Haro is a town in the La Rioja region in the north of Spain with a population of around 12,000. It is famous for its red wine.
The main thing you will probably want to do in the region is to check out the wine. There are numerous wineries and tours you can go on to taste wine and explore the wineries and processes.
Having said that, Haro itself is a really nice place to spend some time enjoying the wine, food and hospitality of the town. The town is quite small and the old quarter is not that big. The town revolves around Plaza de la Paz with its distinctive wine barrel building. At night, there are many places where you can enjoy amazing tapas and of course the local wine. We visited several in one night and they were all very good.
The biggest event of the year is the Wine Festival. This culminates in a ‘battle’ with people throwing wine at each other. The festival happens on June 29 each year and is loads of fun. Maybe don’t wear your favourite white clothes. Festivities start at 9 am and there is something for everyone throughout the day.
Festivals aside, Haro is a great place to visit all year round but especially during summer and the months either side of the peak tourist season.
“My number one tip for Haro and the region is, take your time and enjoy.”
There are plenty of excellent places to stay many of which are associated with wineries but all accommodation places will be able to recommend tours, wineries and places to eat.
Haro is about a 3 hour 30 minute drive from Madrid, 1 hour drive from Bilbao and 1 hour 30 minutes from San Sebastian.
We drove from Vitoria-Gasteiz which is about a 35 minute drive.