Sunday in Olite: a king's towers, Navarrese chargrill and a village on high.

Olite is the town of the Royal Palace that Charles III the Noble had built in the 15th century: a castle of towers, courtyards and hanging gardens that you see from top to bottom. It is 40 km from Pamplona, in the Zona Media of Navarre, among vineyards. This Sunday starts at the towers, continues through the medieval rúas and a space devoted to the local wine, stops at a grill house on the Rúa Mayor and ends at Ujué, a village hanging from a hill with a fortress-church from which you can see half of Navarre.

The day, hour by hour

9:30 · Set off. From Pamplona, about 40 minutes on the AP-15 or the N-121. Park outside the old town and walk in.

10:15 · Royal Palace. In autumn 2026 it opens every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 December from 9:30 to 17:30. Admission costs €4.40, €2.50 reduced. There are royal chambers, the orange tree courtyard, the ice well, the gardens with a hundred-year-old mulberry and three towers you can climb: the Homage Tower, the Three Crowns Tower and the Four Winds Tower. Climb first, before the groups arrive. There are guided visits every day for €7.50.

12:00 · The rúas and Santa María. The Chapitel tower, which was a gate of the town, Plaza de Carlos III and the Gothic church of Santa María, attached to the palace, with its sculpted doorway. On Sundays it opens from 11:00 to 14:00, for €2. The medieval galleries are seen from the grille.

12:45 · Enozentrum. Next to the tourist office, the Government of Navarre's space on the local wine. It is free and on Sundays opens from 10:00 to 14:00.

13:30 · Lunch at Asador Erri Berri. On the corner of the Rúa del Fondo and the Rúa Mayor: chargrilled beef chuletón, artichokes with beltza mushrooms, Tudela lettuce hearts with anchovy, smoked cristal pepper. On Sundays it serves lunch from 13:00 to 15:30 and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Book online or by WhatsApp.

16:00 · Ujué. About 20 km on a mountain road, via San Martín de Unx: half an hour. Park at the entrance and walk up the steep streets to Santa María la Real. The church and the sentry walk open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00, approximate hours, for €2.

18:00 · Head home. In Pamplona around seven.

With a guide, on a Saturday or in winter

Rutas Vivamus runs a guided visit of Olite and its palace with an official Navarre guide, an hour and a half, for €12 adults and €7 for ages 6 to 13, with admission included: check their calendar and book online. If the plan is on a Saturday, Bodegas Ochoa, a family winery from 1843 a short walk from the centre, shows the winery and vineyard with a tasting of four wines from €25; it does not do visits on Sundays. In winter, the Pitillas lagoon, to the south, has a bird observatory open at weekends from 10:00 to 14:00.

With children

The palace works very well with children: spiral staircases, towers, passageways and gardens. Ujué, with its slopes, is better with a baby carrier than a pushchair.