# Olite

The Royal Palace of Charles III the Noble, medieval lanes and wineries with visits in the Zona Media of Navarre, 40 km from Pamplona.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/navarre/olite · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## What Olite is

Olite, Erriberri in Basque, is a town in the Zona Media of Navarre that was the court of the Navarrese kings. Its Royal Palace was built in the 15th century by Charles III the Noble on a 13th-century fortress, in the style of French castles: towers, galleries, courtyards and hanging gardens. It has been a National Monument since 1925. One part, the Old Palace, is now the Parador; the other, the New Palace, restored since 1937, is the part you can visit.

Around it is a medieval old town of narrow lanes with the Chapitel tower, the Plaza de Carlos III, the Gothic church of Santa María la Real attached to the palace and that of San Pedro. And around the village, vineyards: Visit Navarra calls Olite the "wine capital of Navarre", and there are wineries with visits a short walk from the centre.

## How to get there

Olite is 40 km from Pamplona, 5 km from Tafalla, next to the AP-15 motorway and the N-121 that go to Tudela and Zaragoza. Approximate times, estimated by road: from Pamplona, about 40 minutes; from Zaragoza, around an hour and a half; from Logroño, an hour and a quarter; from San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz, around an hour and a half; from Soria, an hour and three-quarters; from Huesca, about two hours.

Without a car, the 320-321-322 Pamplona – Tafalla – Olite trunk line of Grupo Interbus (NBus) leaves from Pamplona, with several departures a day: check the current timetable on its website before you go. In Olite everything is done on foot, and the old town fits into a half-hour stroll.

## Where to park

The old town is narrow and it is best to leave the car outside the lanes: park on the streets at the edge of the old town and walk in to the palace, five minutes away. Hotels in the centre, such as the Juglar, have their own garage. In August and at the medieval festival a lot of people come: arrive early.

## How much time and when to go

Half a day is enough for the Royal Palace, the church of Santa María and a stroll around the old town. With a full day you add a winery visit and a long lunch. With two, Ujué, the Pitillas lagoon and the monastery of La Oliva.

The palace is open every day: in autumn 2026, from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December, from 9:30 to 17:30, with the last recommended entry an hour before closing. Spring and autumn, with the grape harvest, are the best seasons. In summer there is a theatre festival, from late July to early August, and a weekend of medieval festivities in August.

## Wine and surroundings

You can feel the wine in the village itself. The Enozentrum, next to the tourist office, explains the area's wine culture at weekends and is free. The Cosecheros Reunidos cooperative shows its winery-museum during shop hours, and Bodegas Ochoa, a family winery from 1843 with an organic vineyard, runs visits with a tasting from €25. On the Plaza de Carlos III, the wine shop Reyna de Copas organises tastings and walks with a glass in hand.

For the afternoon, three short drives. Ujué, about 20 km away, is a medieval village on top of a hill with a fortress-church and a wall walk. The Pitillas lagoon, to the south, has a bird observatory that opens at weekends from November. And the Cistercian monastery of La Oliva, in Carcastillo, is on the way to the Bardenas Reales, which are less than an hour away: Olite and the Bardenas combine well in a weekend.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Bardenas Reales (a 33.7 km), Tarazona and the Moncayo (a 64.4 km), Irati Forest (a 70.7 km), Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa (a 77.0 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Royal Palace of Olite** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Desde 4.4 € per adult (reduced €2.50)): Charles III the Noble built this palace in the early 15th century on a 13th-century fortress, in the style of French castles, and made it one of the most refined courts of its time. It has been a National Monument since 1925. What you visit is the New Palace, restored since 1937; the Old Palace, attached to it, is now the Parador.
Towers, courtyards and a centuries-old mulberry
The self-guided visit takes in the royal chambers, the orange-tree courtyard with its galleries, the ice well and the moats. You climb three towers: the Homage Tower, the Three Crowns Tower and the Four Winds Tower, from which you see the village's rooftops and the surrounding vineyards. The hanging gardens, such as the Aviary and the Mulberry, hold a centuries-old mulberry tree declared a Natural Monument. The rooms are almost empty of furniture, so without explanation you understand little: the audio guide or the guided visit change the visit a great deal.
The ways to see it and what they cost
In autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December, from 9:30 to 17:30. The recommended last entry is one hour before closing.

Self-guided entry: €4.40, reduced €2.50.
Audio guide: €4, in Spanish, Basque, English, French and German.
Guided visit: €7.50, reduced €5.50; every day, at several times published in the programme.
ErriVRri: the ticket with a 360-degree virtual reality experience of the palace, €10.40, reduced €8.50.
Guided visit to the town of Olite and the palace: €14.40, reduced €7.

