La Rioja is the smallest of Spain's Autonomous Communities and probably best known because of the wines that are produced there. The center of the wine production is at Haro and the major folkloristic event is the annual 'battle of the wine'.
Another tourist draw-card is the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James), part of which leads through La Rioja. There are many monasteries along the way that are of high artistic and cultural importance. The oldest text ever written in Castilian Spanish originate from the area. Some of the most beautiful and monumental towns along the part of the Camino de Santiago that runs through La Rioja include: Calahorra, Arnedo, San Millan de la Cogolla, Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Logroño, which was founded by the Romans and is the region's capital. The area known as Tierra de Cameros offers outstanding landscapes, grottos and caves.
Apart from wine-tasting, La Rioja is excellent for hunting, fishing, climbing and hiking. Most people come to the region to enjoy its seven varieties of wine, four of them red and three white. Another local specialty are Pimientos del Piquillo, a delicious and sweet kind of red peppers. Other culinary highlights include lamb and the marzipan of Sierra de Cameros, which is has a reputation all over Spain.
La Rioja is south of Basque Country at the occidental extreme of the Ebro valley.
Find a flight to La Rioja