Tudela, the cathedral and the old town

Tudela, the capital of the Ribera de Navarra, is 14 km from the Bardenas and has what the park does not: vegetable restaurants, hotels and an old town to stroll around when the sun goes down over the desert. In two or three hours you see the cathedral, the palaces and the square.

The cathedral is seen through the Museo de Tudela

The cathedral of Santa María has been a National Monument since 1884; its best-known doorway is the Romanesque Last Judgement Door. You do not enter through the church: tourist access is through the Museo de Tudela, in the Deanery Palace, a 16th-century palace with medieval, Renaissance and Baroque sacred art, goldwork, altarpieces and painting. From the museum you go through to the cathedral and its Romanesque cloister. If a service is being held, the tourist visit does not take place.

Autumn 2026 hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00, and Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:30. It is closed on Sunday. Last entry is recommended half an hour before closing. Entry costs €4; €3 reduced (retirees and pensioners, youth card, people with disabilities, ICOM and groups of 15) and €2 for ages 7 to 12. There are guided visits for groups and individuals with a booking, on 948 402 161.

Palaces you can see inside

A few steps away, in the old town, are two palaces you can visit inside and a Renaissance house with exhibitions:

• Palacio del Marqués de San Adrián, 16th-century Renaissance, with a courtyard and a painted staircase. Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00; Saturdays from 11:00 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 19:00; Sundays from 11:00 to 13:30.
• Palacio del Marqués de Huarte, 18th-century Baroque, with a dome, imperial staircases and an 18th-century carriage. It houses the municipal library and archive. Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 20:00; Saturdays from 11:00 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 19:00; Sundays from 11:00 to 13:30.
• Casa del Almirante, from the first half of the 16th century, with a three-storey Renaissance façade and two main balconies. It is the seat of the Fundación María Forcada, which stages temporary exhibitions.

The Museo Muñoz Sola, with the work of this Navarrese painter and his collection of 19th-century French painting, is free and open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00, and on Sundays and public holidays in the morning; it closes on Monday and Tuesday.

The square, the Magdalena and the market gardens

The Plaza de los Fueros, with its bandstand, is the centre of the city and the site of the tourist office. Continue to the Romanesque church of La Magdalena, with its tower, doorway and tympanum. The Monreal tower, with its camera obscura, is temporarily closed. At the entrance to the Mejana, in the El Molinar Civic Centre, the Centro de Interpretación de la Huerta explains the life of the market gardeners: it is free, admits dogs and is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 16:00 to 20:00, Friday from 16:00 to 22:00 and Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00.

For children there is a street game, "El secreto de Benjamín", which leaves from Plaza de los Fueros and costs €9.95, with no booking.

How to fit it in with the Bardenas

Do the Bardenas in the morning, have lunch at Restaurante 33, near the square, and leave the afternoon for the old town. The tourist office gives you the map and the season's hours. If you sleep at the Hotel Aire de Bardenas, you are a kilometre and a half away.