Leaving Miranda de Ebro I am on my way to Briñas. Briñas is a very charming town due to its proximity to the Ebro river. Apart from the stately coats of arms on some of its houses, we find a beautiful square and an old church. There is also a path that goes along the river and there are nautical activities.

From Briñas I head towards Labastida. This municipality is no longer in the autonomous community of La Rioja but is in the Basque Country and is part of the Rioja Alavesa. It is together with La Guardia one of the most prominent municipalities.
The old town is located at the top of the city. At the top there was a castle and the enclosure is walled. Today there is the hermitage of Santo Cristo and from there you can see the whole town.



In the main square is the town hall and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, patron saint of almost all the towns in the area. This large church of basilica proportions was completed at the beginning of the 17th century. In the third image you can see the hermitage of Christ.




Then I would walk to San Vicente de Sonsierra, a town with an imposing fortress. In addition, at the tourist office they indicated an application for using my mobile phone to be able to see places in the castle as they were at different times: from the 15th to the 20th century. The castle is from the 12th century and would have served as a fortress due to the fights between Christian kingdoms. Paths transformed into highways or houses with which they change or disappear. This application has several sites in Spain, and is part of the Virtual reality that is being investigated so much.
In the image the church of Santa María la Mayor, in the immediate vicinity of the castle, from the 16th century and in the Gothic style.



Here we have the view of the castle and the basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios.




From San Vicente, I changed roads to go to Briones, leaving Samaniego aside, a town that would also have been worth visiting but I discarded due to lack of time.
The most unique thing about this town is its structure, which has almost the entire helmet at the top of the town with numerous viewpoints and a wall that little by little have been replacing the houses of the town. It has several chapels or hermitages such as the hermitage of Christ in the image of the 18th century, and a well-kept square with a very colorful and very large church, the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción from the 16th century and in the Gothic style.






Then I will move towards Haro and back. This town is much larger than the previous ones and is very important in La Rioja, due to the large wine industry. It has several of the largest wineries in Spain and also has a well-kept historic center with numerous churches and numerous palaces or stately homes. In addition, the area of tapas bars is highly visited from other towns in the area or from the Basque Country.



The most important thing is its Plaza Mayor, where the tourist office is located in the palace of Bendaña. There we can see under the town hall numerous images of popular culture around wine and all that it has meant for social relations and its growth.



If we go up the street that goes to the church we can see numerous tapas bars as I mentioned before. The church of Santo Tomás is very similar to the one visited in the town of Briones, in the same style and from the 16th century. The main doorway is more elaborate and has baroque altarpieces of great value inside. The ceiling is in the Gothic style with ribbed vaults.

Day 4, villages of Burgos and Vitoria (CLICK to continue)

8th august of 2021