On specific dates there is also a family visit, a family visit-workshop, a dramatised visit for adults, a dramatised one for children and the visit with the Gossiping Maiden, all at €8.90 and €6 reduced, and a wine-themed visit on request. Tickets are bought on the palace website; groups book at reservas@palaciorealolite.com, and for other queries there is 691 021 667. It is run by the company Magmacultura.
Before and after the palace
The tourist office is in the same Plaza de los Teobaldos: ask there for the Marco Topo game map if you are with children. Next door begins the walk through the medieval streets and Santa María la Real, and for lunch the Asador Erri Berri is two minutes away. The plan Sunday in Olite with the Royal Palace and Ujué brings the three together.
- **Guided tour of Olite and its Royal Palace** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Desde 12 € per adult (€7 for ages 6 to 13; free under 6)): If you want to understand Olite, not just see it, go with a guide. Rutas Vivamus, a tourist route company registered in the Navarre Tourism Register, runs a visit with an official Navarre guide that combines the Royal Palace inside with a walk through the medieval streets: an hour and a half in all. It is a good first activity on arriving in the village, because afterwards everything else, the Enozentrum, the wineries, the galleries, is better understood.
The route
The visit begins with the Royal Palace, the seat of the court of the Kingdom of Navarre, built in the 13th and 14th centuries on an earlier fortress, with Roman remains beneath, and a National Monument since 1925. It then passes the church of Santa María la Real, attached to the castle and one of the examples of Navarrese Gothic, with a main façade of Gothic sculpture finished around 1300, and the church of San Pedro, on Plaza del Fosal, Olite's oldest parish church, with its Gothic spire tower. The rest of the time is spent walking through the old town: narrow streets, mansions with coats of arms, stretches of the Roman wall and Gothic arcades.
The Vivamus website does not detail which rooms or towers of the palace are toured or whether any are climbed; ask when you book if something in particular interests you.
Price and booking
It costs €12 for adults and €7 for children aged 6 to 13, VAT included; under-6s do not pay. Groups are of up to 25 people; for larger groups you must enquire. The website does not publish fixed days or times: you need to ask about availability. Although it shows an online booking button, in November 2026 it warned that the booking manager was not yet active, so the practical thing is to book by phone on 617 189 957 or by email at info@rutasvivamus.com.
Tickets are not refundable, but you can change the date and time subject to availability. Visits start on time and, if you arrive late, there is no refund. If the minimum number of people is not reached, the company may cancel up to 24 hours before and refunds the amount.
With children
Children aged 6 to 13 pay a reduced rate and under-6s go free; bear in mind that it is an hour and a half on foot. For the little ones, the tourist office gives out the Marco Topo map, a free game for exploring medieval Olite as a family with your phone, which can be done before or after the visit.
Other visits
The tourist office lists other options in Olite: the Reyna de Copas wine shop runs walks with a glass of wine that include the Chapitel tower, and the palace itself sells a guided visit to the town and the palace for €14.40. Vivamus also offers guided visits to the Arguedas caves, at the entrance to the Bardenas.
- **Medieval streets and the church of Santa María la Real** (1 h · Everyone · Streets free · church €2): Between the palace and the wall, Olite preserves its medieval streets almost as they were in the 13th century: two walled enclosures, the "inner circuit" and the "outer circuit", separated by Plaza de Carlos III, with the Chapitel tower, the Rúa Mayor, palaces with coats of arms and the churches of Santa María and San Pedro. You can walk it in an hour, unhurried, and it is free except for the entrance to Santa María.
What to see
The Roman wall. According to the Town Hall, Olite preserves the most complete Roman walled enclosure in Navarre: a 1st-century construction, trapezoidal in plan and 600 metres in perimeter, with remains of 12 of its 20 original towers and rusticated ashlar blocks you can recognise at a glance. The south side ran along the present Plaza de Carlos III.
The Chapitel tower is, after the Royal Palace, the village's most emblematic civil building. It was one of the two gates of the Roman wall, in the 13th century a Gothic work was added with a passage of pointed arches, and in the Middle Ages it was the market house and seat of the council. In 1401 Charles III the Noble commissioned the Parisian clockmaker Thierry de Bolduc to make a clock for the tower, one of the first public clocks in the Iberian kingdoms. Its bell sounded the nightly "curfew" before the gates were closed.
