So far, British and American visitors have made up the largest groups.
While much of Spain struggles with an excess of tourists, overcrowded resorts, and rapidly rising accommodation prices, La Rioja offers space and tranquility.
Located in Spain between the Basque Country and Castile and León, La Rioja attracted just over 18,000 visitors in June 2025 - a mere fraction of the figures seen in tourist giants like Andalusia and Catalonia. This is reported by Olive Press Newspaper.
It is noted that while there are no beaches or blockbuster attractions like its competitors, there are other advantages: affordable housing, world-renowned wines, and a quality of life that is becoming increasingly hard to find.
While much of Spain struggles with an excess of tourists, overcrowded resorts, and rapidly rising accommodation prices, La Rioja offers space and tranquility. The prestigious DOCa Rioja region is among the most respected wine regions in the world, and wine tourism is thriving here. In 2025, the wineries of Rioja welcomed over a million visitors, bringing more than 214 million euros to the local economy.
Interestingly, more than a third of them came from abroad, with British and American visitors making up the largest groups.
Unlike Tuscany or California's Napa Valley, Rioja still offers a relatively calm and affordable winery experience. In the vicinity of the town of Haro, visitors can take hiking tours of some of Spain's most famous wineries.
However, La Rioja offers much more than just vineyards.
The monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, considered the birthplace of the written Spanish language, are among the region's main cultural attractions.
Importantly, the Way of Saint James also runs through the region, attracting pilgrims and tourists year-round.
For outdoor enthusiasts, the Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park offers forests, mountain trails, and breathtaking landscapes far from Spain's crowded coastal resorts.
The thermal springs of Arnedillo remain one of the country's best-kept secrets for wellness.
As housing availability becomes an increasingly serious issue across Spain, La Rioja remains one of the country's cheapest regions. Average prices in May 2026 were just 1,487 euros per square meter - less than half the national average and about a quarter of prices in Madrid.
Importantly, even Logroño, the capital of the region, remains affordable compared to most Spanish cities. The regional government is actively trying to attract new residents by offering incentives to encourage people to move to depopulated villages.
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