Day 158 : Olite

Olite is a 45 mins journey by bus from Pamplona, where I caught the 8.30am bus and arrived in at about 9.15am.

This town is very under the radar - I didn't know about it until a few weeks ago when I visited the Basque Musuem in Guernica, where at the museum there was a mock of the Olite castle, and so it went on my list of places to see.

It was rather quiet on the streets when I arrived, possibly it's still too early as most places of interest only starts opening at 10am.

So I popped into a café for a hot chocolate as I was feeling a little chilly, with scenes of lots of locals doing marketing in the morning on one of the narrow streets of the town of Olite. And also I needed to use the washroom! 😅

I next popped over to the town square. The 1st building is the Old Palace, which is now converted to a hotel (parador). The building next to it is Iglesia Santa María La Real.

They had built a cover to protect the delicate statue carvings from getting damaged, thus the façade is still in pretty good condition.

And at about 10am I went into the castle! 

The castle was the residence of the kings and queens of the kingdom of Navarre until its union with Castile in the 16th century. It was declared a National Monument in 1925.

I was given a brochure in English that provides brief information about the different sections while navigating around the castle.

This arched chamber was constructed purely for architectural purposes to withstand the weight of the Queen's small garden on the upper floor. The large arches support the platform on which the garden is located, making it a hanging garden.

It is now used as a stage for some theatre performances.

The Queen's Garden built directly above from the arched chamber no longer have the same plants and trees as before.

In 1813, during the War of Independence, the Palace was set on fire to prevent the French troops from taking a stronghold. As a result, all the furnishings and part of the structure were burned down, leaving the Palace semi-derelict and empty.

What we see here now is the efforts of a restoration project undertaken by the Provincial Council of Navarre which commenced in 1937 and lasted approximately 30 years.

What I enjoy about this castle is how almost everything is climbable including up all those towers, and there were many of them in this castle.

View of part of the tower

This tower is called "Four Winds Tower" or "Three Finestras" due to its three large Gothic windows.

From the tower, the king, queen and noblemen would watch the bull fights, jousts and tournaments held on the esplanade outside the Palace.

View from the top of the "Three Finestras" tower

This panoramic shot doesn't do it enough justice.

And then I saw cranes!  Including a crane flying back to its nest, though it seemed to had taken it a few attempts to get back into the nest. And food for the baby!

The Watch Tower. It has 3 levels inside. View from the top of Watch Tower

Three Crowns Tower, named due to the three octagonal shaped smaller sections at the top, with a view of the last tower to explore, which is also the tallest - "The Keep"

"The Keep" is about 40m high with also a different view from the rest of the other towers. It is also where the flag is flying high on "The Keep".

I spent almost 2 hours exploring the castle and glad that I got there when it opened. More people were streaming in as I was leaving, many with kids, since it is school holidays for the kids due to Easter being round the corner. I was probably the only non-European at the castle.

City Hall and view from City Hall

The town also had some bodegas (wineries) that can be visited. I didn't do a vineyard tour as I didn't have enough time but only did wine tasting. Bodegas Vega del Castillo is the 1st one.

This looks like the petrol pump, but it is actually to fill your own container with wines.

I asked them for recommendations of wine to try, and the staff said they are more popular for their Rosé. I didn't enjoy it too much, maybe it wasn't chilled enough.

Since they said Rosé is their most popular, I didn't see any point in trying any other wines from this bodega,

It was listed that wine tasting is €1 per glass, and I was going to pay but then the staff said it's free for me. My lucky day!

There's also 1 microbrewery in the city - El Holandes Errante Cervecera Artesana. They didn't run their tours today which usually would be when they will also give guests the chance to try a variety of their beers. So I just ordered a Roja on tap to try.

And then off to find some food. Found a bar and ordered a Foie Gras with bread and a croquette and a glass of Rosé. This Rosé was a lot better!

Foie plancha con pan bao y mermelada de higos, nueces y brandy (Foie Gras with Fig Jam, Nuts and Brandy in bread) €4

Croqueta Idiazabal y Chistorra €1.80

Rosé Vineda Cinco €2.50

And then off to another Bodega - Cosechero Reunidos Coop. I was given a Rosé, a standard red and then 2 more premium Reds.

The last one was the best of the lot, but in my opinion it's just an average grade of wine.

With all that liquor I needed more food badly to absorb the liquor and popped into another bar to get a sandwich and tortilla. 

I was certainly feeling high at this stage but I really wanted to try Ochoa, which is located slightly outside of the city, just 8 mins walk away.

I went for their premium flight of wine tasting. The most expensive wine I was given to try was €18.10 per bottle. They do have the best wines I've tried in Olite.

Besides wine, they also make their own olive oil.

And time to head back, as I caught the 4.15pm bus back, changing a bus in Tafalla and then to reach the city back around 5.15pm.

Olite had a lot more to offer than I expected and it had been a great day trip out!