Located in the valley formed by the
rivers Bidasoa and Zía, and linked to France via the border crossings at Ibardin and Lizuniaga, stands Bera, the last of the Cinco Villas (five towns).
It is an elegantly built place, split along two axes: one overlooked by the
church of San Esteban, which was a Gothic tower-house initially, and another around the picturesque neighbourhood of Alzate with its carefully tended noble houses.
Legia street, which links the two neighbourhoods, contains the only Gothic house in the town.
A stroll through the streets of Bera reveals a delightful variety of noble family houses. Some were home to illustrious families such as 'casa Itzea' of
the Baroja family.
You will also be surprised by the Town Hall, a Baroque building with
polychrome murals containing allegorical motifs that give the façade a special air. The drawings were made by
Julio Caro Baroja.
Some of the ancestral dances conserved in Navarre involve ancient rites related to agriculture and stockbreeding. This is the case of
la Makil dantza of Bera in which the dancers' movements reproduce that of hoes. The annual fiestas in Bera are held in early August, in honour of San Esteban.