The streets and palaces. The streets keep medieval names, such as the rúas of the Judería, the Tesendería, of the weavers, or the Tafurería, where the gaming house was. On the Rúa Mayor, the Renaissance palace at number 7, from around 1590, has an eave with masks and fantastical figures, and the Baroque one at number 37 is today the Casa de Cultura. On Rúa del Pozo, 7, is the palace of Francés de Villaespesa, chancellor to Charles III.
Santa María la Real
Attached to the palace, the Gothic church of Santa María has a sculpted doorway whose plant decoration is dominated by vine leaves, a Renaissance altarpiece and a large rose window; in its porch you see the royal arms of Navarre. In autumn 2026 it is open Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:30; it closes on Mondays. Entry is €2; accompanied children under 12 do not pay. The church of San Pedro, Olite's oldest parish church, is recognised by its Gothic spire tower.
Galleries and the Chapitel
The medieval galleries are seen from outside, through the grille gate. You can climb the Chapitel tower on the guided visits run by the Reyna de Copas wine shop. If you prefer to have everything explained, the guided visit by Rutas Vivamus combines the palace and the streets in an hour and a half.
With children and with a dog
Ask at the tourist office for the Marco Topo map, a free game for exploring medieval Olite as a family with your phone. Dogs may go on a lead in the streets, but not into the churches.
- **Enozentrum, the wine culture centre** (45 min · Everyone · Free): The Enozentrum is Olite's wine culture centre, a Government of Navarre space next to the tourist office, a step from the Royal Palace. It occupies a historic 17th-century building and entry is free. Before going into a winery, here you understand why Olite presents itself as the wine capital of Navarre: the vine and wine have been part of the landscape and society of Navarre for at least 2,000 years, and Roman-era wineries have been found near the village.
What you will see
The tour is divided into four themes spread over four floors, designed to discover what lies behind a glass of wine. It is a self-paced visit, without a guide, of about 45 minutes. It works whether you know about wine or not: the idea is to give context before the tasting, so that later at the winery you understand what they are telling you.
With children: Uvaluba
For the little ones there is a space of its own, Uvaluba, with a 16-minute animation set on "Planeta Viña", where characters, Lodi, Jol, Oli, Mari, Eli, Koko, Topo and Charrín, tell them how the vine and grapes grow. It is a good way to keep the visit from feeling long and to give children a part in a wine trip too.
Opening hours
The general hours are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00, and Sundays from 10:00 to 14:00, with last entry one hour before closing. In low season it opens less: in November it is closed Monday to Friday and open on Saturdays from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 10:00 to 14:00. In December it keeps weekend hours and also opens on some public holidays and holiday days, and closes on others, including 24, 25 and 31. As the calendar changes each month, check the website before you go or call 848 423 223. Organised groups visit by prior booking.
Activities
Each year, coinciding with the start of the grape harvest, Olite celebrates the Navarre Grape Harvest Festival, in early September, with wine-related activities throughout the week. It is a good time to visit the centre and the village, although also the busiest.
And then, a winery
In the same village, the Cosecheros Reunidos cooperative has a museum winery that can be visited free during shop hours, and Bodegas Ochoa, a family winery founded in 1843, shows its cellar and vineyard with a tasting. A few steps away are also the Royal Palace, the church of Santa María la Real and the medieval streets, so the Enozentrum fits into any stroll around Olite.
- **Visit and tasting at Bodegas Ochoa** (1 h 30 · Adults; children at their own rate · Desde 25 € per adult (non-drinkers €12, ages 4 to 17 €6)): Bodegas Ochoa is at Calle Miranda de Arga, 35, a few minutes' walk from the Royal Palace of Olite. It is a family winery that laid the first stone of its history in 1843 and has been making wine for six generations. Today it is run by Beatriz, in management, and Adriana, in technical direction, who have farmed the vineyard organically since 2015. It is the most convenient winery visit if you are sleeping in Olite: you do not need a car.
The family and the vineyard
The winery's website sums up its history in a few dates. In 1930 Adriano Ochoa planted 80 hectares of vineyard on the Plana de Olite and bottled the first barrel-aged reds. In 1965, after his death, his son Javier took over, aged 19, and in 1992 began planting the Traibuenas estate. Today the winery works about 130 hectares across several estates, each with its own variety: Garnacha, Graciano, Tempranillo, Merlot, Moscatel de grano menudo, Viognier, Chardonnay, Viura and Garnacha Blanca.
The visits
All visits last 90 minutes, tour the winery and end with a tasting accompanied by bread, the house's own oil, zero-mile cheese and Ochoa chocolate. There are three, with names that follow the image the winery launched in 2025, "Ahora. Aquí. Siempre.":

