Logroño travel guide
Calle Laurel pintxos, Rioja wine and the Camino de Santiago
La Rioja's capital on the Ebro, a Camino de Santiago stop with a famous pintxo street, Calle Laurel, and free-to-enter medieval churches. Visit in spring or in September for the harvest. Two days is right: one for the town, one for the vineyards. Costs are above average, and many nationalities need no visa.
Logroño is the capital of La Rioja and the trading centre for its wine, sitting mostly on the south bank of the Ebro. Camino de Santiago walkers pass straight through, since the Ebro Way joins the French Way here. The city is small, flat and easy to walk.
Calle Laurel is why most people come. Together with Travesía del Laurel, Calle San Agustín and Calle Albornoz, it packs over 50 bars into a short stretch of the old town. Each bar makes its own pintxo. The custom is one bite and one glass of Rioja, then on to the next. Calle San Juan, about 300 m away, has around 30 more bars. It is usually the quieter choice.
By day, the churches are free to enter: Santa María de la Redonda with a painting attributed to Michelangelo behind the altar, Romanesque carving on San Bartolomé, and the octagonal Gothic spire of Santa María de Palacio. Late September brings the harvest fiestas of San Mateo. Around 11 June, San Bernabé recalls the French siege of 1521.
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Top things to do in Logroño
A pintxo crawl on Calle Laurel, free medieval churches and the start of the Rioja wine country.
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Best time to visit Logroño
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
San Mateo fiestas in late September and vineyard visits at their best.
Comfortable walking weather, with San Bernabé around 11 June.
Cold and quiet; the Actual festival of music, film and art fills the first week of January.
San Mateo, the wine harvest fiesta in late September, packs Calle Laurel; book rooms early.
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Getting there
Renfe from Zaragoza, Alsa from Barajas Terminal 4
Logroño-Agoncillo Airport (RJL) is 14.5 km out near Recajo, with very few flights and no public transport, so most visitors arrive by rail or road. Renfe trains reach the station from Zaragoza in about 1 hour 50, Bilbao in about 2 hours 25, Madrid in about 3 hours 15 and Barcelona in about 4 hours. Bilbao is the nearest large airport. The bus station on Avenida de España has Alsa coaches to Madrid eight times a day, stopping at Barajas Terminal 4 and Avenida de América, and to Barcelona four times a day. Drivers use the AP-68 from Bilbao and Zaragoza or the A-12 from Pamplona and Burgos.
- Train
- Zaragoza about 1 hour 50, Bilbao about 2 hours 25, Madrid about 3 hours 15
- Alsa coaches
- Eight a day to Madrid via Barajas Terminal 4
- Logroño-Agoncillo (RJL)
- 14.5 km out, car or taxi only
- Street parking in blue and green bays is paid Monday to Saturday, 09:00-14:00 and 16:30-20:00; white bays are free.
Where to stay
Beds by Calle Laurel or towards Avenida Colón
Stay in or near the old town: Calle Laurel, the churches and the Ebro are all a short walk away. Budget travellers can look for a hostal or pensión, and Camino walkers have several pilgrim albergues to choose from.
- Old town near Calle Laurel
- Steps from the bars, lively until late at weekends
- Modern centre towards the station
- Hotels a short walk from the old town
- Pilgrim albergues
- Simple hostels for Camino walkers
Getting around
biciLOG bikes and eleven city bus lines
Logroño is small and flat, and the old town, Calle Laurel and the riverside are all within walking distance of the station. Eleven city bus lines run from about 07:00 to 23:00, every 10 to 15 minutes; a ticket bought from the driver allows free transfers for half an hour, and buses have free Wi-Fi. Night buses run three routes on Friday and Saturday. The biciLOG public bikes are free once you get a pass from the tourist office, and bike lanes cover much of the city. Official taxis are white with a red stripe on the front door; a green roof light means free.
- City buses
- 11 lines, about 07:00-23:00, every 10-15 minutes
- biciLOG
- Public bikes, free with a pass from the tourist office
Know before you go
What makes Logroño worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Calle Laurel on a weekend evening, when locals go bar to bar with a glass of Rioja.
- The Michelangelo-attributed painting behind the altar of Santa María de la Redonda.
- El Cubo del Revellín, the best-preserved stretch of the old city wall.
Good to know
- Churches keep short hours; Santiago el Real, for example, opens mornings and briefly in the early evening.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Logroño, month by month
Logroño reaches 31°C in August, and January brings 10°C days and 2°C nights. November is wettest, at about 48 mm.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Logroño (Météo Climat, via Wikipedia).
