← Maratón Martín Fiz·Day trip

Laguardia: A Walled Wine Town in Rioja Alavesa

A medieval walled town on a hill above the vineyards of Rioja Alavesa, with wine cellars dug under its streets and a Gothic portico painted in the seventeenth century.

DurationDay trip
TransitÁlava bus line 9, under 1 hour from Vitoria-Gasteiz
DepartsVitoria-Gasteiz

After the Maratón Martín Fiz: Laguardia

The Route: Vitoria-Gasteiz → Laguardia → Vitoria-Gasteiz Logistics: Álava bus line 9 over the Sierra de Cantabria, under an hour, or about 45 minutes by car. A day among the vines. Marathon Month: May Duration: Day trip

Vitoria-Gasteiz ──(under 1 hr bus line 9, or 45 mins by car)──> Laguardia ──(same)──> Vitoria-Gasteiz

The Maratón Martín Fiz is run on the plateau of Álava. South of it, over the ridge of the Sierra de Cantabria, the land drops into Rioja Alavesa, the Basque part of the Rioja wine region, and Laguardia stands on a low hill in the middle of the vineyards. It was founded in the tenth century as a frontier fortress of the Kingdom of Navarre and still has its walls.

May in Rioja Alavesa is new leaf in the vineyards: the vines break bud in spring and by May the rows are turning green. Wineries are open for visits, the harvest crowds of autumn are months away, and in most years the days are mild and sunny.

Álava's bus line 9 runs from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Laguardia in under an hour; check the timetable at alavabus.eus, as services are not frequent. By car, the drive over the Puerto de Herrera pass takes about 45 minutes and has a viewpoint over the whole valley. The town itself is car-free inside the walls; park outside.

The walled town

Laguardia's old town is small and long, three main streets running the length of the hilltop inside the walls. They are paved and fairly level once inside the gates, though the approaches from the car parks slope. Underneath the streets, the medieval town is hollowed out with cellars, called calados, where wine was made and stored; several bodegas and restaurants in the town show theirs on visits.

The church of Santa María de los Reyes has a Gothic stone portico that was painted in bright colours in the seventeenth century and has kept them, protected by a later porch. It is seen on guided visits arranged through the tourist office; book a time on arrival. The Casa de la Primicia, a fourteenth-century building where church taxes in kind were once collected, is among the oldest civil buildings in the town.

The vineyards

Laguardia is surrounded by wineries, from old family bodegas to modern buildings by famous architects, and the tourist office has a list of those open to visitors that day. Most need booking. The Villa Lucía wine museum on the edge of town is an indoor alternative. If driving, bring someone who is not tasting, or join an organised wine-bus tour.

Buses back to Vitoria-Gasteiz leave from the stop outside the walls.