La Rioja is small: you can cross it from one end to the other in a little over an hour. That lets you see three good places in a day, as long as you do not try to see five.
The rule for a day that goes well
Three stops, a single direction and an unhurried lunch. Every time a fourth stop is added, the day stops being a trip and becomes a race for parking spaces.
Laguardia · Elciego · Briones
The most photographed itinerary. About 70 km and a full day.
Nájera · San Millán · Santo Domingo
History and World Heritage. About 100 km: you need to leave early.
Ezcaray and the Sierra de la Demanda
Beech forests, river and stone. The best option outside winery season.
Calahorra · Arnedo · Alfaro
Market gardens, dinosaurs and storks. The La Rioja that almost nobody shows.
Option A · The classic day: wine and stone
Logroño → Laguardia → Elciego → Briones. Laguardia is a walled, pedestrian village with cellars beneath almost every house; it takes an hour and a half to see. Elciego is ten minutes away and has the most photographed contemporary architecture in the area. Briones, already in Rioja Alta, crowns a hill with views of the Ebro and the vineyards.
Option B · The monasteries day
Logroño → Nájera → San Millán de la Cogolla → Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Nájera holds the pantheon of the kings of Navarre in Santa María la Real. San Millán brings together the monasteries of Yuso and Suso, a World Heritage Site and the place where the first known words in Castilian were written. Santo Domingo closes the day with its cathedral and the hen house inside the church.
The monasteries close at midday and the visits to Suso are guided with limited places. It is the itinerary that suffers most if improvised.
Option C · The mountain day
Logroño → Ezcaray → Oja valley → Santo Domingo. Ezcaray is the gateway to the Sierra de la Demanda: stone houses, river and beech forests that in autumn justify the trip on their own. It is the best alternative if you travel outside winery season or if you are accompanied by people who do not drink wine.
Option D · The least touristy day
Logroño → Calahorra → Arnedo → Alfaro. Rioja Oriental: market gardens, dinosaur-footprint sites around Arnedo and Enciso, and in Alfaro the colony of white storks on the Collegiate Church of San Miguel, one of the largest in Europe on a single building.
Three stops and an unhurried lunch. Everything else is just clocking up kilometres.
And if you only have half a day
Logroño and Laurel street. The old town can be walked in two hours, and Laurel street and San Juan street concentrate dozens of pintxo bars, each specialising in one or two. You do not need a car for anything.
When to go
May, June and September
- Pleasant temperatures all day
- Green vineyards or in full harvest
- Very popular weekends
July and August
- Very long days of light
- Strong heat at midday
- It is worth moving the plan to early and late in the day
Autumn and winter
- The sierra at its best
- Wineries and villages without queues
- Reduced opening hours: check before setting out
How to get around
Public transport connects Logroño with the district capitals, but it does not link small villages or reach wineries or monasteries at useful times. For a three-stop day the practical choice is your own car or a vehicle with a driver if you are a group or want to taste.
Can it be done with children?
Yes. Option D, with the footprint sites and the Alfaro storks, is the one that works best with children. We have a child seat and booster: ask for what you need when booking.
And if someone is in a wheelchair?
The vehicle has an adapted configuration with a ramp. Cobbled, sloping historic centres, such as Laguardia or Briones, are the trickiest points: it is worth planning the stop.
Day trips in La Rioja with a driver
Tell us how many hours you have and what you would like to see, and we will send back a route with real timings.
