Laguardia - Guardia

Under the medieval streets of Laguardia runs a warren of cellars, dug for the wine that still drives the town, capital of the Rioja Alavesa. The hilltop is ringed by walls built on the orders of Sancho the Strong of Navarre, entered through five surviving gates. Inside, Santa María de los Reyes keeps a Gothic portal painted in the 17th century, one of Spain's few surviving polychrome portals.

Highlights

• The polychrome Gothic portal of Santa María de los Reyes (ES)
• Plaza Mayor clock whose figures dance at 12, 14, 17 and 20 hours
• Cellar visits, including Bodegas Ysios by Santiago Calatrava (ES)
• Birthplace of the fabulist Félix María de Samaniego, now the tourist office
• El Prao lagoons and reservoir, a protected wetland (ES)

Summary based on Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA), written with AI assistance.