Puente San Pablo

The Puente de San Pablo is one of the main crossings of the Arlanzón River, which runs through Burgos, and it links the old city centre on the north bank with the opposite side near the Plaza de Mio Cid. A medieval bridge stood here, and the structure that remains today carries a reputation as one of the oldest in the city, though it has been rebuilt and altered over the centuries, so the stonework combines several periods. It takes its name from the former convent and church of San Pablo, which stood nearby.

What gives the bridge its character is the group of statues along its parapets. The sculptures show figures from the story of El Cid, the eleventh-century Castilian knight Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who is linked to Burgos by birth tradition and legend. They were added in the twentieth century and show the hero together with members of his circle, and they are the reason many visitors stop on the bridge rather than simply cross it. A monument to the Cid himself, on a horse with sword raised, stands in the square at the end of the bridge, and the two together make a small open-air tribute to the city’s most famous medieval figure. The poem of El Cid, the Cantar de Mio Cid, is among the earliest surviving works of Spanish literature, and Burgos is its main setting.

The bridge is a good vantage point. Looking along the river you see the tree-lined paths of the Paseo del Espolón, the arches of the Santa María gateway and, above the roofs, the pale spires of Burgos Cathedral. The bridge forms part of a walking route that connects the main landmarks of the old centre, and in the evening the lighting on the stonework and statues gives the crossing a different atmosphere.

Crossing is free and the bridge is open as a public thoroughfare at all hours. It is short, so it fits easily into a stroll between the cathedral and the river or on the way to the Museo de la Evolución Humana, which is on the same riverbank. The nearby Iglesia de San Pelayo and the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas offer other stops in a longer day.

Burgos also lies on the Camino de Santiago, so you may see pilgrims with scallop shells passing across the same river on their way through the city. Early morning is the best time for photographs, with softer light and fewer people.