Pamplona

Pamplona is the first great city of the Camino — and the first reward.

After the descent from Roncesvalles and the foothills of Navarre, pilgrims cross the Arga river on the medieval Puente de la Magdalena and walk through the old city walls into streets that have welcomed walkers for centuries. The legs are still fresh here, the packs still unfamiliar, and everything about the Way still feels like a beginning.

The city is famous the world over for San Fermín and the running of the bulls each July, but the Pamplona pilgrims know is quieter: the Gothic cathedral with its peaceful cloister, the citadel park where locals walk at dusk, the pintxo bars of Calle Estafeta and the old quarter, where a small plate and a glass of Navarre wine costs less than you expect.

Staying in Pamplona means choosing between the large pilgrim albergues — some of the best-run on the Francés — and the pensions and small hotels tucked into the old town. 55 places to stay are listed below, with addresses, prices, seasons and booking. In July, when the fiestas fill every bed in the city, book well ahead or plan to walk on.

From here the Camino crosses the Alto del Perdón, its ridge of wind turbines and the famous pilgrim silhouette, and drops toward Puente la Reina, where the French and Aragonese ways become one. Buen Camino.