BASQUE COUNTRY: LAGUARDIA IN RIOJA ALAVESA

During the first three days of our trip to La Rioja we visited Logroño, Haro and Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The fourth day we went to Laguardia, a lovely village surrounded by vineyards located in La Rioja Alavesa (Basque Country).

Vineyards in Laguardia

You can see below all the places I visited in La Rioja, Navarra and Aragón during this trip:

Days 1 and 2

• Zaragoza and Logroño

Day 3

• Haro
• Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Day 4

• Laguardia
• Estella
• Los Arcos

Day 5

• San Millán de la Cogolla
• Nájera

Day 6

• Tarazona
• Monasterio de Veruela

In Laguardia we visited the following places and a Wine Cellar, called Mayor de Migueloa:

• Town Walls and Gates
• Plaza Mayor (Main Square)
• Streets of the Old Town
• Church of Santa María de los Reyes
• Plaza El Gaitero (El Gaitero Square)
• Torre Abacial (Abattial Tower)
• Visiting Wine Cellars
• Paseo El Collado (El Collado Promenade)

Streets, Town Walls and Gates

One of the gates of the town walls of Laguardia, which are two metres high and are thick and topped by a battlemented parapet that, in the past, could be walked all around. There are five gates that lead into the town

Plaza Mayor (Main Square)

Plaza Mayor is a fortified square in the town’s centre of Laguardia. Here we can see the old town hall with the imperial coat of arms of Charles 5th, and the current town hall, with the town´s coat of arms

Streets of the Old Town

Main Street of Laguardia

We enjoyed a relaxing walk along streets like this one of Laguardia

As Laguardia belongs to La Rioja Alavesa, famous for its wines, there are many wine barrels in the streets of Laguardia

One of the lovely corners of Laguardia

Santa Maria de los Reyes

Church of Santa Maria de los Reyes in Laguardia

Plaza El Gaitero

Plaza El Gaitero in Laguardia

Plaza El Gaitero beside the church of Santa María de los Reyes and the Abattial Tower

Torre Abacial

Torre Abacial is a military tower built in the 18th century. It has lost its battlemented finish as a result of the various modifications

Visiting Wine Cellars

 Laguardia, which belongs to La Rioja Alavesa, famous for its wines, gives you the possibility of visiting some of its wine cellars and have first hand information about the process of wine making, from the vintage to the bottling of our prestigious wines, and you can even taste different types. In Laguardia we visited the wine cellar Mayor de Migueloa.

Paseo El Collado

"El Collado" is a beautiful promenade around Laguardia 

Castle "El Collado" in Laguardia

From El Collado you can enjoy the majestic Cantabria mountain range, and how the Navarra, Castilla and Aragón lands open up to our feet

Other cities I visited during this trip in Zaragoza, La Rioja and Navarra were:

• Monasterio de Piedra near Zaragoza (Tapeo in Zaragoza)
• Haro in La Rioja
• Camino de Santiago Francés
• Tarazona, Veruela Monastery and Sanctuary of Borja

Finally, other beautiful places you can visit in Spain are:

- Catalonia

• Costa Brava in Catalonia
• Barcelona
• Girona

- Basque Country

• Bilbo - Bilbao
• Getaria, Zarautz and Hondarribia in San Sebastián

- Cantabria

• Cantabria
• Santander, Comillas and Santillana del Mar in Cantabria

- Granada

• La Alhambra, Albaicín and Sacromonte in Granada

- Sevilla, Córdoba, Cádiz and Costa de la Luz

• Sevilla
• Córdoba
• Cádiz and Costa de la Luz

- Toledo, Madrid, El Escorial and Segovia

• Toledo, Segovia, Monasterio del Escorial near Madrid

- Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera

• Sóller, Port de Sóller, Deià and Valldemossa in Mallorca
• Palma de Mallorca

• Beaches and Las Dalias Market in Ibiza
• Ses Illetes beach in Formentera

- Galicia

• Santiago de Compostela in Galicia
• Costa da Morte
• Baiona, Islas Cíes and more Beaches in Galicia
• Tui and Camino de Santiago Portugués

- Alicante

• Alicante, Elche and Isla de Tabarca