Vivimos el vino – Ahora, €25: winery and vineyard, with a tasting of four wines. It is the simplest and the only one fully adapted and accessible.
Vivimos el vino – Aquí, €32: winery and vineyard with a focus on caring for the land and sustainability, and a tasting of five wines from its Aquí series.
Vivimos el vino – Siempre, €40: the wine shop and the barrel room, with the history of the brand, and a tasting with an aroma game of four of its top-range wines: Oxoa, Ochoa Reserva, Finca Corazón de Montijo and Moscatel de Ochoa, with cold cuts as well as the rest.

Days, reduced rates and booking
The winery's website does not publish fixed days or times: they are chosen in the booking calendar. The Olite tourist office says the visit takes place Wednesday to Saturday at 11:00, and Thursdays and Sundays are to be confirmed; that non-drinkers pay €12 and children aged 4 to 17, €6. Book on the winery's website or on +34 948 740 006, and by email at info@bodegasochoa.com.
The winery is accessible; in the vineyard, access is not complete on the Aquí and Siempre visits. The winery also organises corporate events with food and wine, and home tastings for groups with its "Ochoa en Ruta" service.
How to combine it
You can walk from Plaza de Carlos III. Before the visit, the Enozentrum, next to the tourist office, gives the context of Navarre's wine culture, for free. Afterwards you have the Royal Palace, Santa María la Real and the medieval streets a step away, and for lunch, the old town of Olite.
- **Ujué and its fortress church** (2 h 30 · Everyone · Church and wall-walk, €2): Ujué is a medieval village hanging from a hill east of Olite, at 815 metres above sea level and with about 200 inhabitants, part of the Most Beautiful Villages of Spain network since 2017. Its narrow, steep streets of limestone houses climb to the church of Santa María la Real, a fortress-church with a wall-walk from which, on clear days, you can see the Pyrenees to the north. It is one of the prettiest excursions from Olite and deserves half a day.
A little history
According to the University of Navarra's Heritage Chair, the present village was born at the end of the 8th century or the start of the 9th around a fortress, a defensive outpost of the kingdom of Pamplona. Legend tells that a dove guided a peasant to the cave where the image of the Virgin was hidden, and that is where the name would come from. The kings of the House of Évreux were closely tied to the shrine: Charles II wanted his heart to be deposited here, Charles III gave a silver chalice that is now kept in the Museo de Navarra, and Queen Blanche I instituted in 1436 the novenas to the Virgen de Ujué.
The fortress church
Santa María la Real was built between the 11th and 14th centuries, with a Romanesque part and a Gothic one, and has been a National Monument since 1936. It has a single, very wide nave, with a transept and triple apse, and capitals decorated with plant, animal and human motifs. The 14th-century Gothic doorway is considered a masterpiece, with archivolts decorated with grape-harvest scenes. Of the crenellated towers that surrounded it, the Four Winds Tower and the Picos Tower survive.
Around it runs the wall-walk, a passage that circles the church and works as a viewpoint over central Navarre. The old castle courtyard, with its cistern, is also preserved.
How to visit
The church and wall-walk are visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00, approximate hours; on Mondays, check. It costs €2. On Sundays there is Mass at 11:00. The Reyna de Copas wine shop runs in Ujué a 90-minute guided visit with a glass of wine and live music, for €18. Dogs may walk on a lead through the streets, but may not enter the church.
Getting there
From Olite it is about 20 km by mountain road, passing San Martín de Unx, which has a Romanesque crypt: allow half an hour. You get there by the NA-5311 and there is a paved car park at the foot of the walled enclosure, from where you walk up through the village. The slopes are steep: with a pushchair, a baby carrier is better. To round off the day, the Pitillas lagoon and the monastery of La Oliva lie to the south, in the same region.
- **Pitillas Lagoon and its bird observatory** (1 h 30 · Families and bird enthusiasts · Free): South of Olite, the Pitillas lagoon is a nature reserve with a bird observatory run by the Government of Navarre. At 216 hectares it is the largest steppe wetland in Navarre and one of the most important in the Ebro valley: an endorheic lagoon, with no outlet to the sea, surrounded by farmland. In winter and spring it fills with waterbirds, and it is a good stop to make with children and binoculars.
What you will see
