Olite - Parador
For Monday (26.May) we had booked into the “Hostal Principe de Viana” in Olite in the district of Navarra. Little did we know that a small visual treat was waiting for us in this little town off the main drag just south of Pamplona.
We managed to get out of Barcelona in morning traffic via the “Diagonal” and a large number of round abouts while dodging at times agressive drivers in cars and on scooters. Once we got the direction signs to “AP2″ and Lleida / Zaragoza we knew we were on the right track and on our way out of town. Following the “A” roads via the two above and than in direction San Sebastian and Pamplona it was a matter of taking the right turn off to get on to the N121 in direction Olite.
The town - like many in this area is a mixture of old, new and newly renovated (restored?) old buildings.
Finding the “Parador” hotel was no problem with signs directing us at every intersection. Once we reached the “inner courtyard” it became obvious why it was impossible to get it on any street maps. The temporary parking (to unload our belongings) is part of an old inner park and no vehicles may be parked in it - so out of the big stone gate again and off to the parking lot down below the grounds.
Part of the “Hostal Principe de Viana” is an old medieval Castle (built by King Carlos III of Navarra in the early 1500’s and was his summer residence until his death in 1425) - carefully restored and converted into an excellent hotel with a newly built wing housing the accommodation. The rooms are styled and furnished to give an old fashioned (middle ages) impression with up-to-date modern conveniences. After a little relaxation and quick refreshing drink in the bar of the hotel it was time to do the usual exploration of the surrounds. To our surprise the town square next to the old church (currently being restored) is an excellent example of new and restored old buildings creating an old fashioned feel to go with the history of the Castle (the hotel) and the church.
My camera was running hot after a couple of hours of snapping everything in sight …..
Yes we did really like this little place - both the town Olite and the Parador Hotel including it’s locally influenced evening dinner menu (from 20:30 of course) and the rich buffet style breakfast in the morning.
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