← Maratón de Logroño·1 night

Haro: The Station Quarter of Rioja

One night in Rioja's wine capital, where half a dozen of the region's oldest bodegas stand together beside the railway station, a short, flat walk from the platform.

Duration1 night
TransitRenfe regional train, about 40 minutes from Logroño
DepartsLogroño railway station

After the Maratón de Logroño: Haro

The Route: Logroño → Haro → Bilbao Airport Logistics: Renfe regional train to Haro, then road to Bilbao for the flight home. A one-night wine stop on the way to the airport. Marathon Month: October Duration: 1 night

Logroño ──(about 40 mins Renfe regional)──> Haro
                                              │
          Bilbao Airport (BIO) ◄──(about 1 hr 15 mins by car or taxi)──┘

The Maratón de Logroño runs on the first Sunday of October and finishes on the Espolón, a short walk from Logroño's railway station. Haro is the next stop that matters. It is the town most associated with Rioja wine, and it lies on the way to Bilbao, the airport most UK runners fly home from.

October in Haro is harvest time. In most years grapes are still coming in during the first half of October, tractors pull trailers of fruit through town, and the bodegas are at their busiest. That also means tours fill up; book them before leaving home. Days are mild, and evenings cool enough for a jacket.

Renfe regional trains run from Logroño to Haro in about 40 minutes. There are only a few a day, so check the timetable at renfe.com and plan the day around a mid-morning train. Tickets are cheap and can be bought at the station.

Night One: Haro

Haro grew rich when the railway arrived in the nineteenth century and French merchants, their own vineyards ruined by phylloxera, came south to buy wine. The bodegas they and local families built went up beside the tracks, and the cluster is still there: the Barrio de la Estación.

The quarter is the primary reason to come and the easiest walking in town. From the station platform it is a few minutes on the flat to the gates of López de Heredia, Muga, CVNE, La Rioja Alta, Gómez Cruzado, Roda and Bodegas Bilbaínas, most of them within a few hundred metres of each other. Each runs its own tours, usually with a tasting, at fixed times and in limited languages; book directly with the winery. Monday is a poor day for visits, and the Tuesday after the race is much better. A tour involves standing and some stairs into the cellars, so choose one visit a day.

The old town sits on a low hill above the station, a walk of 15 to 20 minutes with a gradual climb. Its centre is the Plaza de la Paz, with the town hall and the bandstand, and the tight knot of streets beside it known as La Herradura, the horseshoe, is where Haro goes out for wine and pintxos in the evening.

Where to stay. Hotel Los Agustinos occupies a former Augustinian convent in the old town, built around a cloister, and is the classic choice. Hotel Arrope is a smaller, modern hotel in the centre. Both put La Herradura a few minutes away on foot.

Where to eat. Eat in La Herradura, moving between bars on Calle Santo Tomás and the lanes around it, with local wine by the glass at each. For a sit-down meal, several restaurants around the Plaza de la Paz serve Riojan dishes: potatoes stewed with chorizo, lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings, and red peppers. Book at the weekend.

Getting to Bilbao Airport

Bilbao Airport (BIO) is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Haro by road. A hire car collected in Logroño or Haro makes the journey simplest; a pre-booked taxi or transfer is the alternative. By public transport, trains and buses via Miranda de Ebro or Bilbao city take considerably longer, so allow half a day if going that way.