According to the centre, marsh harriers, herons, teal, coots, greylag geese, shovelers and mallards live in or pass through the lagoon, as well as frogs, otters, minks, terrapins and butterflies. It lies right on a migration route, and between March and June two species much sought by enthusiasts breed: the bittern, a small brown heron that hides in the reedbed, and the bearded reedling, a little bird whose male has a black moustache. The lagoon was drained in the 1960s for farming, but since 1976 it has been left to return to its natural state. It has been a nature reserve since 1987, an SPA since 1991 and a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 1996.
The observatory
The observatory is a stone building on a small mound overlooking the lagoon, with a large picture window and a rooftop terrace. Inside there are panels on the ecology and history of the wetland, and the staff lend binoculars, telescopes and guides for identifying the birds. Entry is free and it is best to start here: they explain which trails are open and how to go round the lagoon without disturbing the wildlife.
It is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00 from 21 October to 30 December and from 2 January to 10 March; in spring and early autumn, also in the afternoon, from 16:00 to 19:00, and from 16 July to 31 August, every day, morning and afternoon. It closes on 25 December, and the hours may change on bridge days and public holidays.
Guided walks
In season, the observatory organises guided walks around the lagoon, lasting about an hour and a half, of low difficulty but not suitable for wheelchairs. You must sign up at least three days ahead on 619 463 450. In November 2026 the Olite tourist office announced walks on the 8th and 15th at 11:30 and on the 22nd at 10:30, the latter with an ornithologist. Information also at opitilla@navarra.es.
Rules and getting there
The lagoon is a nature reserve, not a recreation area: dogs and other domestic animals are not allowed, you may not cross the fence around it, you may not release fish or turtles and overnighting in a motorhome is not allowed. Park in the car park beside the observatory; in autumn 2026 some areas are under works and there is an alternative car park, so ask on arrival. From Olite you drive south, and it combines well with the monastery of La Oliva or with Ujué.
- **Monastery of La Oliva** (1 h · Everyone · 2,50 €): In Carcastillo, halfway between Olite and the Bardenas, the Cistercian monastery of La Oliva is one of the great medieval complexes of Navarre. It preserves its abbey church and cloister, and is still inhabited by a community of Cistercian monks who pray, work the vineyard, make wine and welcome guests. It is a quiet, one-hour visit that is best appreciated in silence: it is not a museum, it is a living house.
A little history
According to the monks themselves, the Cistercian order chose in 1149 the fertile fields beside the River Aragón to build the monastery, with the favour of King García Ramírez of Navarre, who gave it extensive lands. With donations from nobles and benefactors it became one of the most powerful monastic centres of its time. During the War of Independence it was plundered by French troops, and in 1835 Mendizábal's disentailment left it abandoned and in ruins for more than nine decades. In 1926, after an agreement with the Diputación Foral, a Cistercian community returned to restore it.
What you see
The complex is arranged around the abbey church, in Cistercian style with a three-aisle plan and a medieval rose window. Beside it are the Gothic cloister and the chapter house, proto-Gothic. Opposite the church's apse is the chapel of San Jesucristo, the oldest building in the monastery, and next to the church, the abbot's palace. The visit plan also marks the new sacristy, the old warming room, the old refectory, the kitchen and the gardens. There is an information leaflet in four languages, with history, plan and recommendations for the tour, which can be downloaded from the monastery website.
Hours, price and Masses
According to the monastery's leaflet, it is visited on working days from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 15:30 to 18:00, and on Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 to 11:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00. The hours may be interrupted by liturgical celebrations. Entry costs €2.50 and is paid at the ticket office, on the left as you enter; the visitor access is next to the shop. The Eucharist on Sundays and public holidays is at 12:00, and visitors may attend the monks' liturgy, which begins with vigils at 4:30 and ends with compline at 20:45. Telephone, 948 725 006.
Wine, shop and guesthouse
The monks cultivate their vineyards and make their wine in a modern winery, restored in 2009. The wine and other Cistercian products are sold in the monastery shop and its online shop. The guesthouse, in a restored 18th-century building, welcomes men and women seeking a few days of silence and retreat, with stays of up to about eight days; it is booked directly with the monastery.
Getting there and combining it
The monastery is on the Mélida road, in Carcastillo. It is the natural stop between Olite and the northern entrance to the Bardenas, and it can be combined on the same day with Ujué or with the Pitillas lagoon.

