A stroll through La Taconera gardens or along many of the main thoroughfares reveals the city’s efforts to promote sustainability, with more than 60,000 trees (roughly one for every three inhabitants) and 300 hectares of green area, as well as fifty-six kilometres of bicycle lanes. The report shows that 98 per cent of Pamplona’s citizenry, who enjoy an average 84.4-year life expectancy, consider it a wonderful place to live. Pamplona’s cultural and education facilities, with its twelve museums and three university campuses, are without equal for a Spanish city of its size. Moreover, more than half of the population have a higher education or university degree. Residents enjoy a sense of peace and well-being, thanks to the low crime rate and an effective system of policing.

The cultural life of the city comes into its own outside of the juggernaut which is the San Fermin fiesta, which, although retaining some of its longstanding traditions and charm with parades, Basque sports and folk dancing, has been taken over by less traditional types of music blaring out from every bar and street corner almost twenty- four hours a day from 6th to 14th July.

Throughout the rest of the year, there is folk dancing in the main square on an almost weekly basis, parades by the town band, food festivals, craft fairs, art exhibitions and concerts by the highly acclaimed Pamplona Orféon chorus. One local business which is almost always busy is Stands de Navarra, which can always be seen working in the square, setting up the stands for the next book or crafts fair, or the stage for the next free concert.

This is definitely a case in which size matters. As a Londoner and part-time resident of Pamplona, I enthusiastically appreciate the fact that if I have arranged to meet someone for dinner at 9:00 p.m. I can happily leave home at 8:50 p.m., with time to spare. That said, I would almost certainly make my way down the 106 steps (the less said, the better, about the climb back to my flat after a night of dining and drinks) from my Pamplona home a bit earlier to indulge in the city’s renowned pintxos bars, a number of which have walked off with top prizes in national competitions.

Javier Cía Alcorta, owner of the landmark rare books and antiques shop Antigüedades Miqueleiz, is a pamplonés de pata negra, or dyed-in-the- wool native of Pamplona. He cites as one of the advantages of living in Pamplona the way the city facilitates moving about with ease, getting anywhere in a short space of time. ‘There is no doubt that this enables us to improvise with ease our daily plans, for business as well as leisure,’ he says. ‘This is a city with a wide range of services, notably schools, libraries, hospitals, clinics and other facilities, such as a wide choice of restaurants, musical events, courses and art exhibitions. It is also an easy base for a quick getaway into wilderness.’ Javier, like many of his fellow citizens, are satisfied with the local government’s efforts in preserving Pamplona’s heritage and historic buildings, along with its gardens and parks.

That leaves but one question: is anything missing in Pamplona? Sadly yes, I would say, it has to be Marmite. But no doubt El Corte Inglés, which already sells hummus, several varieties of bagels and Bovril, will before long be stocking this essential delicacy on their shelves.