Page 407 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

6 Viana
Overlooked by many
nonpilgrim tourists,
Viana, the last town in
Navarra, started life as a
garrison town defending
DANIEL ACEVEDO / GETTY IMAGES ©
the kingdom of Navarra
from Castilla. Today,
the old part of the town,
which sits atop a hill, is
still largely walled and
is an interesting place
to wander about for a
couple of hours. The
Iglesia de Santa María
and Iglesia de San Pedro SPAIN 29 NORTHERN SPAIN PILGRIMAGE
are the chief attrac-
tions. Work started on
Santa María in the 13th
century and it is one
of the more impressive
religious structures on
this eastern end of the
Camino. The Iglesia de
San Pedro is today a ruin
that hosts concerts and
weddings. The former
bull ring is today a plaza
in the middle of town,
where children booting
footballs are considerably
more common than bulls.
The Drive » It’s 10km and
20 minutes from Viana to
Logroño. The first half of the
drive is through open, big-sky
countryside; the last part
through the city suburbs.
There’s a large carpark
underneath the main plaza by
the old town.

7 Logroño
Logroño, capital of
La Rioja and Spain’s
wine-growing region
par excellence, doesn’t
feel the need to be loud
and brash. Instead it’s a

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