## Dónde comer
- **Asador Erri Berri** (Restaurant, Olite, €€€). Qué pedir: the Tudela lettuce heart or the grilled artichokes to start, and the Turina beef T-bone to share; for dessert, the intxaursalsa
- **Casa Zanito Restaurant** (Restaurant, Olite, €€€). Qué pedir: on weekdays, the €27 executive menu; à la carte, the Maribel vegetables, the Navarre lamb ingot and the Ultzama curd
- **Reyna de Copas Wine Shop** (Bar, Olite, €€). Qué pedir: a guided tasting of Navarre wines and cheeses, or a bottle from the shop uncorked there and then for €8 extra

## By car: Olite on foot, the area by car
Olite is next to the AP-15 and the N-121, 40 km from Pamplona. Leave the car on arrival and tour the village on foot; pick it up again for Ujué, the Pitillas lagoon, the monastery of La Oliva or the Bardenas, all less than an hour away.
Presupuesto orientativo: 80–150 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Parador de Olite-Erriberri** (Hotel): The Parador occupies the Old Palace of Olite, the oldest part of the castle-palace of the kings of Navarre, which Charles III the Noble rebuilt in the French taste. Its wall-sharing neighbour is the New Palace, the one you visit, and on the other side is the church of Santa María la Real. At the base of the towers you can still see remains of the Roman praesidium on which it all was built. The address is Plaza de los Teobaldos, 2, right in the centre.
Door to door with the Royal Palace
The practical thing about sleeping here is that you do not have to move the car all day. The Royal Palace is next door: in autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30, with an entry fee of €4.40. The tourist office is at number 4 of the same square and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. The church of Santa María, with its Gothic doorway, is visited Tuesday to Sunday for €2. The old town, with its streets, medieval galleries and Plaza de Carlos III, can be walked in a short while.
Standard, superior and accessible rooms
Paradores offers three types of room: standard, superior and adapted for people with reduced mobility. All have a minibar, flat-screen television and free wifi. The hotel has room service, laundry and a shop. If you want views of the towers or a particular room, ask when you book: the Paradores website does not publish which rooms face which side.
The Parador's table
The restaurant cooks Navarrese recipes with local produce; one of its dishes is natural pochas with quails stewed in red wine. For a change, in the old town you have the Asador Erri Berri, a grill, a couple of minutes away, and the wine shop Reyna de Copas on Plaza de Carlos III for a tasting before dinner.
Arriving by car or bus
Olite is 5 km from Tafalla and about 40 km from Pamplona; the main access is the N-121. Without a car, bus line 321 leaves from Pamplona station and reaches Olite in under an hour, with stops a few minutes' walk from the Parador: you will find the timetables on the page for the Pamplona – Olite bus. Ask when booking where to leave the car: the Parador's page does not give details. Telephone, 948 740 000; email, olite@parador.es.
- **Hotel Merindad de Olite** (Small hotel): On the wall
The Merindad de Olite is a small hotel restored among the remains of the Roman wall, on Rúa de la Judería, in the old town, next to the Royal Palace of the kings of Navarre. The entrance opens onto the old town streets, but the windows look mostly towards the palace and the Sierra de Ujué. It is a hotel for sleeping inside medieval Olite and going out on foot to everything.
Rooms
It has ten rooms, each individually styled and all with a balcony and views. They are doubles and one junior suite. The website does not detail the size or equipment of each, nor publish rates: booking is done through its booking engine, which also handles cancellations, or by writing to reservas@hotelmerindaddeolite.com. Nor does it give check-in and check-out times, breakfast, parking or pet policy, so ask before you confirm the booking, especially if you are travelling by car or with a dog.
With only ten rooms, it is wise to book ahead at weekends and bridge holidays.
Eating and drinking
The hotel has three spaces. The wine bar and gastrobar is a corner devoted to wine where you can taste a selection of Navarre wines with tapas, toasts and sharing plates. The restaurant, small, serves market and seasonal cooking with Navarre produce, mixing traditional cooking with current creative touches; it publishes neither hours nor prices. And the terrace, quiet and with panoramic views, is for taking the sun or a glass of wine, especially on summer evenings.
The hotel is part of the Merindad de Olite group, along with the Hotel El Juglar, on Rúa Romana, and the Restaurante Merindad de Olite.
What is on your doorstep
The Royal Palace is a few steps away. In autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30; general admission costs €4.40. Attached to the palace is the church of Santa María la Real, with its sculpted doorway. The Enozentrum, the wine culture centre, is open at weekends and is free, and in the village there are wineries you can visit, such as Bodegas Ochoa or the Cosecheros Reunidos cooperative.
From the windows you see the Sierra de Ujué: the medieval village of Ujué, with its fortress church, is about 20 km away by mountain road and makes a good mid-morning excursion.
Getting there
Without a car, the Pamplona bus stops in Olite and the hotel is in the old town, on foot. By car, remember that the old town is narrow: ask the hotel where to leave it before you go into the streets. The address is Rúa de la Judería, 11; telephone, 948 740 735.
Who it suits
It suits couples who come to Olite to see the palace and drink Navarre wine, and anyone who wants to have dinner and a drink without leaving the hotel.
- **Hotel El Juglar** (Small hotel): A mansion with a pool
El Juglar is a mansion with a garden and private pool on Rúa Romana, next to Olite's historic old town. According to the hotel, the building was the seat of the former court of the kings of Navarre; today it combines modern facilities with architecture that respects its surroundings. It is a quiet house a step from the medieval streets, with its own garden and pool.
Rooms
It has nine rooms, each of a different size and decor, all with a large, well-equipped bathroom. There are doubles, doubles for single use, a superior double with a terrace and a junior suite with a jacuzzi; some have their own terrace and a hydromassage bath for two. The website does not publish rates or check-in and check-out times: you book with the form on its website, on 948 741 855 or at reservas@hoteleljuglar.com.
If you are travelling as a couple and want to treat yourselves, ask for the junior suite or a room with a terrace; if you are on your own, there is the double for single use.
Facilities
The private garage has lift access, an advantage in a village of narrow streets: you leave the car and go up with your suitcase without circling the old town. There is also a lift in the hotel, laundry, room and bar service, reading lounges with a fireplace, a television room, a small snack bar for dinner without going out and a dining room with a fireplace where breakfast is served. Wifi covers the whole hotel, including the garden, where there is a sunny porch beside the pool. For meetings it has a room with a projector and screen.
The website does not say in which months the pool is open, nor the pet policy.
Eating at the hotel
The hotel publishes two menus: the seasonal tasting menu, for €38, and the festive menu, for €48. It does not detail the dishes. For something lighter, the snack bar lets you have dinner without going out. El Juglar belongs to the same group as the Hotel Merindad de Olite, with its wine bar and restaurant, and as the Restaurante Merindad de Olite, so you have more of the house's options a few minutes on foot away.
What is nearby
The Royal Palace of Olite, built by Charles III the Noble in the 15th century, is a few minutes' walk away; in autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30. In the old town there are also the church of Santa María la Real, the Chapitel tower and Plaza de Carlos III. For wine, the Enozentrum is open at weekends and Bodegas Ochoa shows its winery with a tasting. And about 20 km away, by mountain road, is Ujué.
Who it suits
It is convenient for anyone travelling by car who does not want to wrestle with the old town, for couples looking for a room with a jacuzzi or terrace, and for anyone who wants a summer afternoon by the pool after seeing the palace.

