From Pamplona it is less than two hours' drive to Bilbao (95 miles, 154 km), four hours to Madrid (240 miles, 400 km) or three to four hours to Bordeaux.

If train is the preferred mode of travel, a high-speed line is under construction from Madrid to Zaragoza to Barcelona and then on the rest of Europe. The Zaragoza-Alsasua rail line runs through Pamplona.

Air service from LAN and Iberia to Madrid and Barcelona from Pamplona is so frequent it could practically be called a shuttle. With six or seven flights a day to Madrid, Pamplona ranks second only to Barcelona with air service to the capital city. From Madrid, travelers can fly nonstop to Asia and North America. Bilbao airport also offers international flights, and Biarritz airport has frequent connections with Paris and other European centers.

Ports -- at Bilbao, Pasajes and Tarragona -- are easily accessible from Navarre. Navarre industry generally uses the Port of Bilbao and the container port at Barcelona.

In telecommunications, Navarre has an advanced system with all the latest digital gadgetry. This is one reason Navarre has the highest number of Internet connections per capita in Spain.

Spain has long suffered from a reputation for high power costs in relation to France, the result of paying for now-abandoned nuclear power projects. However, costs are coming down, and industry can look forward to reductions of six to seven percent every year.

It was to assure cost-effective power and to tap an unending energy resource that Navarre five years ago began producing wind energy. The province's four profitable wind-energy factories produce the towers, the blades and the mechanical and electronic parts. Navarre ranks first in Spain and among the top in Europe for production of energy by wind and for production of the parts and machinery.

Navarre has seen a spectacular increase in wind power and expects even more from this natural resource: the year 2000 target is to produce 45 percent of the electricity consumed in the region.

Natural gas is abundant and available from multiple suppliers. The pipeline from Barcelona to Bilbao brings North African gas, and the pipeline from central Europe intersects with the Barcelona-Bilbao pipeline in Navarre. The Navarre development agency, SODENA, is a member of the natural gas distribution company and contributes to the province's strategy for additional service.

Water, held in strategically placed reservoirs, is abundant, except for Navarre's dwarf desert. Some 10 reservoirs supply water to cities and industry, generate electricity and irrigate large areas. They are also sources of recreation. The water quality is good and is kept that way by a strong environmental program.