Rioja: Marqués de Riscal & Ysios Wine Tour from Bilbao

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/15

Duration8h

GroupUp to 7

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Iconic wineries, bold architecture, and Rioja’s timeless villages

You’ll taste legendary Rioja wines at Marqués de Riscal and Ysios with a local guide who knows every twist in the road—and every story behind each bottle. Wander medieval streets before settling in for a tapas lunch where conversation flows as easily as wine. Expect sensory surprises and moments that linger long after you leave.

Step-by-step itinerary

Rioja wine tour from Bilbao

Drive from Bilbao to Rioja region
Guided visit at Marqués de Riscal winery
Wine tasting at Marqués de Riscal
Visit medieval village in Rioja
Enjoy traditional tapas lunch
Visit Ysios Winery and admire architecture
Wine tasting at Ysios Winery

The Experience

The first thing I noticed wasn’t the vineyards—it was that wild flash of titanium twisting above the vines at Marqués de Riscal. Our guide, Marta, grinned when she caught me staring. “Gehry’s work,” she said, tapping her notebook. The building almost buzzed in the morning light. Inside, it smelled like cool stone and old oak barrels—sort of earthy and sharp at once. We wandered through cellars older than my grandparents, tasting wine that somehow tasted like the landscape itself: dry air, sun-baked earth, a bit of something herbal I couldn’t quite name.

The drive deeper into Rioja was quieter than I expected. Everyone got a little sleepy after that first glass (or maybe it was just me). When we pulled up to Ysios winery, it looked like someone had folded the mountains into waves of silver and wood. Santiago Calatrava’s design is famous for a reason—I kept squinting at the way the roof seemed to move against the clouds. The tasting here felt different: lighter wines, more mineral notes. One of the staff tried to teach us how to swirl properly; I mostly spilled on my hand but nobody cared.

Lunch happened in a medieval village—can’t remember the name now, but there were cobblestones and these faded red shutters everywhere. We squeezed into a tiny bar where plates of jamón and tortilla kept appearing without anyone really ordering them. I tried to thank the owner in Spanish; he laughed and corrected my accent (I deserved it). There was this easy quiet outside afterward—just footsteps echoing off stone walls and someone’s radio drifting from an upstairs window. I still think about that silence sometimes.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup from Bilbao, all entry fees for guided tours inside both Marqués de Riscal and Ysios wineries with tastings at each stop, bottled water throughout, plus a relaxed tapas lunch with local wine served in a medieval village before returning in the afternoon.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Northern Spain Gastronomy