Hotels in Laguardia

Laguardia is a walled medieval hilltop town in the Basque province of Álava and the unofficial capital of Rioja Alavesa, the Basque side of Spain's most famous wine region. Its narrow, largely car-free streets sit on top of a warren of old cellars carved into the rock, and the town's real draw is wine: tastings in those underground bodegas, plus a ring of serious wineries in the surrounding vineyards, including Calatrava's wave-roofed Ysios just outside town and Gehry's Marqués de Riscal in nearby Elciego.

The Gothic church of Santa María de los Reyes, with its remarkably preserved painted portico, is the standout monument. This is a village of around fifteen hundred people, so it fills with day-trippers by midday, goes very quiet at night, and has only a handful of places to sleep. You'll also want a car to reach the wineries properly. Stay inside the old walls if you can, so you can walk to dinner and enjoy the town after the tour buses leave.