The Festival of San Fermin or the Pamplona Bull Run is about as mad a festival as you can get. It starts at midday on July the 6th each year.
In short it involves letting a herd of bulls loose in the streets of Pamplona whilst a large group of people try and out run them!
Ok its not quite as bad as that, only the people who want to out run the bulls are in the streets and the Bulls are not allowed to roam freely. They are run along an 800m stretch on their way to the towns bullring.
Most of the people in the chase are locals and doing the Bull Run in Pamplona is a sign of virility and manhood. The run starts at 8am and if you havent ran for ages or you are not that fit then I wouldnt even dream about joining in.
The night before you can also witness a smaller invitation only bull run and although it is along a shorter course it is held in the dark at 11pm at night.
Although the main focus of the Festival of San Fermin is the Bull Run the whole event actually lasts for eight or nine days and usually involves a lot of fireworks, drinking, singing and dancing.
You will find Pamplona in Northern Spain not far from the French Border. It is around 159 kms from Bilbao and 400 kms from Madrid and Barcelona.
If you are in the vicinity of Northern Spain or South Western France around the 6th July each week then a trip to the Festival of San Fermin is well worth it.
