Our most recommended things to do in La Rioja, Spain

From Bilbao: Vitoria and Rioja Day Tour

1. From Bilbao: Vitoria and Rioja Day Tour

The famous Rioja Wine region is a must for wine lovers visiting Spain. Located in the south of the Basque country, you will visit the village of Haro, the unique medieval village of Laguardia. Of course, you will visit a traditional wine cellar for a wine tasting, and a guided walking tour of Vitoria. Follow the highway towards the south, until you arrive at Vitoria, the capital city of the Basque Country, where you will have a panoramic tour through the city. It is considered to be one of the best cities in Spain for quality of life, and is the city in Europe with the most green square meters per inhabitant. You will do a walking tour through the old part of the city where you will see such sights as the old Inn 'el Portalon' from the XV century, the Virgen Blanca square, the Machete square and the Cathedral of Santa Maria among others. After your walking tour, you will head towards the south and arrive finally into the land of Wine, to Rioja. You will stop at Laguardia, a unique medieval village that still keeps the real atmosphere of the old times, with the two churches, the walls, the house shields and the narrow medieval streets among others. You will visit in this village, a traditional underground Rioja wine cellar, carbonic maceration with open pools and do a wine tasting at the end of the visit. Afterwards, there will be free time for lunch and your guide will suggest a selection of recommended local restaurants. Finally you will return directly back to arrive to Bilbao in the evening

From San Sebastian/Bilbao/Vitoria: Rioja Wine Tour w/ Lunch

2. From San Sebastian/Bilbao/Vitoria: Rioja Wine Tour w/ Lunch

Enjoy a complete winery experience in the famous region of La Rioja. Be picked up from your hotel in San Sebastian, Bilbao, or Vitoria and embark on a guided tour to La Rioja Alavesa area, surrounded by beautiful scenery. Visit a traditional vineyard and enjoy a tasting session. Learn how wine is made, explore a beautiful vineyard and take a tour through a bodega. Refine your palette with a wine tasting session, then indulge in a delicious lunch with local produce, desserts and a range of wines carefully selected from the vineyard's cellar. Relax as you are driven back to your accommodation later in the afternoon, gastronomically satisfied and equipped with your newly found connoisseur's knowledge.

From San Sebastian/Bilbao/Vitoria: La Rioja Wineries Tour

3. From San Sebastian/Bilbao/Vitoria: La Rioja Wineries Tour

Explore two beautiful wineries of the La Rioja region from San Sebastian on a guided tour. Enjoy the Rioja wines, walk through the vineyards, and learn about the wine-making process on a guided tour. After being picked up from your accommodation enjoy a drive through the beautiful landscapes. Have a relaxing walk through the vineyards, learning the wine-making process from the grape harvest to the maturation, and finish the experience with Rioja wine tasting in each winery. During the tour, you will also visit a charming medieval village, Laguardia.

From La Rioja: Tour Olive Groves and Mill with Tasting

4. From La Rioja: Tour Olive Groves and Mill with Tasting

Visit a small, family-owned olive mill in Galilea, a small town in the Ocón Valley with this tour from La Rioja. See the olive groves and mill, before sampling some olives and olive oil. Discover the olive groves surrounding the mill and the different olive harvesting processes. Uncover the secrets transforming fresh olives into world-famous extra virgin olive oil. Head to the farmhouse to taste olive oil and olives. Let you knowledgeable guide reveal how to properly appreciate the olive oil.

From Pamplona or Logroño: Rioja Wineries Day Trip w/ Tasting

5. From Pamplona or Logroño: Rioja Wineries Day Trip w/ Tasting

The neighboring region of La Rioja is characterized by its millenary tradition in the production of wine, which some say comes from Roman times. In any case, it is known that at the end of the 19th century Bordeaux winemakers came to the area, identifying suitable characteristics in its terrain and climate, to begin an extensive production that has made the DO Rioja the most important in the country today in day. Take advantage of the opportunity offered by this tour to visit two medium-sized wineries in the area (we always try to stay away from crowded groups) and learn the secrets of winemaking. We will also visit the medieval village of Laguardia, on top of a hill, to enjoy a panoramic view of the great plain of vineyards. Approximate itinerary from Pamplona: 9:15 Pick up and departure from Pamplona 10:15 Pick up and departure from Logroño 11:00 Visit to the first winery and wine tasting 1:00 Visit to the second winery and wine tasting 2:00 Arrival in Laguardia and light meal 3:00 Departure from Laguardia 3:15 Drop off in Logroño 4:15 Drop off in Pamplona

Rioja: Private Wine Tasting Tour

6. Rioja: Private Wine Tasting Tour

This tour is designed to guide you into one of the oldest traditional "cave-cellars" in the area, dug 7-8 meters (23-26 feet) deep under the houses. This is a fabulous experience not to be missed! This activity also includes top wines in a boutique winery, after we take you to admire the architecture of one of the most famous local wineries, 'Marques del Riscal' winery cellar/hotel, which was designed by Frank Gehry, the architect who designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. You will also walk along the medieval streets of Laguardia, one of the most charming towns in La Rioja area, before discovering local home-made food for lunch in an off the beaten track, non touristy restaurant.

