Estella: Art, Romanesque architecture and the Way of St. James

Estella-Lizarra is a destination for travellers who want to take the town’s history, Romanesque architecture and the Way of St. James into account when choosing their stay. Cultural highlights include churches, a palace with a museum and a greenway along a former railway line. The town’s features offer a range of options to explore.

Getting to Estella-Lizarra

The Autovía del Camino (A-12) is the main road connection from Estella-Lizarra to Pamplona and Logroño. The town centre is also served by buses from Pamplona, Logroño, San Sebastián, Zaragoza and other places in the region. If you plan to travel by bus, check the timetables before your trip. For driving directions, the A-12 is the designated route towards Pamplona and Logroño. This lets you plan your journey according to your starting point and mode of transport before focusing on what you’d like to see locally.

Romanesque architecture, churches and museum

The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra, also known as the Palacio de los Duques de Granada de Ega, was built in the second half of the 12th century. It is considered the most important example of civil Romanesque architecture in Navarre. Since 1991, it has housed the artistic legacy of Gustavo de Maeztu (1887–1947) and is now home to the Museo Gustavo de Maeztu. Here, the history of a Romanesque palace meets the work of a painter from a much later period.

The Museo Gustavo de Maeztu displays works from every period of the painter’s career. These include drawings, etchings, lithographs and encaustic paintings, which offer insight into how his works were created. The range of media adds different forms of artistic practice to the experience of the collection.

The present-day church of Santa María Jus del Castillo is a single-nave Romanesque building dating from the late 12th or early 13th century. It stands on the site of a former synagogue in the Jewish quarter of Elgacena. The church building and the site’s former use point to different historical contexts in the same place.

The interior of the Iglesia de San Pedro de la Rúa also features architectural forms dating back to the last quarter of the 12th century. Its surviving capitals form one of the most important ensembles of Late Romanesque sculpture in Navarre. Together with the dating of Santa María, they offer a way to compare the different periods represented by Romanesque buildings in Estella-Lizarra.

The Way of St. James and the former railway line

Estella-Lizarra is considered a typical town on the Way of St. James. Its development was shaped by the growth of trade along the pilgrimage route. The Vía Verde del Ferrocarril Vasco-Navarro tells another story of transport routes: it follows the former railway line of the “Trenico”, which connected Estella-Lizarra with Gipuzkoa via Vitoria-Gasteiz from 1927 to 1967.

Estella-Lizarra is one of the starting points of the 123.5-kilometre-long linear Vía Verde del Vasco Navarro. This is distinct from the three-kilometre section through the town, which follows the River Ega and the course of the former railway there. The total length describes the linear route; the shorter section, by contrast, describes its course through the town. Check the current route conditions before setting out.

Festivals and local cuisine

Estella-Lizarra’s patron saint festivals are celebrated in honour of Saint Andrew and the Virgen del Puy. Each festival includes the Baile de la Era, which regularly takes place in the early hours of the morning in the Plaza de los Fueros. If you’re interested in local festival culture, this tradition offers a specific glimpse into the patron saint festival programme. One of the dishes associated with Estella-Lizarra is Gorrín asado, roast suckling pig.

Discover more destinations: Arano, Milagro, Muneta, Ollo, Lizaso, Iza, Barañáin, Larraga.

For the main travel overview: Navarre.