I make no secret of my love for the works of Ernest Hemingway. During the course of his career he released a myriad of generation defining works, exploring themes of death and mortality, our place in nature and masculinity. However, his very best work was also his first, ‘The Sun Also Rises,’ a powerful re-imagining or his own experiences as an American ex-patriate in France and Spain following the First World War. The novel, set largely in the town of Pamplona, in northern Spain came to define the ‘lost-generation’ of artists in the period, documenting parties, endless drinking and intrigue in and around this gorgeous Spanish city. Most importantly, however, the work brought international fame to Pamplona and its annual San Fermin festival. Today, the city experiences a consistently booming tourism trade thanks to the novel, with visitors flocking into town for the festival and the subsequent running of the bulls. However, after spending a weekend there this Winter, I was able to trace Hemingway’s path through the city, visiting landmarks dedicated to him, bars he drank at, and the famous bull ring he loved so much. Read on for my guide on tracing Hemingway through Pamplona.

bulls 1.jpeg — HEMINGWAY TOUR OF PAMPLONA

**WHERE**: Pamplona, Northern Spain
**WHY**: Literary history, excellent bar crawl
**TIME**: 1 day

1. Plaza Del Toros

Paseo Hemingway, s/n, 31002 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

First stop has to the famous bullring in town, located just to the south of the city. Wherever your ethics stand on the running of the bulls and bull-fighting, the stadium is a must stop for visitors and Hemingway fans alike. Standing in there I was able to imagine Hemingway’s characters as they watched the fighting, witnessing the young bull-fighter, Romero, as he faced against a big bull.

“It was not brilliant bill-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”

I wandered through the stadium at no charge, although this was probably due to my visit in the off-season (adult entry is 5 euros). However, the experience was awesome, knowing how often Hemingway had sat in these stands, watching the fights below and documenting them in ‘The Sun Also Rises,’ and ‘A Death in the Afternoon.’ If you visit, make sure you have a look at the Hemingway bust out the front of the stadium.

2) Plaza Castillo

Plaza del Castillo, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

The centrally located Plaza Castillo features heavily in ‘The Sun Also Rises.’ The narrator, Jake Barnes noting:

"The square was hot.The flags hung on their staffs, and it was good to get out of the sun and under the shade of the arcade that runs around the square.”

However, on the day I visited, it was dreary, and the rain was seemingly endless. However, it was difficult not to feel as though I had wandered straight into the chapters of his work. The plaza was gorgeous, wide, and ringed by bars, shops and hotels, seemingly all of which appeared to be visited either by Hemingway himself, or by his characters in ‘The Sun Also Rises.’

3) Cafe Iruna

Plaza del Castillo, 44, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

They say that you should never meet your heroes, and the same may also be said for spending time in the places they used to drink. Cafe Iruna, located just off Plaza Del Castillo in the centre of town features heavily in ‘The Sun Also Rises,’ with the main character Jake Barnes drinking there regularly. Hemingway too, was a regular here, drinking at the bar on his many visits to Pamplona (9 in total.) There is a large statue of him here, permanently propped against the bar. However, despite the excellently priced coffee and distinctly relaxed atmosphere, the place is usually crammed with tourists, doing the exact same thing I was. However, given the significance of this place for Hemingway, I was glad of it all the same, despite any notions of my own originality being firmly punctured.

“I drank a bottle of wine for company. It was a Château Margaux. It was pleasant to be drinking slowly and to be tasting the wine and to be drinking alone. A bottle of wine was good company.”

4) Bar Txoko

Plaza del Castillo, 20, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

Just across the square from Hotel Iruna stands Bar Txoko, a drinking hole no less significant to Hemingway. He drank here whenever he was in town, and a small portrait hangs of him in the corner of the bar. I drank more than one glass of wine here, sipping away and watching the rain fall outside, the locals running to avoid getting wet. The bar staff were reserved but the patrons boisterous, and I got the feeling that this was how Hemingway had left it - the old men sitting by the bar, rolling cigarettes. The young family, huddled beneath an umbrella outside. It was prosaic to say the least.

5) Gran Hotel La Perla

Plaza del Castillo, 1, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

On the next corner lies Hotel La Perla, the mainstay of the author when he was in town. While the characters in the book stayed at the Hotel Montoya no longer exists, but after visiting the Hotel La Perla, it’s impossible not to see the ghosts of Jake Barnes stumbling around hungover, or the Lady Brett Ashley visiting his bedside at night. Hemingway stayed at this very hotel each year that he visited, and guests can book out his room, if they do so well in advance (room 201). While my finances didn’t quite cover the cost of staying there for the night, it was excellent just to visit, walking right by the Calle de la Estafeta, the street that the bulls thunder down as Jake Barnes watches from above.

“Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences.”

6) Hotel Yoldi

Av. San Ignacio, 11, 31002 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

Located 10 minutes west of Plaza Castillo is the Hotel Yoldi, another favourite of Hemingway. He drank here regularly when in town, and I treated myself to a Pinxto and a glass of Sangiovese. While the bar itself doesn’t exude any form of old-world charm, it has to be said that the wine was very good, and it was excellent to be sitting in a bar he drank at regularly (probably to excess).

"rising out of the plain... the walls of the city, and the great brown cathedral, and the broken skyline.”

Pamplona is a wonderful town. It’s a place for heavy drinking, cheap coffee, and literary history. While the place has certainly changed since he visited (he famously lamented how popular it had become shortly before his death), I can safely say that the ghost of Hemingway loves on in the bars, hotels and in the very cobblestones of Pamplona. For any fan of reading, or of history, the city is an absolute must, and I’d encourage any visitor to check out the places listed above.

There you have it - no need for a guided group tour - just six easy locations significant to Hemingway that you can reach in Pamplona by foot. Let us know how you go in the comments below! Any questions, fire away down below!

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