One pintxo and one Rioja per bar on Calle Laurel
Order each bar's speciality pintxo with a glass of Rioja, then move on. That is the whole system on Calle Laurel and its three neighbouring streets, where more than 50 bars share a few hundred metres. Go early in the evening, and try Calle San Juan if Laurel is packed.
Calle Laurel and its neighbours (Travesía del Laurel, Calle San Agustín and Calle Albornoz) hold more than 50 bars in a few hundred metres. Locals call the circuit the Trail of the Elephants, a joke about how you would leave on all fours if you hit every bar.
Start early in the evening before the weekend crowds arrive. If Laurel is too packed, walk 300 m to Calle San Juan, where about 30 bars serve different specialities with more elbow room. Rioja is the default, but beer is fine: a caña is a small draught of about 25 cl, a corto is smaller still and a pinta is roughly a pint.
San Bartolomé to the stone bridge over two days
Two days cover Logroño. Spend the first on the churches and walls of the old town, from Santa María de la Redonda to Santiago el Real, before Calle Laurel in the evening; give the second to the Ebro and its stone bridge, a Rioja winery and Calle San Juan.
Day one, morning. Start at the co-cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda on Calle Portales and find the painting attributed to Michelangelo behind the altar. Walk on to San Bartolomé, the oldest church in town, for its Romanesque doorway, then to Santa María de Palacio and its octagonal Gothic spire. Afternoon. See El Cubo del Revellín, the best-preserved stretch of the city wall, and Santiago el Real on Calle Barriocepo, a stop on the Camino. Evening. Calle Laurel.
Day two, morning. Walk the Ebro riverside and cross the river by the old stone bridge, the way Camino pilgrims enter the city. Afternoon. Visit a winery in the Rioja countryside around the city. Evening. Check the programme at the 19th-century Teatro Bretón de los Herreros, then finish on Calle San Juan.
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How we research our Logroño travel guide
Logroño's wine and tapas notes come from the official Logroño website and Spain.info, with Renfe for trains.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of LogroñoSpain.infoRenfe trains
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Logroño.
General
Bilbao, almost always. Logroño-Agoncillo (RJL) has very few flights and no public transport, while Bilbao has trains and coaches south, and Alsa buses also run straight from Madrid-Barajas Terminal 4.
Logroño's pintxo street. With three neighbouring streets it has more than 50 bars, each with its own speciality.
Right here. The Ebro route along the river meets the French Way in Logroño, which is why pilgrims with backpacks are a constant sight in the old town.
Yes. Santa María de la Redonda, San Bartolomé, Santa María de Palacio and Santiago el Real are all free to enter.
Yes. Get a pass at the tourist office and the public bikes cost nothing; the city is flat and bike lanes run through most districts.
Barely. Give it two days: the first for the churches and an evening of pintxos, the second for a bodega visit in the surrounding vineyards.
A little. Logroño has a low crime rate, but weekend crowds on Laurel and San Juan are the one place to keep a phone and wallet out of reach.
A music, film and art festival held in Logroño during the first week of January since 1991.
Logroño is small and flat, and the old town, Calle Laurel and the riverside are all within walking distance of the station. Eleven city bus lines run from about 07:00 to 23:00, every 10 to 15 minutes; a ticket bought from the driver allows free transfers for half an hour, and buses have free Wi-Fi. Night buses run three routes on Friday and Saturday.
Timing & weather
Roughly 3 hours 15 from Madrid, 2 hours 25 from Bilbao and 1 hour 50 from Zaragoza. Barcelona is close to 4 hours.
In late September, around the grape harvest; it is the city's biggest fiesta.
The best time to visit Logroño is Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct. Mild weather, with the grape harvest and San Mateo in late September.
- Harvest: September - October (San Mateo fiestas in late September and vineyard visits at their best)
- Spring: April - June (Comfortable walking weather, with San Bernabé around 11 June)
- Winter: November - March (Cold and quiet; the Actual festival of music, film and art fills the first week of January)
Getting there
Logroño-Agoncillo Airport (RJL) is 14.5 km out near Recajo, with very few flights and no public transport, so most visitors arrive by rail or road. Renfe trains reach the station from Zaragoza in about 1 hour 50, Bilbao in about 2 hours 25, Madrid in about 3 hours 15 and Barcelona in about 4 hours. Bilbao is the nearest large airport.
Visa & documents
Spain follows Schengen entry rules. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing in the big cities is Spain's main crime risk for visitors. Pickpocketing is common in Barcelona and Madrid, especially on the metro and in tourist areas. Heatwaves and wildfires occur in summer.
