EXPERIENCES

La Rioja is an ideal destination for lovers of sports, active and adventure tourism. The landscapes of La Rioja are a perfect environment to develop sports activities, learn with specialized guides and discover unique corners.

In La Rioja you can do water sports in one of its rivers or at the El Rasillo Yacht Club; you can enjoy the snow walking with snowshoes or in the Valdezcaray ski resort; you can tour the vineyards and mountains on horseback, by bicycle or on foot; You can even enjoy La Rioja from the air aboard a balloon.

The rivers of La Rioja are a paradise for lovers of fishing and its forests for hunting enthusiasts. Golf lovers have the Cirueña golf course very close to the hotel, located in the heart of La Rioja Alta. More than a million square meters, with an 18-hole course and a PAR 72, very varied game areas.

You will also find complete fields between vineyards and for the most daring we have the multi-adventure circuits located in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 6km from our Hotel, which will put your ability to the test. Hundreds of incredible experiences for you who like active tourism. You dare?

The Sierra de la Demanda is an inexhaustible source of sports possibilities. Test your level on its endless slopes.

A good way to discover natural spaces is to do it walking along its paths and if we do it with the help of a guide from our hotel, the experience will be unbeatable.

Valdezcaray has renewed the image of its website from where you can consult information about the resort's services and facilities, slope information, weather report, snow report, as well as images of the skiable area in real time through its three cameras Web. It is also present on the main social networks from where the status of the station is reported, as well as its different activities.

The station has 24 slopes and 2 itineraries with a total of 22,935 kilometers and a ski area of approximately 300 hectares. There are routes with different levels of difficulty in order to satisfy all users depending on their level: six tracks of low difficulty, as many of medium difficulty, 10 of high difficulty, two very high and two classified as off-piste itineraries, reaching the 2,125 meters of altitude and almost 600 meters of uninterrupted ski slope.

From our hotel we offer you many possibilities to practice the sport that best suits your needs: snowshoes, skiing, snowboarding... Whatever you fancy.

Grañón belongs to the jurisdictional term of Haro. La Rioja Alta is the only Spanish winery included in the Top 10 of the 27th Annual Restaurant Poll, which is included in the 'Wine & Spirit Top 50', a ranking published by the magazine in April 2017. In this way, the firm obtains the best position in history for national wine.

The wine "Gran Reserva 890 Special Selection of 2005" from the same winery was chosen as the fourth best wine in the world by the prestigious American magazine Wine Spectator.

The Haro winery has obtained a "brilliant" fourth position in the list of international consumer preferences. This is the best position obtained by Spanish wine in the 27-year history of a query that has great media impact in the USA.

On the other hand, the organizers of The World's 50 Best Restaurants launched in 2009 the inaugural list of The World's 50 Best Vineyards, new awards that seek to recognize the work of those who produce some of the best wines on the planet. After the vote of an academy made up of more than 500 experts (from sommeliers to gastronomic journalists). four Spanish wineries appear in this year's ranking, some of them are: López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, in Haro (La Rioja), in position number 3; Marques de Riscal, in El Ciego (Álava), at number 9; Vivanco, in Briones (La Rioja), on 24.

Every time a pilgrim begins to walk along the old paths of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient search mechanism common to all humanity is set in motion: the journey towards salvation. We cannot forget that there are people who do it for a religious purpose and others with a desire for adventure.

Just as there are many routes that lead to Santiago, there are also multiple routes to the most intimate discovery, the one that all pilgrims claim to experience as they advance along the paths of chance encounters or solitude, voices and silence, of the shady landscape or the dry plain, behind a single goal: Santiago de Compostela.

The pilgrims who have lived this experience especially remember the experiences of their passage through Grañón, commenting that it is a unique experience that changes your vision of the reality of the world and of the people, for its people (the Grañóns) so open and involved with the pilgrim. A famous phrase from the best-known hostel in the town says: “Leave what you can or take what you need”, reflects the spirit of Grañón, a town where they are used to giving without receiving anything in return.

At the Casa Grande Hotel we add another possibility for pilgrims. On the road, walking is just as important as resting. For this reason, we propose to live the experience of the Camino from comfort and maximum convenience. A stop along the way that will allow you to recharge your batteries to face the next challenges.

Eurovelo 1 is a European route, also called the Atlantic Coast Route, which runs from the North Cape (Norway) to Sagres (Portugal) and crosses La Rioja on its way.

EuroVelo is a project that contemplates the creation of a network of 15 long-distance cycling routes that connect and unite the entire European continent, promoted by the European Federation of Cyclists. These routes are based on existing or newly built itineraries, interconnected as far as possible, and can be used both by tourists interested in traveling sustainably and by local cyclists for daily commuting.

A good way to discover the natural spaces climbed on your mountain bike is to do it along its trails and if we do it with the help of a guide provided by our Hotel, marking the level you want, the experience will be unbeatable.

You are in 'old Spain', which fills towns and corners with the vestiges of its fruitful history. Mosaic of culture, art and traditions.

This borderland of great natural wealth has made all the towns that have passed through the peninsula seek a settlement in this region on the banks of the Ebro. One of the oldest settlements in La Rioja was the Celtiberian town of Contrebia Leucade.

But the cultural life of La Rioja does not end in its extensive history, but rather continues to be alive today with projects at the forefront of art, architecture, performing arts, music. These artistic expressions are developed above all in our festivals and traditions that you will be lucky enough to discover when you visit us.

The Monasteries of Yuso and Suso are World Heritage Sites and are located in the town of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the valley of the Cárdenas River, a tributary of the Najerilla River, in the foothills of the Sierra de la Demanda, under the snow-capped peaks in winter from Mount San Lorenzo, the highest in La Rioja (2,262 meters).

To find out about all the activities carried out by the San Millán Foundation in the monasteries of Yuso and Suso, visit: www.emilianensis.com