Laguardia Tourist Office

The Laguardia Tourist Office is in the Garcetas house, at Calle Mayor 52, inside the walled old town. It is more than an information desk: it organises and sells the town's cultural visits, and some, such as that of the Santa María portico, can only be done through it.

The visits it sells

• Church of Santa María de los Reyes: a guided visit to the church and its polychrome Gothic portico, of about 40 minutes, for €5 (reduced, €3.50), with 40 places per session. The portico is under restoration, with a front scaffold.
• Torre Abacial: a climb up the defensive tower next to Santa María, Monday to Saturday at 10:45 and Sundays and public holidays at 11:45; €3 (reduced, €2).
• Calado winery: a short visit, with no tasting, to one of the caves dug beneath the old town, at 13:00 Monday to Friday and on Sundays; €3 (reduced, €2).

Tickets are bought at the office or in the bookings section of its website, with a maximum of four places per purchase. The three link well in one morning: tower first thing, church afterwards and calado at midday.

More services

The office also manages visits to the Celtiberian pond of La Barbacana, next to the Mercadal gate. According to Álava Turismo's accessible tourism guide, it was built about 2,100 years ago to hold more than 300,000 litres of spring water and was discovered in 1998. At the office you also have the list of wineries that can be visited in the area, and the key to the Prao de la Paúl bird hide, in the Laguardia lagoons.

If you pass through Plaza Mayor, look at the Town Hall clock: Álava Turismo says its automata, which represent the town's dancers, come out at 12:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00.

Accessibility

Álava Turismo describes it as an adapted office with ramps and lifts. It offers an old calado fitted out with an accessible route, one of the few medieval calados that can be toured in a wheelchair. The guided visits to Santa María de los Reyes are inclusive, and the church has a wooden ramp to get over the entrance step. The old town's streets have smooth paving and the town's signage is in high relief, with braille.

Hours and contact

The website does not publish the office's opening hours; each visit's times appear in its online sales. For queries, call 945 600 845 or write to [email protected].

Getting there

The old town is pedestrianised: park outside the wall and walk up or take the public lift. From the office, the walk round the walled old town takes you to Santa María de los Reyes and the Torre Abacial, at the northern end, and the calado is booked at the same office. For tasting wine, the El Fabulista winery is in the same old town.