Logroño

About Logroño

Logroño is the capital of La Rioja and the gateway to Spain's benchmark red-wine region. Set on the Ebro with Roman roots at ancient Vareia, it grew as a stop on the Camino de Santiago and today balances a walkable medieval old town with a serious food-and-wine culture. The famous Calle Laurel packs dozens of tapas bars into a few blocks, each specialising in a single pincho paired with a glass of local Tempranillo. While most of the great bodegas lie in the surrounding towns of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, Logroño is the logistical hub for the region and hosts the Fiestas de San Mateo each September to mark the grape harvest. It is an ideal first base for anyone building a Rioja itinerary.

Practical details

Wine tourism notes

Logroño is the administrative capital of Rioja and the natural base for touring the DOCa, with major bodegas within a short drive and the September Fiestas de San Mateo (the grape-harvest festival) as the region's headline event. The city itself has few working wineries but excellent tasting bars and easy road access to Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.

Regional cuisine

Riojan cooking built around slow-cooked lamb (chuletillas al sarmiento grilled over vine cuttings), patatas a la riojana with chorizo, and pochas (fresh white beans). Calle Laurel and Calle San Juan form a dense tapas grid where each bar has a signature pincho, from grilled mushrooms to potato tortilla.

Canonical attractions

• Calle Laurel tapas quarter
• Concatedral de Santa María de la Redonda
• Puente de Piedra over the Ebro
• Espolón promenade
• Camino de Santiago old-town stretch

Editorial notes