San Fermin Festival FAQ
1. What is the Running of the Bulls all about?
2. What is the best way to get to Pamplona?
3. What is parking like in Pamplona?
4. Can I take children?
1. What is the Running of the Bulls all about?
The festival of San Fermín (or Sanfermines) in the city of Pamplona (Navarre, Spain), is a deeply rooted celebration held annually from 12:00, 6 July, when the opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo, to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the Pobre de Mí. While its most famous event is the encierro, or the running of the bulls, the week-long celebration involves many other traditional and folkloric events. It is known locally as Sanfermines and is held in honor of Saint Fermin, the co-patron of Navarre.
The celebration of the festival has its origin in the combination of two different medieval events. Commercial secular fairs were held at the beginning of the summer. As cattle merchants came into town with their animals, eventually bullfighting came to be organized as a part of the tradition. Specifically, they were first documented in the 14th century. On the other hand religious ceremonies honoring the saint were held on October 10. However in 1591 they were transferred to the 7th of July to take place at the same time than the fair; when Pamplona's weather is better. This is considered to be the beginning of the Sanfermines. At that time they lasted two days but they were extended until the 10th and nowadays endure until the 14th. During medieval times acts included an opening speech, musicians, tournaments, theater, bullfights, dances or even fireworks. Bullrunning appears in 17th and 18th century chronicles together with the presence of foreigners and the first concerns on the excessive drinking and dissolute behavior during the event.
The worldwide fame of the modern festival, and the great number of foreign visitors it receives every year, are closely related to the description by Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises and his job as a journalist. He was greatly intrigued in his first visit in 1923 coming back many times until 1959. Hemingway was also deeply fond of bullrunnings and bullfights. Different city locations are famous in part due to the fact that the writer used to visit them, such as the La perla hotel, or the Iruña café.
Read the full article on Wikipedia
2. What is the best way to get to Pamplona?
The fastest way for many is to fly into Pamplona airport. You can also drive from nearby airports by either bus, train or rental. Visit www.renfe.com for train schedules.
San Sebastian - about 45 minute drive
Bayonne/Biarritz (check Ryanair for low-cost tickets) - about 1.5 hour drive
Bilbao (check Air Berlin for low-cost tickets) - about 1.5 - 2 hour drive
Barcelona - about 3-4 hours drive
Madrid - about 4 hours drive
3.What is parking like in Pamplona?
Depending on the time of day you arrive, parking is surprisingly available; the best hours are early in the morning and mid-day. We highly recommend, parking in one of the garages for safety reasons. These are quite secure and you can leave some personal belongings in your car. The Plaza Castillo Parking Garage and Plaza de Toros Parking Garage in the city center are fantastic. Expect to pay about EUR 30 per day for parking in these garages.
4. Can I take children?
The San Fermin Festival is a family event as you can tell by all the strollers and child-friendly events which are found into the late hours. Spanish take out the whole clan so that elderly and young mix in the streets even past midnight. Outgoing aficionados and youngsters are generally respectful of anyone who doesn’t want to be bathed in sangria. Clean clothing and a serious expression keep them at bay unless you dive into the street with all the night clubs.
Things to do with children: (dates and location depend on the schedule, found at all tourist information centers in Pamplona or on www.SanFermin.com )
Giants Parade. The Giant's Parade was created by the end in the mid of the 19th century and involves four big giant pairs of kings and queens dancing through the streets. They represent the world’s continents as they were seen in the 19th century. The Giant Parade takes place daily; for more information visit the program once it is published on www.sanfermin.com both in Spanish and English.
On children’s day there are lots of shows and playgrounds for the young
Fairgrounds just outside the old city offer lots of rides and other amusements
The Fire Bull that runs through the streets each nights, sparkling with firecrackers is a sight for anyone
The bullfights are very bloody and the audience on the Sun side is quite rambunctious so you may want to take only adolescents or find a babysitter to keep them while you go.
