When: July 6 to 14 every year. Fixed dates.
Tickets: Free to watch — Watching the run from the street is free; you can also buy a spot on a balcony overlooking the course through local operators. Bullfight tickets are sold separately.
What it is
Each morning bulls charge a fenced course through Pamplona's old town while runners sprint ahead, framed by a nine-day festival of music, fireworks and white-and-red crowds.
How to get started
- Decide to watch, not run — the run is genuinely dangerous, and most visitors watch.
- Book accommodation many months ahead; Pamplona is tiny and fills completely.
- Get the outfit — white clothes with a red sash and neckerchief — and stake out a spot early each morning.
Tickets & where to buy
Watching the run from the street is free; you can also buy a spot on a balcony overlooking the course through local operators. Bullfight tickets are sold separately.
- Where to stay
- Rooms are extremely scarce and expensive — book far ahead, or stay in a nearby town and travel in.
- First-timer tips
- The run lasts only a few minutes; claim a viewing spot well before 8am. The festival around it runs day and night.
- Watch out
- People are gored or injured most years. If you don't fully understand the risks and rules, watch rather than run.
Several of these festivals are tied to Easter or a lunar calendar, so the exact dates shift each year. Confirm the current year's dates and ticket on-sale times from the official source before you book flights.