Fun things to do in La Rioja

There are many cellars that can be visited . There you will be shown the whole wine process. There some cellars that offer a visit together with a typical Rioja lunch. In most of them you can buy wine directly at a good price.
It is important to take into account that autum is the time of the harvest and cellars are very busy, but if you are lucky to be allowed to go while the harvest you could observe how grapes arrive and the landscape during this time is amazing.
Visit from 6 euro( pincho + Crianza wine+ reserva wine)

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Leza River is a tributary of the Ebro that flows along the Camero Viejo, at La Rioja Media.
The river flowe in an impressive canyon which forms landscapes of a great beauty. The Leza river flows into the Ebro at Agoncillo. Following the river upstream you will find villages such as Murillo de Río Leza, Ribafrecha, Leza del Río Leza, Soto en Cameros or Laguna de Cameros.
From Logroño, take road LR-250. After Villamediana the road joins the valley of the Leza at Ribafrecha and begins to become steep as the canyon narrows (pic 1). Some stretches of the old road can be used as sidetracks to stop to have a look at the canyon and take some pictures.

Leza del Río Leza (pic 2) is on the other side of the canyon. There are some quarries nearby.

Some miles away is the Mirador del Torrejón. There is a small car parking on the left hand side to access the viewpoint. A hiking trail starts there and leads to Soto en Cameros, a beautiful mountain village (pics 3 & 4). The path is close to the road, a bit lower, skirts the canyon. It is wide enough and there are fences to feel more secure. The walt to Soto is about 40 minutes. It is a wonderful walk along the canyon.

There are some hiking trails starting from Soto en Cameros. When you arrive to the village there is a panel with maps of the 8 routes you can follow. The village itself is beautiful. In the past centuries the main wealth of Soto en Cameros was the textil industry and the wool trade, as all the region of Cameros.

If you are a person who appreciates art, I would suggest you to be in or around Logroño as this is one of the best and well known wine producing regions of the World. There are a lots of cellars designed by very famous world class architects such as Santiago Calatrava who designed Bodegas Ysios (http://www.domecqbodegas.com/caste/bodegas/index.php?bodega=ysios ) , Phileppe Mzieres, designer of Viña Real (http://www.turispain.com/Bodega-Via-Real.html?id106056-ip8720 ) in Laguardia, Iñaki Aspiazu in Samaniego,The fantastic work the Canadian Frank Gehry for Bodegas Marques de Riscal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa7iZXfMKoY ) in a town called El ciego or Rafael Moneo to name a few who have designed outstanding structures for famous wine companies. All the mentioned towns are in an area of about 50 kilometres from Logroño and well worth a visit. If you have a car it would be much easier than depending on public transport. If you are a food lover, you are going to love this place.

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La Sonsierra is the only part of La Rioja placed on the north Ebro riverbank. San Vicente de la Sonsierra is the main town. The church of Santa María la Mayor, in the fortress, dominates the city and offers a unique view of the Rioja Alta.
Other villages in Sonsierra are Abalos and Peciña, both with interesting monuments.

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Torrecilla en Cameros, in the Iregua valley, is a place to rest and start trekking routes in the nearby mountains.
Torrecilla flourished in the 17th century due to the sheep livestock and the wool production. Some of the masonry houses in the village are from that period.
Places of interes are San Marcos church, Iglesia Parroquial de San Martín, Medieval bridge, Ermita de San Andrés, the remains of the Palacio del conde de Superunda and the
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, on the top, with a the viewpoint over the village.

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Ortigosa de Cameros is divided in two parts by river Alberco. A concrete bridge connects both neighbourhoods, called San Miguel and San Martin. Another bridge, of iron, connects the village with some caves. The iron bridge is 54 m over the Iregua river.

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This monastery is on Sierra de la Demanda, near Anguiano, at an elevation of 1026 m, surrounded by forests and ruled by a benedictine community. There is a guesthouse in the monastery.
The monastery is dedicated to Our Lady of Valvanera, the patron saint of La Rioja. It is a place of pilgrimage for people from all the region. The carving of Our Lady of Valvanera, in romanic style, dates from the late 11th century.
A visigothic church had been built in the 10th century when the first hermits began to venerate the image of the Virgin. In the 11th century a pre-romanic church was built, followed by a romanic church in the 12th century. The present church is built in a late gothic style.

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Anguiano is a village of La Rioja, 44 km from Logroño.
Every 22nd July, eight young men from this village perform a traditional dance. They descend the street from the church to the square, twirling on a pair of stilts and playing castanets, while a band plays pipes and drums. They wear colorful waistcoats and damask skirts, and the most important, a pair of stilts of half a meter. The colors and the velocity of the dance make it spectacular.
During the Feast of Mary Magdalene, they repeat this dance twice a day: after mass and in the afternoon.