university) party in this area. It is quite normal to see parents with their children having a drink at the evening mixed with very young people who have their first drinks of the night. In sanfermines things change and everything is mixed up and you can find different people here as well; besides nearly everybody goes in white and red, so you don’t see the difference between them.. The only thing you will notice will be the price of the drinks, which will be more expensive than in Jarauta or Calderería for example.

In a small street called Lindachiquia (in basque "Indatxikia") there is a cosy bar called Catachu. Kukuxumusu celebrates the GUIRI DAY here, as well as some other acts and unofficial parties. They have a very nice atmosphere and serve typical foods from Navarra.

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At the top of ESTAFETA STREET and surroundings (Duque de Ahumada street and Espoz y Mina street)
There are another group of bars with a similiar atmosphere: La Granja, The Fitero, The Monasterio, El Gaucho, The Niza. They are particularly popular for the daily lunch-hour drink and after the bull-fights in the afternoons, although they also have their night-long action. Sandwitches and suppers can usually be had at El Niza, although the offer varies from year to year. It's a big bar and with a bit of luck you can get a seat there (seats are at a premium during the Fiesta). The people like to go there to watch the running of the bulls on the TV and have a nice breakfast. The run is only four meters from there, but some people don’t want to be waiting for hours on the fence and prefer to have a hot chocolate and txurros while they are watching the running of the bulls.

More swinging places in the old part of town (Tejería, Navarrería, Carmen, San Agustín, Calfromrería, Cuesta from Labrit, etc.)
Malkoa and Las Bodegas in TEJERIA Street, close by, have their own special atmosphere, somewhat quieter. They are particularly popular with the locals throughout the year and they manage to keep the same atmosphere during the Fiesta. The music is good and it's a good place to enjoy a drink far from the madding crowd in relative peace. Of course, here too it depends on the hour and the night. No doubt, at some stage one or more of the "Peñas" bands will come along to liven up the street for a time. There is another bar, the Nicolette, wich has, along with Ertz, a very alternative atmosphere for people who like electronic music and the last tendencies.

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In the NAVARRERIA Square
Is the best place to find the anglo-saxon "ghetto". The "Mejillonera" bar is to be found here and this is the place where many of the British contingent meet up. That includes The Aussies and New Zealanders too, who often come down from England at this time. There seems to be thousands of fair-haired and blonde heads moving about the small square during the days of the Fiesta, all doing their own thing. Their favourite diversion seems to be jumping from atop the stone fountain in the middle of the square. They jump from the top into the (hopefully) waiting arms of their mates below. Alas, it seems the drink can play tricks with their concentration and from time to time there are accidents when the waiting arms fail to respond and the body hits the ground with a loud and often dangerous thud.

Just in front of the fountain there is a classic bar - Mesón de la Navarrería - which always has a great atmosphere. They have great music and a large selection of bread rolls and a good sit-down area. There are always a happy blend of foreigners and somewhat radical locals ( the bar at least belongs to a local radical political party) mixing in there. Wonderful bar. Also nearby, is the fore-mentioned "La Mejillonera " which is popular with the foreigners, not least, because here they sell draught beer in huge tumblers of different sizes. Also of course they specialize in plates of Mussels, as their name indicates.

Further up from the Navarrería there is a largely heavy scene to be be found in calle del CARMEN with bars with heavy music and a pretty radical outlook. Here, there is a mixture of people with alternative attitudes, be they political or cultural. Not so many foreigners and more the home-grown philosophy. The premises of two of the "Peñas" are situated here, the "Irrintzi" and the "Bullicio" who have a great scene going every night during the Fiestas. A good place for to take an early-morning "caldico" that will give you a lift. Just a little further up is the bar "Mesón del Caballo Blanco" which is situated just near the old walls and a reasonably quiet spot away from the pandemonium going on further down. So, lots going on all over the place and it's a question of hitting it at the right moment in the right place. The bar is situated in one of the nicest place in Pamplona, surrounded by the city walls and with wonderful views. If the weather is good it’s worth to have a rest on the green or take a drink in the bar with medieval appearance.

There used to be a special foreigners scene going on in some bars close by, near the Town Hall, particularly in the bar "Casa Marceliano", made famous by Hemingway, where lots of americans used to meet up. If you fancy the idea, forget it - it became a new City Council office.

There is another characteristic street not so far from there, which is a popular spot throughout the year for the young heavy rockers.

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CALDERERIA street and nearly SAN AGUSTIN
Where there are some good bars - The Terminal and the Garazi . They used to play basically rock music, but now they also put electronic music and rave too. Here, particularly, you will find the "alternative" way to celebrate the classic Sanfermin Festival, particularly in the bar "Toki" and the bar "10" in Calderería street. Here you will find all sorts of heavy gear and attitudes with their own special way of celebrating the Fiestas. But, just as anywhere else, anything goes and all sorts will be found here too. You will also find street vendors, not so many as in Jarauta, selling bracelets, rings, necklaces, leather goods, earrings…etc.

There is a sloping street just in front of the Bull-Ring which has its own special atmosphere - LA CUESTA DEL LABRIT which has a series of bars with tables and seats on the terrace. The atmosphere is quite different, rather more well-off and important people, local politicans and such, who create their own particular atmosphere, but which is open to anyone who fancies it. You might find a bull-fighter or two here, who is looking for a good time. These terrace bars usually have pretty straight music but generate a lively mood. The best-known are Kabiya, "Catos", and Cavas.

Complete list of bars in this area

Just around the BULL RING
there are a couple of good bars which are particularly interesting just before and after the Bull-fights. The bar "Ruedo" and the bar "Roncesvalles" for example.

Outlined below are some of the places where you can have find a happy watering hole to help you enjoy the fiestas