Logroño ' s La Redonda Cathedral
Spend a few days in La Rioja’ s capital Logroño, to discover a region rich in wine culture, local cuisine and golf among the grapes...
Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and well away from the main Spanish tourist trail is La Rioja, which just happens to be one of the biggest and best wine-producing regions in the country. Logroño, the provincial capital, is an attractive and prosperous city of around 150,000, and with an old quarter of tree-studded plazas, elegant streets and hidden corners, all presided over by the distinctive twin spires of the magnificent 16th century Santa María de la Redonda cathedral, its a pleasant place to spend a few days while exploring the region.
One of Logroño’ s big drawcards is it’ s inherent wine culture that’ s around every corner. There are literally hundreds of wineries or bodegas to visit( close to the city and further afield), ranging from cutting-edge architectural designs to more traditional ones, where you can learn everything and more about Rioja wine production. There is even the Battala del Vino( a wine battle) in the wine town of Haro, and held in Logroño every September, is the Fiesta de San Mateo which coincides with the annual vendimia( grape harvest), which features traditional grape-treading methods, floats and wine tasting.
The region’ s varied local cuisine pairs beautifully with La Rioja’ s world-class wines, and Logroño in particular is rapidly gaining a culinary reputation to rival anywhere in Spain, only enhanced by its‘ Gastronomic Capital of Spain’ award in 2012. But it’ s not just gastronomy and grapes that reign supreme in La Rioja province. There is also golf among the grapes, with a fine quartet of challenging courses all situated within an hour’ s drive of Logroño.
Our base in Logroño is the excellent boutique hotel Marqués de Vallejo, housed within an historic building dating from the 19th century. This member of the Great Small Hotels group enjoys a fine location right in the heart of Logroño, and is just a few steps from the the city’ s lively medieval old quarter offering countless restaurants, taverns and pinchos( tapas) bars( more about these later). After checking in, we head to the hotel’ s lounge bar to enjoy a welcoming glass of Rioja. We take a sip, grin at each other and raise our glasses – it’ s a great start to our wine, golf and gastronomy trip.
Rioja Alta Golf Club Our first eighteen holes is at Rioja Alta Golf Club
44 Destination Golf. TRAVEL