Getaways from Logroño: day trips and destinations close by.

Just cross the Ebro to be in Laguardia

Logroño is at the centre of its own map of getaways, and almost all are short. You only have to cross the Ebro to the north to be in Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa, 20 minutes away. The AP-68 and the N-124 follow the river upstream to Haro, and the A-12, the Camino de Santiago, leads towards Nájera and the Badarán road, which climbs to San Millán de la Cogolla. Continuing west along the A-12 you reach Burgos and the Sierra de Atapuerca.

To the south-east, the AP-68 drops through the Ribera to Tudela, the gateway to the Bardenas Reales and the road to Tarazona and the Moncayo; to the east is Olite, in central Navarre. To the south, the N-111 crosses the sierra on the way to Soria and the Urbión. To the north, the AP-68 leads to Bilbao and the coast: Urdaibai and, further east, Getaria and Zarautz.

For almost everything you need a car. The exception is San Millán: the VLR-108 bus leaves Logroño on Sunday at 8:30 and returns at 19:15, taking about 55 minutes. To Haro there is a train and a Riojan bus, but check the timetable before counting on them.

Sundays where the meal weighs more than the journey

Under an hour is what gives La Rioja its fame, and it is a lot: Laguardia, with its tower, a cellar and Marqués de Riscal, at 20 minutes; Haro and the Barrio de la Estación, at 40, and San Millán, with Yuso, a Badarán winery and Cañas, at 45. These are Sundays where the meal weighs more than the journey, and where someone has to skip the tasting.

Between one and one and a half hours you leave La Rioja. The Bardenas, toured on a guided 4x4 with lunch in Tudela, and Olite with Ujué are 75 minutes away; Tarazona, with the cathedral and the Moncayo beech forest, at 85.

Between an hour and a half and two hours the day starts early. Atapuerca is 93 minutes away, with the sites and the Museum of Human Evolution or with the Olmos mine and the CAREX for children; Burgos, with cathedral, castle and roast lamb, at 99. The Basque coast is at 115: Gaztelugatxe and Mundaka or Getaria, the Balenciaga and the Ratón.

Past two hours it is best to sleep away: Covarrubias and Silos, at 128 minutes; the French Basque Coast, at 133; Peñafiel and the Ribera del Duero, at 165, and, with two nights, Ordesa from Torla, a little over three hours away.

The Haro Wine Battle, on 29 June

In September and October the grape harvest rules, and there is no need to go far: Haro, Laguardia and the San Millán wineries are at their best, with the vineyards changing colour. Haro also has its own day, 29 June, with the Wine Battle. In October and November the Moncayo beech forest turns red.

In spring it is the turn of the Bardenas and Olite; in July and August the desert has no shade and the heat bears down from mid-morning. From May to October is the season for the Laguna Negra and Urbión, 101 minutes along the N-111, with a night in Vinuesa to climb before anyone else.

In summer the plan is on the Cantabrian coast: the terrace and beach at Getaria, Gaztelugatxe first thing or a night in Mundaka to paddle down the estuary by canoe. For the cold months, Burgos can be visited on any Sunday of the year; in winter, go up to the castle before lunch, because it closes at 18:00. In January there are no visits to the Atapuerca sites.

San Millán on the Sunday bus

• Without a car, in a day: San Millán de la Cogolla. The Sunday bus gives you the Yuso monastery, lunch and Berceo; the winery and Cañas call for a car.
• A Sunday with a tasting: Haro and the Barrio de la Estación. Muga with a tasting, lamb at a grill house from 1877 and the afternoon at La Herradura and Briñas, beside the Ebro.
• With one night: Burgos and Atapuerca. A good hour and a half away: on Saturday, the cathedral and the castle; on Sunday, the Trinchera with a guide and the fossils at the museum.