## Car-free: By bus from Pamplona, and everything on foot
Olite is one of the few destinations in the area that works well without a car. The Grupo Interbus line 320-321-322 links Pamplona, Tafalla and Olite with several departures a day, and the palace, churches, the village's wineries and the restaurants are a few minutes' walk apart.
Presupuesto orientativo: 80–140 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Parador de Olite-Erriberri** (Hotel): The Parador occupies the Old Palace of Olite, the oldest part of the castle-palace of the kings of Navarre, which Charles III the Noble rebuilt in the French taste. Its wall-sharing neighbour is the New Palace, the one you visit, and on the other side is the church of Santa María la Real. At the base of the towers you can still see remains of the Roman praesidium on which it all was built. The address is Plaza de los Teobaldos, 2, right in the centre.
Door to door with the Royal Palace
The practical thing about sleeping here is that you do not have to move the car all day. The Royal Palace is next door: in autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30, with an entry fee of €4.40. The tourist office is at number 4 of the same square and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. The church of Santa María, with its Gothic doorway, is visited Tuesday to Sunday for €2. The old town, with its streets, medieval galleries and Plaza de Carlos III, can be walked in a short while.
Standard, superior and accessible rooms
Paradores offers three types of room: standard, superior and adapted for people with reduced mobility. All have a minibar, flat-screen television and free wifi. The hotel has room service, laundry and a shop. If you want views of the towers or a particular room, ask when you book: the Paradores website does not publish which rooms face which side.
The Parador's table
The restaurant cooks Navarrese recipes with local produce; one of its dishes is natural pochas with quails stewed in red wine. For a change, in the old town you have the Asador Erri Berri, a grill, a couple of minutes away, and the wine shop Reyna de Copas on Plaza de Carlos III for a tasting before dinner.
Arriving by car or bus
Olite is 5 km from Tafalla and about 40 km from Pamplona; the main access is the N-121. Without a car, bus line 321 leaves from Pamplona station and reaches Olite in under an hour, with stops a few minutes' walk from the Parador: you will find the timetables on the page for the Pamplona – Olite bus. Ask when booking where to leave the car: the Parador's page does not give details. Telephone, 948 740 000; email, olite@parador.es.
- **Hotel Merindad de Olite** (Small hotel): On the wall
The Merindad de Olite is a small hotel restored among the remains of the Roman wall, on Rúa de la Judería, in the old town, next to the Royal Palace of the kings of Navarre. The entrance opens onto the old town streets, but the windows look mostly towards the palace and the Sierra de Ujué. It is a hotel for sleeping inside medieval Olite and going out on foot to everything.
Rooms
It has ten rooms, each individually styled and all with a balcony and views. They are doubles and one junior suite. The website does not detail the size or equipment of each, nor publish rates: booking is done through its booking engine, which also handles cancellations, or by writing to reservas@hotelmerindaddeolite.com. Nor does it give check-in and check-out times, breakfast, parking or pet policy, so ask before you confirm the booking, especially if you are travelling by car or with a dog.
With only ten rooms, it is wise to book ahead at weekends and bridge holidays.
Eating and drinking
The hotel has three spaces. The wine bar and gastrobar is a corner devoted to wine where you can taste a selection of Navarre wines with tapas, toasts and sharing plates. The restaurant, small, serves market and seasonal cooking with Navarre produce, mixing traditional cooking with current creative touches; it publishes neither hours nor prices. And the terrace, quiet and with panoramic views, is for taking the sun or a glass of wine, especially on summer evenings.
The hotel is part of the Merindad de Olite group, along with the Hotel El Juglar, on Rúa Romana, and the Restaurante Merindad de Olite.
What is on your doorstep
The Royal Palace is a few steps away. In autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30; general admission costs €4.40. Attached to the palace is the church of Santa María la Real, with its sculpted doorway. The Enozentrum, the wine culture centre, is open at weekends and is free, and in the village there are wineries you can visit, such as Bodegas Ochoa or the Cosecheros Reunidos cooperative.
From the windows you see the Sierra de Ujué: the medieval village of Ujué, with its fortress church, is about 20 km away by mountain road and makes a good mid-morning excursion.
Getting there
Without a car, the Pamplona bus stops in Olite and the hotel is in the old town, on foot. By car, remember that the old town is narrow: ask the hotel where to leave it before you go into the streets. The address is Rúa de la Judería, 11; telephone, 948 740 735.
Who it suits
It suits couples who come to Olite to see the palace and drink Navarre wine, and anyone who wants to have dinner and a drink without leaving the hotel.
- **Hotel El Juglar** (Small hotel): A mansion with a pool
El Juglar is a mansion with a garden and private pool on Rúa Romana, next to Olite's historic old town. According to the hotel, the building was the seat of the former court of the kings of Navarre; today it combines modern facilities with architecture that respects its surroundings. It is a quiet house a step from the medieval streets, with its own garden and pool.
Rooms
It has nine rooms, each of a different size and decor, all with a large, well-equipped bathroom. There are doubles, doubles for single use, a superior double with a terrace and a junior suite with a jacuzzi; some have their own terrace and a hydromassage bath for two. The website does not publish rates or check-in and check-out times: you book with the form on its website, on 948 741 855 or at reservas@hoteleljuglar.com.
If you are travelling as a couple and want to treat yourselves, ask for the junior suite or a room with a terrace; if you are on your own, there is the double for single use.
Facilities
The private garage has lift access, an advantage in a village of narrow streets: you leave the car and go up with your suitcase without circling the old town. There is also a lift in the hotel, laundry, room and bar service, reading lounges with a fireplace, a television room, a small snack bar for dinner without going out and a dining room with a fireplace where breakfast is served. Wifi covers the whole hotel, including the garden, where there is a sunny porch beside the pool. For meetings it has a room with a projector and screen.
The website does not say in which months the pool is open, nor the pet policy.
Eating at the hotel
The hotel publishes two menus: the seasonal tasting menu, for €38, and the festive menu, for €48. It does not detail the dishes. For something lighter, the snack bar lets you have dinner without going out. El Juglar belongs to the same group as the Hotel Merindad de Olite, with its wine bar and restaurant, and as the Restaurante Merindad de Olite, so you have more of the house's options a few minutes on foot away.
What is nearby
The Royal Palace of Olite, built by Charles III the Noble in the 15th century, is a few minutes' walk away; in autumn 2026 it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30. In the old town there are also the church of Santa María la Real, the Chapitel tower and Plaza de Carlos III. For wine, the Enozentrum is open at weekends and Bodegas Ochoa shows its winery with a tasting. And about 20 km away, by mountain road, is Ujué.
Who it suits
It is convenient for anyone travelling by car who does not want to wrestle with the old town, for couples looking for a room with a jacuzzi or terrace, and for anyone who wants a summer afternoon by the pool after seeing the palace.
### Servicios
- **Bus Pamplona – Tafalla – Olite**: Trunk line 320-321-322 of Grupo Interbus (NBus) · Several departures a day

