Tour Summary
Highlights
- Unique architecture wineries: Ysios, Riscal, Vina Real.
- Incredible Architecture beautifully merged with rural countryside .
- Famous tasting Room: Zaha Hadid.
- Spectacular Landscape.
- Unique Tapas with great local atmosphere .
- Fabulous food, traditional and haute cuisine.
La Rioja, World Renowned Architecture Combine With Wine, Gastronomy And Culture At Its Best
La Rioja, internationally famous region for its acclaimed wines and gastronomy and now emerging as a capital of avant-garde winery architecture
Santiago Calatrava, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Philippe Mazierres – four giants of modern architecture and all with iconic masterpieces in Rioja. This tour combines an opportunity to see how the landscapes of Rioja embrace the brilliance of their concepts and how to experience the genius of Rioja itself; its sensational food, said to be the best in Spain, and its wine - both the well-known names and the paradigms of viticulture known only to the cognoscenti. In just four days, you will enjoy a feast of the unexpected joys and mysteries of this exciting corner of Northern Spain.
If you want to visit remarkable architectonic wineries, sample splendid wines, enjoy unforgettable meals in gorgeous surroundings, improve your knowledge about the impact of the modern wine architecture in the traditional Rioja wine culture, combined with striking medieval village tours, in one of the most tourist-free areas in Spain: La Rioja, this a trip that you must not miss.
Given Rioja's deep roots in medieval history, and its rustic and timeless landscape, it's interesting that the region is emerging as a capital of avant garde winery architecture. Wineries in Rioja have been designed by innovative, international architects such as Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid.
The trend toward cutting edge architectural design really started a little to the north of Rioja in Bilbao, where the fireworks of titanium panels that is Gehry's Guggenheim Museum has put that city on the architectural map.
The funky architecture is not limited to wineries, or foreigners for that matter. The distinctive work of Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, who most recently designed the gleaming new PATH train station at New York's Ground Zero, can be seen in the Bodegas Ysios winery in Laguardia as well as at the Sondica Airport and Campo Volantin footbridge in nearby Bilbao.
These architects have been praised for incorporating artistic elements drawn straight from the vineyard in their designs, such as Gehry's tumbling streams of titanium, or Calatrava's undulating pleated roof. This juxtaposition of rich history and local heritage with "the shock of the new" truly gives Rioja a character unique among both wine regions and international travel destinations in general.
To step back in time is an amazing travel experience. To step back in time and look into wild possibilities of the future is even better.
PLACES: You will be met at Bilbao home of the Guggenheim Museum with its lustrous exterior and collection of modern art. You will be driven south to Haro is a graceful town on the banks of the River Ebro, the home of Lopez de Heredia; it is a traditional family business with an astonishing secret: Zaha Hadid’s award-winning free-standing tasting room and shop shaped like a decanter. After lunch, on to Elciego, the home of the Marques de Riscal Winery and its hotel of dazzling contortions designed by Frank Ghery. From there, you will be taken to Laguardia is a medieval hilltop city behind whose ramparts are cobbled streets flanked by bodegas and tapas bars. In the evening you will check into your hotel in Logroño, the region’s capital, with its wide boulevards reminiscent of Bordeaux. Ysios next, and the harmony of Calatrava’s wave-shaped winery set against the Cantabrian mountains, a study in elegance. Finally, Philippe Mazieres’ Bodegas Viña Real shaped like an immense wine vat made from Canadian cedar wood.
WINES: You will experience a great range of wines from Rioja from traditional and avant guarde winemakers. The feature of Rioja is that the climate, soil and topography invites innovation and has done since the emigrés from Bordeaux came south in the 19th century. Today, native vines share the hills with imports to yield award-winning wines from single “chateau” estates to fabulous blends derived from aging vines grown in specialist vineyards. So whilst Rioja is famous for its robust reds, there are many subtle varieties, reds, whites and rosés to broaden your knowledge of the region.
FOOD: Just as the wines of Rioja have a unique character, so does the regional gastronomy. Some say the food here is more sophisticated and varied than anywhere else in Spain. You will discover the most delicious snack food in the world, tapas and pinchos; Laguardia and Logroño have streets dedicated to tapas bars. At the other end of the scale, there are haute cuisine restaurants, some in major wineries and others in grand hotels. You will experience some of these on your journey.
This 4-day accompanied architectural tour starts and finishes at Bilbao Airport and allows plenty of time to go exploring on your own.
Itinerary
DAY ONE- Bilbao- Haro
You are welcomed and escorted by our guide to our carefully selected hotel in La Rioja in our vehicle.
Free evening.Time to relax in your hotel or to enjoy the numerous bars and restaurants around the city.
DAY TWO- Haro- Elciego- Logroño
Guided visit to one of the oldest and prettiest Wine Estates in Europe: Lopez de eredia.
Tour conducted by one of the members of the family. Wine tasting
ARCHITECTS ZAHA HADID, One of the oldest Rioja wineries still in the original family's hands, 129-year-old López de Heredia preserves the same architectural oddities on its groundsut for a jolt of 21st-century design, the López de Heredia family commissioned a freestanding tasting room and shop from Zaha Hadid, one of the world's premier architects and a winner of the Pritzker Prize. For López de Heredia, Hadid wrapped a carved-wood kiosk, in sinuous gold-tinted steel. As shiny as a luxury yacht hull, it's shaped like a decanter and furnished with Hadid-designed benches made of wine-colored Corian.
