LA RIOJA

The history of La Rioja cannot be separated from the Pilgrim's Route to Santiago de Compostela. Such much so that the city did not gain importance until the rise in popularity of the route, beginning in the 11th century.

The rich soil of La Rioja enables the preparation of some of the specialities which make up its recognized culinary tradition. Asparagus, beans, peppers, artichokes and other vegetables and pulses are the basic ingredients of a long list of dishes such as vegetable stew, potatoes "a la riojana", lamb and kid cutlets with vine shoots or stuffed peppers. The traditional desserts are pears in wine, the almond pastries from Arnedo or the marzipan from Soto (made with sugar and ground almonds).
La Rioja is synonymous with great Spanish wines. For decades, wines from La Rioja, protected by their own Designation of Origin standard, have been an obligatory reference throughout Spain and beyond.

Off the Pilgrim's Route to Santiago de Compostela, other towns of major importance in La Rioja are Calahorra, capital of Lower Rioja; neighbouring Alfaro, in whose historic quarter stands the collegiate church of San Miguel Arcángel (16th-17th centuries); and Haro, a stately town which has become the centre of the Rioja region's wine production.

To the south of the region you can tour the Route of the Dinosaurs, an itinerary which takes in the tracks left by these prehistoric animals.

Another of La Rioja's attractions is its wealth of nature. The Sierra de Cebollera National Park, in the Los Comeros region, bordering on the province of Soria, is home to one of the greatest examples of glacial scenery in the peninsula.