Pamplona,Paris and possible Norway for 2 weeks
 

I need some advice regarding San Fermin festival. We would like to have a balcony for
the runs of the bulls and tickets for bull fights. We probably just like to spend 3 nights.
I haven't checked Norway yet. Any recomendation? We are travelling with 17 and 9 year
old girls.

<i>Any recomendation?</i>

browsing through some guidebooks could help you make a decision. Be aware that Norway is very expensive.

Norway isn't nearly as expensive as being in Pamplona for the fiesta.

You can try for next year, but those balcony rooms are extra expensive during San Fermin, if you can get them at all. There are not a lot of hotels with views and many people sleep in the parks. The local people know the value of a balcony view from their homes as well and charge for it.

I would also look at travel times between destrinations and see how much time is lost. Remember all the time getting to and from the airports, waiting, checking in, etc.

For Norway, the capital Oslo has much to it and is a good starting point. Many people then go west to the fjords etc.
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/

I live in Oslo and can give lots of tips about sights, restaurants, parks, beaches, excursions, day-trips etc. depending on your interests.

> Any recomendation?<

If you work at it, you could probably include Denmark, Finland and Sweden in your 2 weeks.

The kids will love that whirlwind trip.

Thanks for all your reply.

If you are asking about this year - I think you will find that all lodging in the town or nearby was reserved months ago. You would have to go next year. Also, this is not something I would take children to - given the reputation for blood and mass drunkenness.

If you want to spend 2 weeks in Paris and Norway you could do that - but even so you are VERY late making plans - and do realize that Norway is extremely expensive - for anything.

The Fiesta de San Fermín is very much a family festival for those who seem ignorant of the facts. It's also very much a Basque festival and the city is filled with children, all dressed in the traditional costume of white and red. Although there is a separate festival just for the younger children, you'll find hundreds of them anywhere the Giants and Big Heads, Kilikis and Zaldikos happen to be during the day.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10103797...ts/BZsUkyRPNih

It's also true that a lot of the younger visitors from throughout Spain, as well as elsewhere (especially the UK and Australia), tend to get carried away at times. They are tolerated, but only to an extent. Most last only a few days before fading away.

As far as accommodations go, yes, nearly every hotel in the city is reporting 100% occupancy for the opening weekend and are nearly full for the closing weekend this year.

Robert2533

While San Fermin is celebrated by Basques, you know Hemingway ruined it for you years ago. It is known to attract thrill seekers from around the world so the actual rnunning with the bulls has become extremely crowded and more dangerous. And during San Fermin people are drunk and sleep in the park and elsewhere.

There are also others towns that do the same but not with noterity of Pamplona.

Years ago before medical advancements, they would say that it is not the corneada that would kill you but the s--t on the tip on the horn. That is also a good life lesson.

I'm sorry BigAleinstein, but you have not idea what you're talking about. Papa didn't ruin the fiesta, he only exposed it to the world at large. The encierro has been crowded since the early 90's when the Brits started to arrive, and yes, the tip of the horn is still deadly, but if treated properly, not a major problem. The number of foreigners still numbers less that 5% of the total number of people visiting Pamplona for the fiesta. Most come from Navarra, the Basque country (Spain and France), Aragon, Catalunya and Madrid.

People sleeping in the park are accepted. The other towns that do the encierro are not quite the same as Pamplona, regardless of what you hear.

The University of Navarra has one of the best trauma care facilities in southern Europe and Zaragoza is well know for it's care of matadors who have been injured. El Juli was treated there last month for a severe horn wound he sustained in Sevilla during feria and will be fighting in Pamplona on the 10th and 12th during Sanfermines 2013.

You should read what I actually wrote, not what you thought I wrote.

BTW, here is a verbatim exceprt from the newspaper article cited below:

The runs attract more than 2,000 people every morning of the nine-day fiesta. Many are young foreigners, drawn to an event made famous by Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 book The Sun Also Rises.

Local authorities warn that foreigners are more likely to injure themselves by drinking too much or indulging in other notoriously dangerous San Fermin rituals — such as drunken jumps off local monuments into the arms of people waiting below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...itons-american

Robert

Do you have an economic interest or connection to Spanish tourism in general and Pamplona specifically?

Sorry, but I have been part of the fiesta for more years then I can remember and have done more then my share of runs, officially retiring in 2006, while many of my amigos still run. The encirro attracts far more on the 7th, often more than 4000, most too stupid to know what's going on. Sometime we hope there will be more injuries, but hopefully it never happens.

If you were actually aware of the situation in Pamplona, there is only one hotel with balconies overlooking the route do the encirro, the Gran Hotel La Perla. The hotel requires a 5- day minimum for the opening days do the fiesta, a minimum of 1100€ /night for 5 nights. The Europa has a couple of rooms, but they belong to the family.

My interest in Pamplona is its is my second home and has been for more then 40 years.