Los Arcos

Los Arcos is a municipality in Navarra, situated on the Camino Frances in the broad agricultural plain between Estella and Logroño. The town has a compact medieval character centred on a large plaza, and is most notable for the church of Santa María, a Gothic structure of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries with an exceptional interior.

The church interior is one of the most elaborately decorated on the Camino Frances, with an enormous Baroque retablo, carved choir stalls, and rich ornament accumulated over centuries of wealthy patronage. The external tower and Gothic apse are also significant.

For pilgrims, Los Arcos is a major service stop at the end of a long and exposed stage, with the church interior providing an unexpected visual and spiritual encounter in what might seem a simple farming town.