{"id":2071,"date":"2020-01-22T19:06:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T18:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/?p=2071"},"modified":"2020-03-04T11:46:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T10:46:02","slug":"laguardia-rioja-alavesa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/laguardia-rioja-alavesa\/","title":{"rendered":"Laguardia, one of the most beautiful villages in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We like to remember it: we are lucky. We are because we work on a family project, in a sector that we are passionate about and in a region that makes us fall in love. Because <a title=\"10 reasons to visit Rioja Alavesa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/visit-rioja-alavesa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Rioja Alavesa is a privileged region<\/strong><\/a>. A region where, among many other things, you can find jewels like Laguardia, one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. And about them we talk in this post.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2020\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1b-Laguardia-Plaza-del-ayuntamiento.jpg\" alt=\"Ayuntamiento en la Plaza Mayor de Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of course, <a title=\"What to see in Elciego\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/what-to-see-in-elciego\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elciego<\/a>, the town of which we are, is our favorite corner in the world, but <strong>only ten minutes from here is a unique place<\/strong>. Located on top of a hill and perfectly surrounded by walls: Laguardia, a real fort.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">How to get to Laguardia<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Due to its tourist importance, its distinction as <strong>the capital of Rioja Alavesa and its location between Logro\u00f1o (20 minutes) and Vitoria (50 minutes)<\/strong>, it is logical to think that it is quite easy to reach Laguardia. If you come by car you can do most of the road by highway and only a few kilometers through a beautiful national road between vineyards.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 95%; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BoHPxAdB39m\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"12\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Ver esta publicaci\u00f3n en Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BoHPxAdB39m\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Una publicaci\u00f3n compartida de Bodegas Valdelana (1583) Rioja (@bodegasvaldelana)<\/a> el <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2018-09-24T15:04:27+00:00\">24 Sep, 2018 a las 8:04 PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you do not have your own vehicle, you will be happy to know <strong>that it is quite simple and fast to get to Laguardia by bus<\/strong>. From Vitoria and \/ or Logro\u00f1o, there are buses with hourly frequency of the company <a title=\"Web de \u00c1lava Bus\" href=\"http:\/\/www.araba.eus\/alavabus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00c1lava Bus<\/a> go there.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Laguardia, a town with a lot of history<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Laguardia accumulates a lot of history between its walls. Although there are prehistoric archaeological sites in the surroundings of this town, its foundation dates back<strong> to the 10th century as a castle for the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kingdom_of_Navarre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kingdom of Navarre<\/a>,<\/strong> a region to which it belonged.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2026\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/6b-Laguardia-muralla-torre-Abacial-2.jpg\" alt=\"Torre campanario en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>It was in the middle of the 12th century when this castle would become a village<\/strong>, with its consequent population growth. Since then, the town was gaining in importance and the wall extended beyond the castle.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/6c-Laguardia-muralla.jpg\" alt=\"Casas amuralladas en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We go back now to the <strong>sixteenth century, at which time Laguardia would become part of Alava<\/strong>. Then Laguardia was for three centuries apart from all war, which allowed a strong development, largely thanks to wine.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2028\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3a-Laguardia-calle-cartel.jpg\" alt=\"Cartel de &quot;Wine&quot; en Laguardia. El vino es uno de los elementos fundamentales en el desarrollo de esta localidad de Rioja Alavesa\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The coming wars in the nineteenth century (War of Independence and Carlist) and the postwar Civil War in the twentieth century, greatly damaged this town<\/strong>, losing much of its walls along the way. Luckily, the ensuing years of peace and prosperity, and the growth of the wine and tourism industry, has allowed Laguardia to recover the splendor of yesteryear.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">What to see in Laguardia<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although less than 2000 inhabitants live in Laguardia, it is not surprising that <strong>in a town with so much history it retains so much heritage<\/strong>. But what can you see in it?<\/p>\n<h3><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2065\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2b-Laguardia-calle-Iglesia-Santa-Mar\u00eda-de-los-Reyes.jpg\" alt=\"Calle de la iglesia en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Visit the wall and its doors<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although the last wars damaged the perfect wall that historically surrounded Laguardia, <strong>it is still possible to visit a good part of that defensive structure and the entrance gates to the fortification<\/strong>: The Gate of P\u00e1ganos (west), Mercadal (south), San Juan (southeast), Santa Engracia (northeast) and Carnicer\u00edas (east).