## As a family: A real castle to explore

The Royal Palace of Olite looks as if a child had drawn it: towers, battlements, spiral staircases, passageways and hanging gardens. It is one of the castles in Spain that works best with kids, and the village can be toured without a car.

### What works best
The Royal Palace with its towers; on set dates, a family visit or a dramatised children's one

The Rutas Vivamus guided visit, free for under-6s

The Marco Topo game around the old town, free with your phone

The Pitillas lagoon with binoculars

### Where to sleep
Hotel El Juglar, with a garden and pool

Parador de Olite, inside the palace

### Where to eat
Asador Erri Berri, two minutes from the palace

### Worth knowing
The tower staircases are narrow: do not take a pushchair up

At the Ochoa winery children aged 4 to 17 pay €6

### Qué hacer as a family
- Royal Palace of Olite
- Guided tour of Olite and its Royal Palace
- Visit and tasting at Bodegas Ochoa
- Pitillas Lagoon and its bird observatory

## Consejos

### Buy the palace ticket on the website
Especially at weekends and if you want a guided visit, which has fixed times.

### Climb the towers
From the Four Winds tower you see the village and the vineyards of the Ribera.

### Ask for the Marco Topo game map
It is a free game for exploring medieval Olite as a family, with your phone; the map is at the tourist office.

### Book the winery in advance
Winery visits are by appointment and some only on certain days.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does it cost to enter the Royal Palace of Olite?
General admission costs €4.40 and reduced €2.50. The guided visit, €7.50 and €5.50; the audio guide, €4.

### What are the Royal Palace's opening hours?
In autumn 2026, every day from 10:00 to 18:00; from 1 December, from 9:30 to 17:30.

### Can you go to Olite without a car?
Yes, by bus from Pamplona on line 320-321-322 of Grupo Interbus. The village is explored on foot.

### What is there to see near Olite?
Ujué, a medieval village on top of a hill; the Pitillas lagoon, with a bird observatory; the monastery of La Oliva, in Carcastillo, and Artajona with its walled enclosure.

### Can you visit the medieval galleries?
According to the tourist office, in autumn 2026 they can only be seen from outside, from the grille door.