La Rioja: Jamon Iberico Farm Tour and Tasting with Wine

7. La Rioja: Jamon Iberico Farm Tour and Tasting with Wine

Come and learn about our Duroc piglet breeding project under the organic farming method in the Ocón Valley, La Rioja, in the heart of the Biosphere Reserve. We will start the visit in our organic farm 'El Encinar' where our piglets live and breed happily, enjoying the sun and the open air, in contact with nature. We will continue the visit in our facilities where we elaborate our organic artisan meats and sausages and you will be able to see up close how we carry out the whole process. You will learn how Jamón Iberico de Bellota is created. The most prestigious ham in the world. Finally we will enjoy a tasting of our organic Jamónes paired with Rioja wine. Get ready for an amazing Experience!!!

La Rioja: Group Winery Tour and Tasting

8. La Rioja: Group Winery Tour and Tasting

Experience La Rioja's wines with this small group tour. Travel to a winery in Alfaro to tour a local winery and try two wines paired with some small dishes. Head to a a winery in Alfaro that has been set up in what was once an old hanger. Be welcomed by your sommelier and guide. Learn about the tradition of winemaking in the area. Gain insight into centuries-old traditions. Follow your around this unique space. Stop to save 2 fine red wines which are complimented by a carefully selected snack. Let the flavors like coconut-scented American oak and the plush red tempranillo grape roll over your tongue. Discover well-aged wines with the best values in the world, when compared with comparably aged wine from France or Italy.

Logroño: Urban Outdoor Escape Room Game

9. Logroño: Urban Outdoor Escape Room Game

Become the protagonist of your own adventure as you race around the streets of Logroño in an outdoor escape game. Choose between two challenges and receive both a physical box and a digital app to help guide you through landmarks such as the Co-cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda and Paseo del Espolón. Before your adventure, receive a physical box posted to your address that contains reports, maps, photographs, and letters. Download the digital app and discover videos, games, clues, and information about Logroño's landmarks. Combine the app and physical materials to solve the mystery. Explore landmarks such as the Co-cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda, where you can come face to face with The Crucification, a painting by Italian painter Miguel Ángel Buonarroti. Stroll through Paseo del Espolón and discover its monument to General Esparter and vibrant floral display. You can choose between two different options: The Masked MurdererInvestigate the identity of a serial killer who has killed several young women, broadcasting the murders on social media and moving their bodies to well-known places in Logroño. The Spear of DestinyGet hold of the Spear of Destiny before it falls into enemy hands. Through a telegram sent between two collaborators of Nazi Germany, historian Sarah Levi has traced the Spear of Destiny — with which the Romans killed Jesus Christ on the cross, to Logroño. Now it's your job to locate it.

From San Sebastian: Rioja Uncorked - Private Wineries Trip

10. From San Sebastian: Rioja Uncorked - Private Wineries Trip

"Cursed wine is better than blessed water," goes an old Spanish saying. On this private tour, Ikusnahi will take you after the ‘blessed wine’ from the most famous wine region in Spain. We’ll visit four wineries that will show us four radically different ways of making wine: from Tempranillos aged in barrels hidden in humid caves to young and daring wines. Rioja is also one of the northernmost producers in Spain of the country’s liquid gold: olive oil. Of course, you’ll try it. Three countries (in one) Rioja is located on the banks of the legendary river Ebro, the longest river in Spain, 90 minutes from San Sebastián. You have to go by van, but you won’t be bored: we’ll cross three of the most emblematic Spanish landscapes: the green and mountainous forests of Euskadi, the flat dry fields (yellow or green, depending on the time of year) typical of Castile, and the large expanses of vineyards on the gentle hills of Rioja. Three countries for the price of one. Winectionary Malolactic fermentation? Protected Designation of Origin? Young, Reserve or Great Reserve? Vintage? Pituitary? Do any of these words sound familiar to you? Probably not. When the tour ends, if the vapors of the wine allow, you’ll know the meanings of all of them. Rioja is such a rich wine region that it includes many types of wineries: there are classic ones with legendary vintages (we’ll visit them, we’ll taste them); there are small, family-run bodegas who take risks with young and daring wines (we’ll visit and taste them, too); and there are centuries-old wineries, devoted to a traditional wine: is it necessary to say that we will also visit and taste them? The Place Haro is the wine capital of northern Spain. This is where the French went in desperation in the 19th century, when phylloxera devastated their vineyards and the country was left without grapes. It was then that they began to take a chance on developing a quality wine industry in the region. One hundred-plus years later, they’ve succeeded. And wow, have they succeeded. Medieval titanium Rioja is not only wine, wine and wine, but also a territory extraordinarily rich in historical heritage. We’ll see medieval towns such as Laguardia, with baroque churches (full of gold, virgins and cherubs, inherited from the Spanish Counter-Reformation) alongside the latest “cathedrals “ of wine, such as the Marqués de Riscal wineries by Frank O. Gehry (which uses the same titanium as the Guggenheim Bilbao museum), and the Bodegas Ysios by Santiago Calatrava.

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What people are saying about La Rioja, Spain

Overall rating

4.7 / 5

based on 90 reviews

I loved Stefan, he is a great guide, he explained absolutely everything in two languages and also provided small details such as the final store of a winery that was not included or a couple of stops to see the grapes or take extra photos, which is very much appreciated.

Very nice wine tour with visits to 2 beautiful towns. Quality of the wine in the cellar is excellent and highly value for money. Highly recommended to buy a few bottles if you have spare space in your luggage

So grateful we didn't decide to drive ourselves, the wine region was beautiful. The village of Laguardia was an unexpected treat. Thank you for our experience.

Our trip with Stefan was brilliant. He went out of his way to give us little extra chances to see the region. He was very entertaining and interesting

Very enjoyable day with witty and funny Stefan. Never a boring moment , a lot of facts and info about local history, architecture, trafitions