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2030\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/6a-Laguardia-muralla-entrada.jpg\" alt=\"Puerta amurallada de Laguardia, uno de los pueblos m\u00e1s bonitos de Rioja Alavesa (Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Go through its cobbled streets<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the greatest charms that Laguardia has is <strong>that cars cannot enter the walled area, so walking around becomes irresistible<\/strong>. It is difficult to get lost in the few streets that run through Laguardia, although all of them, especially the Mayor and P\u00e1ganos, deserve your visit.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2032\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2c-Laguardia-calle-paseo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">The main square and its clock<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wherever you go you will not be able to escape from the Plaza Mayor, the center of Laguardia. There is the town hall, the tourist office, a few flowers and the famous <strong>carrill\u00f3n, a clock where you can see some automatons dancing a melody typical of local festivals<\/strong>. You can see it at 12, 14, 17 and 20h in summer and winter, and 13 and 22 h. also in summer.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CRuhRSkNbRU\" width=\"100%\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Church of Santa Mar\u00eda de los Reyes<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to his watch, one of the great peculiarities of Laguardia is that <strong>it retains one of the few polychrome porticoes in Spain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2034\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4a-Laguardia-iglesia-de-Santa-Mar\u00eda-p\u00f3rtico-2.jpg\" alt=\"P\u00f3rtico policromado en la iglesia de Santa Mar\u00eda de Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although this portico is from the 14th century and was colored in the 17th century, <strong>the church of Santa Mar\u00eda de los Reyes began to be built in the 12th century<\/strong>. Inside there is also a spectacular altarpiece.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2036\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/4b-Laguardia-iglesia-de-Santa-Mar\u00eda-altar.jpg\" alt=\"Retablo en la iglesia de Santa Mar\u00eda de Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Church of San Juan<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>It is also worth the church of San Juan<\/strong>, initiated in Romanesque style but concluded in the Gothic. Brief but intense.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2038\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/5a-Laguardia-Iglesia-de-San-Juan-Bautista-1.jpg\" alt=\"Iglesia de San Juan Bautista en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Abacial Tower<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Very close to the church of Santa Mar\u00eda de los Reyes is the Abacial tower, a <strong>castle-bell tower of Romanesque origin<\/strong> from where there are exceptional views of Rioja Alavesa.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2040\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/6b-Laguardia-muralla-torre-Abacial.jpg\" alt=\"Campanario y torre Abacial en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Laguardia Gardens<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Laguardia you can find <strong>beautiful gardens where you can walk calmly at sunset <\/strong>and stop to rest next to the monument of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/F%C3%A9lix_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Samaniego\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">F\u00e9lix Mar\u00eda de Samaniego<\/a>, one of the most illustrious citizens that this town has given.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2044\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/7c-Laguardia-Paseo-el-Collado-estatua-Felix-Mar\u00eda-de-Samaniego.jpg\" alt=\"Estatua al fabulista F\u00e9lix Mar\u00eda de Samaniego en Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Underground cellars<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As we have already mentioned, wine is and has been one of the main economic supports of this town (and of our entire region), so it is not surprising that <strong>the wineries conform their urban landscape<\/strong>. Although at first glance you don&#8217;t see it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2046\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3c-Laguardia-calado-escaleras.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And is that <strong>the subsoil of Laguardia is a maze of wineries<\/strong>. Many of them can be visited either through the same wineries, shops, hotels or the tourist office.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/3d-Laguardia-calado-ofcina-de-turismo.jpg\" alt=\"Calados de la oficina de turismo de Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa, Pa\u00eds Vasco)\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Where to sleep if you see Laguardia<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now that we have shown you Laguardia, we can only recommend some accommodation in case you visit the town. And although the same villa has a good offer of accommodations, from Bodegas Valdelana we can not stop recommending you to spend the night in <a title=\"Accommodation in Elciego\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/accommodation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">our accommodation in Elciego<\/a>, 10 minutes from there. <strong>Our 1583 winery is waiting for you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-fw link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/contact\/\" data-for=\"#informacion-reveal\">Do you want to sleep in our winery? Contact us!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only ten minutes from our town is Laguardia, a unique villa located on top of a hill and perfectly surrounded by walls. Discover its secrets in this post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-2071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-laguardia-en"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2071"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2176,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071\/revisions\/2176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bodegasvaldelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}