Haro - municipality of La Rioja, Spain
Haro is a city of 11,000 people (2018) in La Rioja. It produces red wine, and hosts the annual Haro Wine Festival. Its architectural heritage includes the plateresque main entrance of the Church of Santo Tomás, the work of Felipe Vigarny, numerous palaces, and the old town, which has been declared a Historic-Artistic Site.
Get in
By plane
Pau Pyrénées Airport across the border in France is roughly a 3-hour drive from Haro.
By car
If you are heading over the Pyrenees from France then Haro makes a good first stop.
By boat
The port of Santander is approximately 2 hours drive away.
Get around
Haro is a small town and you should be able to cover it entirely on foot. For many of the bodegas you'll want a bike, car, or taxi.
See
Do
Visit one of the many bodegas just outside of town. Many of them have guided tours in English but most require prior booking, even if it's just calling half an hour before the tour. The tourist office can provide a list of the bodegas, their contact details and prices. Many are near the train station.
Festivals
The best time to visit Haro is for the major event of the year: The Batalla Del Vino. Taking place every St Pedro’s Day, 29 June, the week’s festivities reach their climax when hundreds of people, dressed from top-to-toe in white with red scarves, hike up to a nearby hill, have a quick church service and then chuck red wine at each other until they are white no more. Walking through the streets is like a ribena berry overdose. Apparently it’s all to do with land and a dispute with a neighbouring town that dates back to the 10th century.
Buy
Eat
Head through the narrow alleyways and you will find a number of charming courtyards home to a variety of intimate tapas bars.
Drink
Wine is the name of the game in this town and you will find many places to indulge in the bar-lined alleyways that wind their way through the town from the main square.
Sleep
- Camping de Haro. A reasonably large campsite within walking distance of the town centre and some bodegas. Has a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool.