Charming villages in La Rioja
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Charming villages in La Rioja
La Rioja is a relatively small community but it is home to a multitude of places and monuments of great value, charming towns, a wine culture that makes us one of the most recognized Designations of Origin worldwide, excellent gastronomy and a great environment. landscape beauty. And, the best of all, is that you can visit all these charming villages in La Rioja less than an hour by car from our hotel in San Millán de la Cogolla.
Below, we present our guide with the most beautiful charming towns in La Rioja to visit near Hostería de San Millán, less than an hour by car from the hotel.
“Towns & charming villages in La Rioja, less than an hour from Hostería San Millán, where you can discover the traditional culture and charm of our land”
The ten charming villages in La Rioja that you cannot miss during your stay
San Millán de la Cogolla
The town where we are. Located at the foot of the Sierra de la Demanda, the highlights of our town are the famous Monasteries of Yuso and Suso, declared a World Heritage Site and the birthplace of written Spanish. Here you can soak up history by visiting the two monasteries and staying in our monument-hotel, which is part of the Yuso Monastery.
Apart from the monasteries, the magnificent natural environment of the Sierra de la Demanda invites you to take a walk, being able to tour the town and take routes around the area to enjoy the tranquility, or to observe the monasteries from a distance with the mountains as a backdrop.
Badaran
10 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
In our neighboring town of Badarán, you can visit some of its places of interest such as the houses with the shields and coats of arms or Iglesia de la Expectación. In addition, here you can visit the two large wineries in the town: Bodegas David Moreno and Bodegas Martín Alesanco and other more traditional and familiar ones such as Bodega El Chaval.
The other hotel that we manage is also located here, Condes de Badarán, located right at the entrance to the town arriving from San Millán. A visit that cannot be missed on your route through the charming towns in La Rioja.
Nájera
20 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
Located in the heart of Rioja Alta and the place where the French Camino de Santiago passes, Nájera is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful towns in La Rioja. This town stands out for its historical legacy, with several monuments of great interest such as the Monastery of Santa María La Real, the Royal Chapel and Parish of Santa Cruz, the Convent of Santa Elena or the Najerillense Archaeological Museum. The views of the Najerilla River from the San Juan de Ortega bridge complete a perfect combination of natural and monumental surroundings.
Being one of the most populated villages in La Rioja, in Nájera you will find a good gastronomic offer.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada
20 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
Key point of the Camino de Santiago, Santo Domingo de la Calzada is one of the most tourist towns in La Rioja due to its historical legacy.
The cathedral stands out above all, in Gothic style, but with elements from other styles, such as its magnificent Plateresque-style main altarpiece. The Pilgrims Hospital, today converted into a National Parador, the walls, the Cistercian Abbey or the Plaza de España, where the Town Hall building and the Alhóndiga are located, are some of the places of interest that make Santo Domingo de la Calzada one of the most charming towns in La Rioja.
Ezcaray
35 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
This beautiful town is geographically very close to San Millán de la Cogolla, but to access it we have to surround the mountains of the Sierra de la Demanda.
We are facing the so-called “First Tourist Village of La Rioja” due to its excellent historic center and its natural environment surrounded by mountains, among other attractions. In this charming town in La RIoja, its historical complex stands out, housing palaces, arcaded squares and places such as the Royal Tapestry Factory or the Parish Church of Santa María la Mayor.
But that is not all. Ezcaray is home to the only ski resort in La Rioja, Valdezcaray, one of the best ski resorts in the north, as well as excellent gastronomy in which the Echaurren Restaurant stands out, the best restaurant in La Rioja, with 2 Michelin Stars.
Charming villages in the Sierra de la Demanda
This mountain range in which San Millán de la Cogolla is located and to which Ezcaray and Santo Domingo de la Calzada also belong, is home to other small charming towns in La Rioja that are well worth a mention and a visit. In Anguiano, you can visit the beautiful Valvanera Monastery, surrounded by a wonderful natural environment.
Matute and Tobía are two other nearby municipalities where you can admire their green landscapes, rivers and historic buildings. In addition, they are an ideal area for hiking routes through beech forests or to climb some of the highest peaks of the Sierra de la Demanda. Without a doubt, one of the charming towns in La Rioja that you cannot miss.
Logroño
40 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
The capital of La Rioja is presented as an elegant and very well-preserved city, with an ideal atmosphere and environment to visit its monuments and taste its renowned gastronomy and local wines.
Here you can visit the Co-Cathedral of Santa María, a multitude of churches and pleasant, wide squares to walk through along with other very narrow ones, which are located around the historic center, where Laurel Street stands out, famous for the large number of bars it houses. , where you can try their exquisite pintxos accompanied by a good Rioja wine.
Furthermore, in Logroño you can visit the famous “calados”, underground caves that were formerly used as wineries to make and preserve wine.
Haro
35 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
If Logroño is the capital of Rioja, Haro is the capital of wine and the Rioja Designation of Origin. This charming town in La Rioja stands out for its great winemaking tradition, with some of the most famous and important wineries in the D.O. Rioja like Muga, CVNE or Ramón Bilbao.
Haro also has a beautiful and monumental historic center, where the 7 statues that you can find in this area deserve special mention, which represent the ancient trades of Haro. This, together with its gastronomy and oenology, make Haro one of the most beautiful and picturesque towns in La Rioja.
Briones
35 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
This small charming town in La Rioja located very close to Haro, is part of the “Most Beautiful Towns in Spain” and stands out for its historic center paved with narrow streets where you can see its emblazoned houses, its main square or its stately palaces. . In the surroundings of the historic center, next to the wall, you can enjoy the beautiful landscapes of vineyards in the area next to the Ebro River.
But, if there is something that makes Briones one of the most charming towns to visit in La Rioja, it is that it houses the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture, considered the best wine museum in the world. A must-see gem to soak up the wine culture of La Rioja.
Laguardia and the charming towns in La Rioja Alavesa
45 minutes from Hostería San Millán.
Also in the guide of the “Most Beautiful Towns in Spain” by its own merit, is this town that no longer belongs to La Rioja, but to the province of Álava. It is the capital of Rioja-Alavesa, an area that stands out for the beauty of its towns and, of course, for having some of the most spectacular designer wineries that you can visit. Among them we can highlight Marqués de Riscal (in Elciego), Ysios or Bodegas Baigorri.
The town of Laguardia itself stands out for its walled enclosure, its magnificent medieval gates, its squares and its cobbled streets. It is an area with a multitude of wineries to visit and a wide gastronomic offer.