I've seen quite a few posts that recommend a place to spend a night or two in La Rioja, but none that recommend longer. My husband and I will be in La Rioja from July 26 or 27 until August 1. We have a lot of luggage so don't want to move around at all (we're stopping off in Spain on our way to spending a year in India so will be heavy laden). We'll be in Barcelona for a week at the start of our trip and finishing with two days in Girona, but aren't sure how to spend the middle. We love history and good food, and particularly love wine tasting. We hope to do quite a few winery tours (maybe with guides), and also look forward to strolling quaint streets, relaxing at cafes, and generally taking it easy. Which town would be the best to enjoy as our home for nearly a week? Currently considering LaGuardia, Haro, and Logrono, but very open to suggestions. Thanks!!
Posted by
Washington DC
27048 posts
Laguardia is very atmospheric (there's a large check mark beside "quaint streets" for sure), but it is also quite small, with a population of under 1500 people. To me that seems rather limiting for such a long stay, but Google Maps shows lots of bars and restaurants in town. I don't travel with a car, which gives me a completely different perspective. Do check on where you'd park and how you'd get your luggage up to your lodgings. If you must park down below, be sure the parking area is near the elevator.
Posted by
la rioja
530 posts
Hi M Parkerton,
two sites you might want to look at for “institutional information” are Toursim of La Rioja and the DOC. They should provide most of the pesky details, like opening and closing times, days of visits, prices etc.
About where to stay. You'll be fine in Laguardia, Logroño, or Haro. During the summer though, Logroño is a bit dead, and Laguardia will probably be pretty full. When you are here it will be the end of the late July fortnight of vacations and the beginning of the August vacations. So you will find some places closed for summer holidays. And you may experience some traffic on the weekend on the highways.
In the summer, the villages of La Rioja are very pleasant to visit. It is very relaxing to sit in a terrace in the square while night falls having a drink. It will get dark around 10 pm when you are here.
I suggest that you think about staying in one of the smaller villages and making day trips from there. Between Haro and Laguardia there are three villages I can recommend; Abalos, San Vicente and Briones. From these places you can get easily to Logroño, Haro or Laguardia. Each has wineries to visit. San Vicente has a castle and in Briones is Dinastia Vivancos, which has a winery and museum that is a must visit.
I would avoid Ezcaray. It is a town where many people for Bilbao have an apartment, and in summer it is full of tourist. I would also avoid staying in Santo Domingo.
Some other place to visit would include San Millan. It is a UNESCO heritage site, and the birthplace of Castellano. Visit the both monastaries. I would recommend also visiting the convent of Cañas, which is nearby. Between the two is Bodegas David Moreno, which makes a clarete Rioja. This is a good day trip through the Cardenas valley.
The Cathedral of Santo Domingo is worth a visit and you can see the roster and chicken they have in the church. Najera has the monastery of Santa Maria Real with its pantheon of Navarran kings.
Also remember, the 25th is Santiago, so many places will celebrate that day. The 26th is Santa Ana and in La Rioja there are a number of village that will be in fiestas of their patron saint. In San Asensio, very close to Briones, they have a Battle of Clarete wine the last weekend in July. They will have a giant water balloon, water pistol, supersoaker battle with about 40,000 liters of wine instead of water.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Many thanks to you both! This is really helpful. I hadn't considered staying in one of the smaller villages, partly because we were pondering a carless trip, but now I'm thinking it might be worth it to rent a car so we can stay in Briones or San Vicente. A little follow-up question: is it easy to find taxis? If, for example, we want to go to Haro for dinner, but don't want to worry about driving back after a bit of wine, will we be able to get a taxi to take us home? Thank you!!
Posted by
la rioja
530 posts
In most villages there is a taxi. My advice would be to talk to the hotel and they probably can arrange for the taxi to pick you up in Haro at a certain time.
If you want to go carless, you could stay in Logroño and take buses to the different places. I would suggest trying one of the tourist apartments. There are some nice ones in Calle Laurel, but that would probably not be too relaxing. There is another block of apartment in Calle Sagasta which are nice and pretty big, which might help with your luggage. From here it is an 800m walk across the bridge to the Bodegas Franco Espanolas.
Posted by
53 posts
We just stayed in La Guardia 2 weeks ago, loved it. Centrally located, charming (yes), the kind of place where the next day you run into the waitress from the previous night taking her kids to school. Laura and Fabiano were great hosts at the Casa Rural Erletxe. We did have a car btw.
Posted by
67 posts
Agree on LaGuardia. We stayed there for 3 nights and had a car. We did a day trip to Pamplona and another day rented bikes and cycled along the Camino including a winery stop/tour.
The only issue is the restaurant choices are limited but good enough.
Posted by
67 posts
Agree on LaGuardia. We stayed there for 3 nights and had a car. We did a day trip to Pamplona and another day rented bikes and cycled along the Camino including a winery stop/tour.
The only issue is the restaurant choices are limited but good enough.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6502 posts
We stayed at the parador in Santo Domingo de la Calzada for a night last year. It has free parking in a secure area. Good for a night and very relaxing, but I’m not sure about it for 5 days. Santo Domingo is a nice sleepy town, but not much to do or see there. Stayed there between Pamplona and Burgos.