Cathedral of the Savior and the Holy Spirit

This is the cathedral of Pamplona, whose proper name is the Cathedral of Santa María la Real, in the old quarter of the city. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela, and it has been the main church of Navarre for centuries.

The cathedral is best understood through its parts. The church itself is Gothic, built mainly in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries on the site of an older Romanesque cathedral, and its interior is lofty and simple, with ribbed vaults and slender pillars. The neoclassical west façade, with twin towers in the Neoclassical style, was added in the late eighteenth century and gives a contrast with the interior that many visitors find striking. The result is a building in which Romanesque traces, Gothic structure and neoclassical front each tell a different part of the story, with later Renaissance additions in some of the chapels and furnishings.

The cloister is the highlight for many. It is one of the finest Gothic cloisters in Europe, with fine tracery windows, carved capitals and a quiet garden in the middle, and the way the light falls through the openings on to the stone galleries gives it a serene, elegant feel. Doorways from the cloister lead to chapels and to rooms that were once used by the cathedral’s clergy, including a refectory and a kitchen that now form part of the museum. In the cathedral’s museum, altarpieces, paintings, sculpture, goldwork and manuscripts show the artistic heritage of the region.

Pamplona Cathedral is also tied to the history of the Kingdom of Navarre, since kings were crowned and buried here, and to the Camino de Santiago, as Pamplona is one of the main stages on the French Way. Pilgrims often stop to visit the church and to have their credentials stamped. The old town around it, with the city walls, the Plaza del Castillo and the Parque de la Taconera, can be explored on foot, and the Navarre Museum and the palace of the kings of Navarre are within reach.

Opening hours and tickets vary by season, and some days the cathedral is closed to visitors. Check the official site and allow about an hour and a half.