Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite

Listen for a moment. Swallows cut across the sky between the towers, and their calls bounce off the honey-coloured stone. Under your feet, the paving is worn smooth by centuries of steps. Above you, the walls rise in a crowd of towers, battlements and narrow windows. Some are square, some are octagonal, and some are crowned with pointed roofs. Few castles in Europe look quite like this one. It looks less like a single fortress and more like a small walled city of towers.

You are standing at the Palace of the Kings of Navarre, in the town of Olite, which locals also call Erriberri in the Basque language. Navarre was once an independent kingdom. It stretched across the western Pyrenees, between the lands that became Spain and France. For several centuries its kings moved between residences. And Olite, in the warm, flat south of the kingdom, became one of their favourite places to live.

The palace you see today owes most of its shape to one man. He was King Charles the Third of Navarre, remembered as Charles the Noble. He ruled in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Charles was not mainly a warrior king. He preferred diplomacy, ceremony and comfort. He had travelled and lived in France, and he had seen the elegant courts of Paris. He wanted a home that could stand beside them. So he rebuilt and expanded an older royal residence here into something new.

And here is the first surprise. This castle was built mostly for pleasure, not for war. Yes, there are battlements and towers. But many of those towers held bedrooms, galleries, chapels and small private rooms with views. The walls announced power, but the life inside was about music, feasts and conversation. Historians often describe it as a palace in the shape of a castle. That idea helps explain the playful, almost fairy-tale outline you see from the street.

Charles brought in craftsmen from many places. Builders, carpenters, painters and glaziers came from across Navarre and beyond. Some of them worked in the Mudéjar style. Mudéjar is the name for the art of Muslim craftsmen working in Christian Spain. It is known for geometric patterns, carved plaster and painted wooden ceilings. Records and surviving fragments show that the rooms were once bright with colour. Glazed tiles, gilded ceilings and coloured glass filled the interiors.

Now, a second surprise. The palace had hanging gardens. They were planted high up, on terraces and between the towers. Visitors could walk among fruit trees, flowers and vines above the level of the town. Accounts from the period also describe a royal menagerie. The court kept exotic animals here, and lions are often mentioned. Some sources even speak of more unusual creatures from Africa. The details vary between tellings, so treat the longest lists with a little caution. But the picture is clear: this was a place built to amaze guests.

Charles shared this home with his queen, Eleanor of Castile. Her presence still shapes how people talk about the palace. Some rooms and spaces are traditionally linked to her, including areas known as the queen's quarters and garden. As you move through the complex, imagine a royal household of family, servants, musicians and visiting nobles. The narrow staircases and small doors once carried a constant flow of people between the towers.

In 1512, Navarre lost its independence. Troops of Ferdinand of Aragon conquered the kingdom, and it was joined to the Crown of Castile. The kings no longer lived here. Without a royal court, the palace slowly lost its purpose. Rooms emptied. Repairs became rare. Over the following centuries, the great residence became a quiet shell in a small farming town.

The hardest blow came in 1813, during the Peninsular War against Napoleon's armies. Spanish guerrilla fighters set fire to the palace. Their aim was to stop French troops from using it as a stronghold. The fire destroyed roofs, floors and much of the decoration inside. For more than a century afterwards, the towers stood open to the sky. Plants grew in the halls, and local people took stone for their own buildings.

So much of what you see is the result of a major restoration. Work began in the late 1930s and continued for decades. The restorers rebuilt walls, towers and roofs, using old descriptions and the surviving ruins as guides. Not everyone agrees with every choice they made. Some critics feel parts were rebuilt too freely. As you walk, try to spot the difference. Older stone often looks darker and more weathered. Restored sections tend to look cleaner and more regular.

The complex has two main parts. The oldest section, often called the Old Palace, now serves as a Parador. Paradors are state-run hotels in historic Spanish buildings, so travellers can still sleep inside these walls. The larger New Palace, built for Charles the Noble, is the part open to visitors. Right beside it stands the Church of Santa María la Real. Its Gothic doorway is covered with carved figures and deserves a few minutes of its own.

Inside the New Palace, the real pleasure is climbing. Spiral staircases lead up into the towers. Some steps are steep and narrow, so take your time. From the top, you can see the red tile roofs of Olite below. Beyond them, vineyards and fields spread across the plain. This part of Navarre is known for its wine, and the town has a long tradition of grape growing. On a clear day, the light turns the whole landscape gold.

As you leave, walk slowly through the streets around the palace. Olite keeps much of its medieval street plan, with narrow lanes, stone houses and old gateways. In summer, the town often holds a medieval festival, when costumes and market stalls fill these same streets. But even on an ordinary day, the past feels close here.

Before you go, turn back once more. Look at the towers against the sky, with their different heights and shapes. A king built them for beauty and delight. War and neglect nearly erased them. Patient hands raised them again. Now listen once more for the swallows... They are still here, circling the towers, just as they did when the court of Navarre filled these rooms.