Olite in 30 seconds
4,087 inhabitants (INE 2024), 42 km from Pamplona, in the Zona Media and the merindad of Olite. Basque name: Erriberri. A royal town clustered around its monumental palace.
A little history
621: according to tradition, the Visigothic king Suintila ‘founds’ Oligicus (or Ologite).
1147: García IV Ramírez grants Olite its first fuero (charter).
1387–1425: reign of Charles III the Noble, who makes the palace a permanent royal residence. A refined court: hanging gardens nearly 20 m high, lead water pipes (1409, 1414) and a menagerie (including a lion given by the King of Aragon, camels, parrots and an African buffalo).
1407: Charles III creates the merindad of Olite.
1512: Castilian invasion, the start of Navarre’s political decline.
1813: during the Peninsular War, the guerrilla leader Espoz y Mina has the palace set on fire to stop the French from fortifying it.
1925: the palace and the church of Santa María la Real are declared a national monument.
1937: the major restoration begins, led by the architects José and Javier Yárnoz.
What to see
The Royal Palace (Palacio Real)
THE monument, the most visited in Navarre (more than 260,000 visitors in 2024). Built on a 13th-century fortress that itself stood on Roman remains, it is one of the great examples of civil Gothic architecture in Europe, French-inspired with Mudéjar decoration. It is divided between the Old Palace (now a parador hotel) and the New Palace, which is open to visitors. Many towers: Torre de la Vit (40 m), Torre del Homenaje (the tallest), Tres Coronas and Cuatro Vientos (from which tournaments were watched). Also worth seeing: the windows set on squinches, the orange-tree courtyard, the ice house with its eggshell-shaped lid and, in the gardens, a black mulberry tree planted, according to tradition, by Charles III, and a natural monument since 1991. A 15th-century German traveller claimed that no king had a finer palace.
Santa María la Real church
Adjoining the palace, a delicate example of Navarrese Gothic: a doorway with restored polychrome and a Renaissance altarpiece.
San Pedro church
On the Rúa Mayor, among the Renaissance and baroque palaces.
The Enozentrum
Olite’s wine culture centre: tastings and workshops.
The city walls
Medieval walls on Roman foundations.
The medieval galleries
Underground galleries beneath the main square, open to visitors since 1987.
The royal town (old town)
Lanes, old houses, a medieval atmosphere. Wandering around without a map is the best plan.
Navarra DO wine
Olite is home to the headquarters of the Regulatory Council (Consejo Regulador) of the Navarra designation and to the Navarre oenology station; the town lies in the Ribera Alta sub-zone. Authorised red grape varieties: garnacha, tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, graciano… Long known above all for its rosés, the region also produces quality reds and whites.
Local specialities
- Menestra de verduras — a vegetable dish
- DO Navarra wine
Where to stay
- Parador de Olite — housed in the Old Palace (Palacio Viejo) since 1966
Getting there
- By car: from Pamplona (42 km)
One-day itinerary
- Morning: the Royal Palace
- Lunch: in the old town
- Afternoon: the medieval town + Santa María and San Pedro churches, the medieval galleries
Classical theatre festival (July)
Every year, around the second half of July, Olite hosts a classical theatre festival. Medieval festivals also liven up the town on weekends in August.
My favourite photo
The royal palace at sunset — towers silhouetted against an orange sky, a fairy-tale atmosphere. Or the vineyards around Olite in autumn.
Sources
- Visit Navarra (Navarre tourist board) — Olite
- Wikipedia (in Spanish): Olite (INE 2024 population), Royal Palace of Olite, Navarra (wine)
Ongi etorri Erriberrira — Welcome to Olite.