Enchanting Rioja and its fortress cities

The cultural and historical landscape of Rioja and the Way of Santiago, which runs through the Rioja Valley, are recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Rioja is a fascinating symbiosis of hilly landscape, completely planted with vineyards, ancient villages, as if frozen in time and modern architecture of the 21st century. A region where tradition and advanced technology create one of the most famous wines in the world.

During your trip, you will learn the features of the Rioja Valley, which allows you to grow excellent grapes and secrets of winemaking, which are several thousand years old, learn how Rioja wines have come to worldwide success, touch the living history and culture of this region, see beautiful monuments of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, enjoy the delightful natural scenery of vineyards, the Ebro River and salt lagoons against the backdrop of the majestic mountain ranges of Sierra Cantabria and Sierra de la Demanda and discover excellent Riohan cuisine accompanied by Rioja.

• The first fortress town on our way - Labastida, whose name speaks for itself - in former times it was an impregnable military bastion on the border of the two kingdoms. The historic center of Labastida has been declared a Protected Historical and Artistic Complex. The city on a high hill is dominated by the Romanesque Basilica of Santo Cristo. We will take a walk through the old districts of the town - Olmo and Mota, go down to the Renaissance and Baroque part of the city, from the Arch of Larrazurria we will walk along the main street, see the house where Napoleon stayed, go to the main square of the city of Plaza de la Paz, famous for one of the Guinness records, where we will see the City Hall building and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion - a national monument of architecture, the grandeur of which amazes and contrasts with the size of the town itself. It houses the largest organ in the Basque Country - a participant of the summer organ festival. We will end our walk through Labastide with a tasting of local pinchos with a glass of Rioja in one of the bars on the main street of the city.
• A short drive along the picturesque road among the vineyards, during which you can explore the dolmens of the Neolithic era, and we are in Laguardia - the wine capital of Rioja Alavesa. This fortified city-fortress on the top of the hill in former times was a guard on the border of the Kingdom of Navarre, which is reflected in its name. The city can be accessed through one of the 5 gates in the ancient fortress walls surrounding the settlement. A walk through the narrow streets of the city will take you to a medieval fairy tale. Along the way, we will explore the ancient houses with reliefs of family coats of arms, some of which are about 800 years old! On the main square of Plaza Mayor you will see two buildings of the City Hall – the old 16th century and the new 19th century, which is famous for its musical clock with dancing figures in national costumes. All the dungeon of the city is dug with tunnels of wine cellars, one of which, if desired, you can look (for an additional fee). We will visit the church of Santa Maria de los Reyes, which hides a real masterpiece of late Gothic - a grand portal with a polychrome painting of the 17th century. Climb the Abbey Tower (Torre Abacial), from where you will have beautiful views of the Rioja Valley with a patchwork of vineyards framed by the majestic mountains of the Sierra Cantabria. Then we will walk along the main street, where in the summer on the festival of San Juan run bulls and go to another wonderful church of the city of San Juan, the bell tower with loopholes and teeth which are silent witnesses to the former military glory of the city.

After the tour, you will have lunch (or dinner) at one of the restaurants in Laguardia with the traditional menu of Rioja Alavesa and DOC Rioja wines.