Spain Guide
Castilla y León and La Rioja
Logroño
LOGROÑO, on the Río Ebro, is a prosperous city of around 150,000, a pleasant place of elegant streets, open squares and riverside parkland. The wine trade is not as immediately apparent here as in, say, Haro, but the big draw is its lively old quarter with its excellent tapas bars. The two big annual events are Fiestas San Bernabé (June), a week's worth of enjoyable local festivities, from street fairs and pelota tournaments to folk concerts and costumed processions, and the even more exuberant Fiesta de San Mateo (Sept), which coincides with the vendimia (grape harvest).
The heart of modern Logroño is the gardens of the Paseo del Espolón, but it's in the Casco Antiguo that you'll find the liveliest bars and restaurants and the lowest-priced accommodation.
Before the wine trade brought prosperity to Logroño, it owed its importance to the Camino de Santiago. Hence the church dedicated to the saint, close to the iron bridge over the Río Ebro. High on the south side (ie not the side facing the river) of the lofty sixteenth-century Santiago el Real, above the main entrance, is a magnificent eighteenth-century Baroque equestrian statue of St James, mounted on a stallion that Edwin Mullins described as "equipped with the most heroic genitals in all Spain, a sight to make any surviving Moor feel inadequate and run for cover".
Other fine Logroño churches include San Bartolomé, and the mouthful of a cathedral, the Concatedral Santa María de la Redonda, which faces the old market square. The cathedral was originally a late Gothic hall church with a lovely sweeping elevation that was extended at both ends in the eighteenth century – the twin-towered facade is a beautiful example of the Churrigueresque style.
The Mercado de Abastos (Mon– Sat 7.30am–1.30pm & 4–7.30pm) is worth a visit (it's right by many of the best tapas bars). The evening paseo fills the pedestrianized main street, c/Portales, packing out the bars and cafés under the arcades.