Puente la Reina / Gares

The town is laid out around the Calle Mayor, the main street and social and economic heart of the charter town, which has always witnessed the constant coming and going of people of every social standing and origin. The street is lined with the striking frontages and eaves of the buildings on either side. Several turrets of the town walls can be seen between its houses.

The Parish Church of Santiago on the same street is a must see. The Romanesque structure, even though its origin is earlier, is noted for its two beautiful Romanesque portals, one of which is highly decorated, and a striking cusped arch and the Gothic carvings of St. Bartholomew and of St. James Beltza (‘black’ in Basque), so called because of its dark colour prior to being restored.

At the entrance to Puente la Reina, there is the pilgrim hostel at the Convent of the Poor Clares, next to the Church of the Crucifix, a late Romanesque building from the 12th century, extended in the 14th and founded by the Templars. It is named after a Gothic carving of Christ Crucified from Germany.

Wandering through its streets transports you back to the town’s past when it grew up around the Way of St. James and the river.

Puente celebrates the festivities of its patron saint, St. James, on 25 July.