# December long weekend from Pamplona: from San Francisco Javier to the Immaculate Conception, with Constitution Day in between Seven getaways and plans from Pamplona for the Constitution and Immaculate Conception long weekend, which in Navarre begins on the 3rd with San Francisco Javier: the French Basque coast, the Bardenas, Burgos, Rioja Alavesa and snow. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/navarre/pamplona/getaways/december-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Pamplona - [Saint-Jean-de-Luz: harbour and a fish restaurant](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/saint-jean-de-luz-harbour-chipirones-and-corniche.md) (Day itinerary, French Basque Coast): Saint-Jean-de-Luz lights up Christmas at the end of November, and the Place Foch market opens every day of the long weekend. In France the 6th and 8th are working days: shops and market on normal hours, without the closing of a Spanish holiday. - [Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/winter-ainhoa-espelette-abbadia.md) (Day itinerary, French Basque Coast): In winter the Abbadia castle opens Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 to 18:00, with compulsory booking, and closes on Mondays. The La Rhune train is stopped from November to spring: this is the plan for the French Basque interior for those days. - [A night in the bubble at Hotel Aire de Bardenas, with the Bardena Blanca by 4x4 and Tudela](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/navarre/bardenas-reales/itineraries/one-night-in-a-bubble-and-desert-bardenas.md) (1 night, Bardenas Reales): In December the Bardenas are toured from 8:00 to an hour before dusk, and it gets dark before six: the 4x4 and Castildetierra, in the morning. The night in the bubble is one of the longest of the year; if it has rained a lot, some tracks close. - [Astún: three hours of lessons, all included](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/canfranc/itineraries/first-ski-at-astun-with-lesson.md) (Day itinerary, Canfranc, Candanchú and Astún): Astún sells an Immaculate Conception long-weekend package with hotel and Astún-Candanchú lift pass, but opening depends on the snow: check the report the night before. Parking is booked from €5 a day, and the school combines lesson, lift pass and equipment. - [Formigal: a day on the slopes and a grill at Sarrios](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/tena-valley/itineraries/skiing-at-formigal-and-grill-on-the-slopes.md) (Day itinerary, Tena Valley): Formigal-Panticosa sells stays for Constitution Day and the Immaculate Conception, although its pistes open when the snow allows. If it opens, it is the resort with the most kilometres two and a quarter hours from Pamplona; buy the lift pass online. - [A weekend in Burgos and Atapuerca, an hour and a half from Valladolid](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos/itineraries/night-with-atapuerca-from-valladolid.md) (1 night, Burgos): The Museum of Human Evolution has special Constitution long-weekend hours, with morning trips to the Atapuerca sites booked by phone (947 421 000). It is cold on the Trinchera in December: coat and field footwear. - [A weekend in the Rioja Alavesa, 45 minutes from Vitoria](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/rioja-alavesa-wine-weekend-laguardia.md) (1 night, Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa): On the night of 7 December, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, Lanciego, a quarter of an hour from Laguardia, lights the Marchos: bonfires in the streets, young wine and chestnuts. Sleep inside the wall that night and book the tastings beforehand. In Navarre the December long weekend begins earlier than in the rest of Spain. 3 December, San Francisco Javier, is Navarre Day and a holiday across the region; three days later comes Constitution Day, on the 6th, and two more after that the Immaculate Conception, on the 8th. Depending on how the week falls, there are years when a couple of days' leave are enough to link nearly a week, and others when it stays as two separate holidays. ## How the week falls in Navarre Look at that year's calendar first. If San Javier falls midweek, the Navarrese long weekend may be double: one at the start of the week and one at the end. From Pamplona that changes what suits: with single days, day plans to the French Basque coast or the Ribera; with four or five days, a two-night getaway to Burgos or the snow. Bear in mind that in the rest of Spain the long weekend starts on the 5th or 6th: on the 3rd and 4th, the road and accommodation are quieter for Navarrese. ## Across the border, Christmas on a working day In France neither 6 nor 8 December is a holiday, so shops, markets and restaurants open on normal hours. Saint-Jean-de-Luz lights up its Christmas at the end of November and has the Place Foch market open every day; the port and squid plan crosses it at lunchtime. Inland, Ainhoa and Espelette can be seen without crowds and the Abbadia castle, in Hendaye, opens in the afternoon with booking. The La Rhune train, on the other hand, stops in winter. ## Bardenas, Rioja Alavesa and Atapuerca The Bardenas Reales are a winter place: low light, little heat and few people. The problem is rain, which turns the clay tracks to mud and forces stretches to close; if it has rained for several days, leave the Bardenas for another weekend. In Rioja Alavesa, the night of the 7th is that of the Marchos de Lanciego, bonfires in the streets on the eve of the Immaculate Conception. And in Burgos, the Museum of Human Evolution has special long-weekend hours and trips to the Atapuerca sites that are booked by phone. ## Snow at Jaca and in the Tena valley From Pamplona, Candanchú and Astún are two hours away and Formigal a little more. The resorts sell long-weekend packages, but that does not ensure snow: in December sometimes everything is open and sometimes only the lower area. Check the report the night before and carry chains: the Somport pass and the access to Formigal often require them with the first snowfall. If there is no snow, the Abbadia or Saint-Jean-de-Luz plan works as an alternative for the same day. ## A first day of snow for children The Astún school package, with lesson, lift pass and equipment, is the simplest way for a child to try snow in a day. In the Bardenas, the hotel bubble appeals to them as much as the landscape. On the French coast, if it rains, the Biarritz aquarium is a quarter of an hour from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. ## Bubble, wall and sites: what to book The Bardenas bubble is the first thing to sell out, because there are few. Then accommodation inside the Laguardia wall and the visit to the Atapuerca sites, which has limited places. In the Pyrenees, the long-weekend hotel and lift pass packages sell weeks ahead. ## Irati and Ordesa, better in autumn and summer The Irati Forest is for October, with the beech wood in colour; in December the road may close because of snow. The Ordesa valley and the Aínsa canyons are for spring to autumn. And Biarritz with surf is better in September.