Gastronomic tourism

The north is synonymous with mountains, rivers, forests and green valleys. The ideal place for the local breeds farmed to bring us delicious rib-eye steaks and lamb cutlets, for duck and game (try the pigeon, partridge or venison when they are in season), and for trout and river-caught salmon.

From the forests, a great variety of wild mushrooms; and from the local vegetable gardens, those black beans that taste so good in winter. And let’s not forget the local dairy products: D.O. Roncal and Idiazabal cheese, junket and artisanal cakes and desserts. Are you going to leave without trying the pastry horns, the delicious goxua or the txantxigorri cakes?

You can find all the flavours of Navarre in Pamplona, from the vegetables grown on the banks of the Ebro to the stews from the mountains. And these in both their most traditional and their most innovative forms, because there are restaurants for all tastes and budgets.

And that’s not to forget the products from the Pamplona Basin itself, like roast lamb, relleno (a sausage made with egg and rice) and txistorra sausage, a local fresh sausage you can try and buy in the local markets and gourmet shops.

Well, now you know; whatever you do, don’t leave Pamplona without going out for pintxos.

The Central Zone, garnished with gentle hills and fields of grain, smacks of the Mediterranean, of D.O. Navarra and Rioja wines, wheat flour bread and olive oil.

But it is also the home of one of Navarre’s most prized, and hidden, treasures, the black truffle; and of irrigation farming, which turns out piquillo peppers, asparagus and Sangüesa’s delicious potxas beans; of shepherd’s cheese and of mouth-watering roast suckling pig.

Everything is just begging you to seat yourself at a table.

And finally, the Ribera, the banks of the River Ebro, that prodigious vegetable garden which holds so many treasures in store. Its produce is even praised by the world-famous chef Ferran Adrià.

Its star products are asparagus, sweet red peppers and internationally renowned wines, artichokes, gem lettuces and olive oil. The best thing is that, thanks to the area’s booming food processing sector, all these products can be enjoyed at any time of year.

And for perfect pairing, one of the local wines.