# Sunday in Laguardia: streets above wine caves, the Abbey Tower and Marqués de Riscal You walk Laguardia inside the wall, climb the Abbey Tower, go down into a winery dug beneath the streets, eat with a view of the vineyard and taste at Marqués de Riscal. 20 minutes from Logroño. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/wine-cellars-tower-and-marques-de-riscal · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 09:30 · Salida: 15 min by car (from Vitoria via the Herrera pass, about 45 min; from Logroño, 20 min) - 10:15 · Walk round Laguardia's walled old town (the three streets inside the wall and the Collado promenade, 1 h 30) - Carry on on foot - 11:45 · Climb the Torre Abacial (Sunday 11:45 slot, €3; book at Laguardia Tourism) - Carry on on foot - 13:00 · Cellar visit with the tourist office (winery dug out beneath the streets, Sunday 13:00 slot, €3) - Carry on on foot - 13:45 · Amelibia restaurant (Amelibia · Rioja cooking beside the wall · €€€ · Sunday 13:00 to 15:30, booking) · Amelibia restaurant, €€€ - 10 min by car, 7 km - 16:30 · Visit to Marqués de Riscal and Gehry's hotel in Elciego (in Elciego; visit with tasting of three wines, 90 min, €30; book the slot) · Marqués de Riscal, From €30 per adult - 18:15 · Vuelta (in Vitoria around 19:00; in Logroño, earlier) Laguardia is a walled town on top of a hill in the Rioja Alavesa, with three long car-free streets and, beneath them, a maze of wineries dug into the rock, the calados. All around is vineyard, with the Sierra de Cantabria behind and the Ebro in front. This Sunday combines the town above and below, a lunch with a view of the vineyard and a visit with tasting at Marqués de Riscal, in Elciego, the winery with Frank O. Gehry's titanium building. ## The day, hour by hour 9:30 · Set off. From Vitoria, on the A-2124 and the Herrera pass: about 45 minutes. From Logroño, twenty minutes. Park outside the wall: cars do not enter. 10:15 · The walled old town. Three parallel medieval streets, with gates in the wall, houses with coats of arms and the Collado promenade, from where you see the vineyard and the lagoon. An hour and a half without hurry. 11:45 · Abbey Tower. The tower of the old fortress, attached to Santa María de los Reyes. The tourist office shows it in a daily session: on Sundays and public holidays, at 11:45. It costs €3, with 40 places per session: book. 13:00 · A calado beneath the streets. The tourist office also opens a winery dug beneath the old town, in a short session without tasting for €3, at 13:00 on Sundays. It is the cheapest way to see how wine was made and stored beneath the houses. 13:45 · Lunch at Amelibia. A family restaurant next to the wall, with views of the vineyard and the lagoon: hake cheeks in pil-pil, pig's trotters, confit suckling pig, menestra and a tasting menu. It only serves lunch, opens on Sundays from 13:00 to 15:30 and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Book. 16:30 · Marqués de Riscal. Elciego is about 7 km away. The winery, founded in 1858, is open every day from 10:00 to 19:00. The basic visit tours the winery and the vineyard and ends with a tasting of three wines with chorizo and salchichón: 90 minutes, €30 for adults, €14 for ages 11 to 17 and €4 for ages 3 to 10. Gehry's building is the hotel: the visit goes round it. Book the afternoon session on their website. 18:15 · Head home. In Vitoria around seven; in Logroño, earlier. ## Other wineries and other plans In Laguardia itself, Bodega El Fabulista shows its calados seven metres beneath the Samaniego palace, with grape treading and a tasting of two wines from €14, with sessions on Sunday at 11:30, 13:00, 16:00 and 17:30. Santa María de los Reyes has a Gothic portico that keeps its colour; it is now being restored, with scaffolding in front, and is seen on a 40-minute guided visit for €5. Without wine, the Laguardia lagoons, at the foot of the town, have a path along the shore with birds, and the dolmen of La Chabola de la Hechicera lies among vineyards on the way to Elciego. ## With children and without a car With children, the walk along the wall, the tower and the lagoons work well, and Marqués de Riscal has a reduced rate for them. Without a car, Álava Bus line 9 links Vitoria, Laguardia and Logroño, about ten departures a day, also at weekends. Elciego needs a car or taxi. ## Cómo llegar ### By car By the A-2124 and the Herrera pass from Vitoria, about 45 minutes. From Logroño, 15 km and twenty minutes. From Bilbao, on the AP-68, an hour and twenty minutes. ### Without a car Álava Bus line 9 between Vitoria and Logroño, stopping at Laguardia, about an hour from Vitoria. Laguardia is covered on foot; for Elciego, car or taxi. ## Consejos ### Book the tourist office sessions The tower and the calado have 40 places per session and fill up in autumn. ### Have someone who does not drink drive There is a tasting at every visit and the Vitoria road crosses a mountain pass. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Do I need to book to visit the wineries of Laguardia? Yes. The tourist office sessions and the wineries' visits are booked beforehand, online or by phone. ### Is Marqués de Riscal open on Sunday? Yes, every day from 10:00 to 19:00. The basic visit with tasting costs €30. ### Can you drive into Laguardia? No. Inside the wall there is no traffic: park outside and walk in. ### Is Amelibia open on Sunday? Yes, at midday, from 13:00 to 15:30. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. ### Can you go by bus from Vitoria? Yes, with Álava Bus line 9, in about an hour.