Guided tour of Marques de Riscal and hotel. Pioneer in the Rioja wine region. Its wines have earned some of the most distinguished international awards Designed and built by Frank O. Gehry, one of the world’s most renowned architects and author of works of art like the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Wine tasting
After visiting this spectacular temple of wine and Architecture will be delighted with a truly outstanding
Gourmet lunch at the acclaimed Marques de Riscal winery ,sampling exquisite food and excellent
wines. Alternatively , we can choose a gourmet lunch held at a Mansion in Laguardia Palace hotel, wine cellar and restaurant providing superb dishes as fine examples of Basque and Riojan Cuisine, based on fresh ingredients
Private guided tour conducted by local expert of One of the most astonishing medieval towns in
Europe. You will walk through the narrow-cobbled streets of the town enjoying stunning views as well as visiting small wine/food shops and bars.
Free evening in Logroño. Time to relax, enjoy the numerous tapas bars or we can pre-book recommended restaurants.
-(Optional)
Guided tapas tour of the best tapas of the area some of them never seen before.You will sample authentic fresh food from the North of Spain, while you mix with the locals. Highly enjoyable.
DAY THREE- Logroño-Laguardia-Labastida-Logroño
Private guided tour of Ysios, an architectural wonder giving home to one of the best wines in Rioja. Ysios is the work of another world-famous architect: Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, who designed the wing-like Milwaukee Art Museum and most recently designed the $2-billion New York’s Ground Zero gleaming Transportation Hub.The architect Santiago Calatrava designed it from the sublimation of the outline of a row of barrels.
In the most beautiful part of the Rioja Alavesa rises the surprising silhouette of Ysios, conceived as anelement completely integrated in the surroundings landscape at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria The winery surprises and fascinates anyone who visits this privileged land, regarded as one of the best places in the world for growing vines. Wine tasting
Visit to the fabulous Remelluri Estate, One of the most important wineries in Rioja for Its successful style of blending the modern technology with the wine-making traditional methods.Superb typical lunch from the area, overlooking the vineyards and accompanied by the much acclaimed wines from Remelluri
Private guided tour of Bodegas Vina Real.
ARCHITECT PHILIPPE MAZIERES, Viña Real is a winery designed for the production, aging and bottling of the Viña Real range of wines,
using the most innovative methods of production. This brand was developed by Cuné in 1940's. Sixty years later, Cuné took the decision to finally give Viña Real its real home, where not only is the wine produced but also aged and bottled.
In this cellar, the French architect Philippe Mazieres, has been able to combine the concepts of man, nobility and modernity with the use of concrete, wood and stainless-steel, the main components of this new cellar. Viña Real is composed of an enormous building in the shape of an oak vat, of Red Cedar wood from Canada, a building and two enormous tunnels drilled inside the hill.
Time to rest and to enjoy the great atmosphere of Logrono by night
DAY FOUR –Logroño-Bilbao
Transfer to Bilbao.
Once back in Bilbao, visit to the remarkable Guggenheim Museum Designed by the North American architect FrankO Gehry, this unique building represents an amazing structure that has the presence of a huge sculpture set against the backdrop of the city
Accommodation
IN LA RIOJA
Hotel LOS AGUSTINOS (Haro)
HISTORIC-BUILDING , 4 star
Location
This four star property is located right in the historic centre of Haro, centre of the wine production in Rioja, surrounded by a valley of vineyards and the Cantabrian Mountains. Walking distance you can experience numerous and excellent tapas.
General Facilities
Founded as a convent in 1373, Los Agustinos hotel is a beautiful and protected building, now its walls full of history play host to exceptionally comfortable facilities where it is a privilege to stay. It has an impressive courtyard where you can relax reading your favourite book or having a glass of Rioja.
Particular mention should be made of the Las Duelas Restaurant; the Bistrot de las Duelas; Bar-Cafeteria; 24-hour room service; and free WIFI throughout the Hotel.
They offer conventional, modern and regional cuisine based on fresh products from the area and also having an outstanding wine-list and everything in historic surroundings.
The rooms
There are 62 guestrooms, most of which are outward-facing, whilst the Hotel's most salient feature is the impressive, glass-domed cloisters, which are air-conditioned and enclosed. All rooms are decorated in a rustic style and enjoy all the modern comforts: satellite TV, wifi, private bathroom with hairdryer. Guests also have access to the hotel’s fitness center.
Three or Four STAR CITY HOTEL ( Logroño) in the centre of the town for the Traditional tour.
Our selected 3 or 4 star hotels are located in the central business and leisure area of Logroño. Ideally situated for guests seeking a culturally-rich break in this great city.
Discover the old quarter with the cathedral and numerous churches and the outdoor dining area full of terraces where you can have delicious meals accompanied by excellent wines. Enjoy the famous tapas’ area ‘The Elephants path’, which is situated just a few minutes walk from your hotel. The furnishings throughout are of a good quality, the rooms are clean and the modern conveniences plentiful and state-of-the-art, including fully equipped bathrooms, air-conditioning, satellite TV and mini bar. n the well-appointed public areas of the hotels, guests are treated to friendly service and a range of excellent facilities.
