What to see and do in Arnedo (La Rioja): see caves and buy shoes

Not all of us who travel to The Rioja We are going with the objective of knowing some of its most pretty towns or visit its heritage places or taste the wines of its best wineries.

In parallel, Arnedo It is a town that in recent times has gained great fame as a travel destination. shopping tourism.

The tradition in shoe manufacturing brings thousands of visitors every week, especially from the Basque Country, go to Arnedo a buy shoes from the most prestigious brands who have installed their factory in the polygons of The Raposal y El Campillo.

But this town also known as the Shoe City It has other tourist attractions that in recent times have been given value with renovations for their visit, so that they have become ideal places to complete a day of tourism.

What Arnedo is like in La Rioja

Arnedo, by number of inhabitants, about 15.000, is the third population of The Rioja after Logroño and Calahorra.

Located Cidacos Valley, riding a Eastern Rioja, is presented as the best exponent of what is known as La Rioja Rupestre.

It does not have an attractive historic center like other towns in this autonomous community such as, for example, Ezcaray o Haro, because when you visit it you will find a configuration more similar to that of a modern city.

But located at the foot of Peña Isasa, you will see that Arnedo is surrounded by a reddish landscape, with clay walls in which countless caves open.

And furthermore, Arnedo's image is linked to that of castle located on one of the hills that rise above the town.

This sandstone rock with its easy carving creates a spectacular rock phenomenon since over the centuries they have been excavated hundreds of caves in the different hills and ravines that surround the town, which have had various uses.

Guided tours of the Arnedo Caves

After the reforms begun at the beginning of this century to facilitate your visit, now your excursion to Arnedo should include, in addition to the possible purchase of shoes, a visit to the cave complex, as we did in our most recent trip to La Rioja.

To do this you have to sign up for one of the guided tours who carries out the Arnedo Tourist Office, located in the building of the New Cinema, former cultural and leisure center built in 1951 in the main axis of the town, the Constitution walk 38.

With a duration of two hours, the visit will start from the tourist office itself, and you will go to the ravine where you will see the caves.

The first cave you will visit emulates the atmosphere of one of the most 200 cave houses which until the mid-20th century were used as housing in Arnedo.

Its distribution is very simple, starting with a kitchen that had natural ventilation, and arranging the bedrooms and the stable.

What to see in the Cuevas de los Cien Pilares in Arnedo

But the big surprise of the visit is going to be seeing the cave complex known as The Caves of the Hundred Pillars, with a large number of chambers and galleries of intricate layout that are distributed throughout the interior of the southern slope of the San Miguel Hill.

This name is due to the numerous cavities where large rock pillars are arranged that support the roofs.

This is a great example of the religious use that was also given to the caves.

Specifically, there is a document from the 11th century that refers to the ancient monastery of San Miguel de Arnedo, of which there is no vestige in this area, so it is concluded that this conglomerate of caves housed the church and the aforementioned monastery where the monks resided.

During your visit the Hundred Pillars Caves You will go through various cavities and see the numerous openings from where you have panoramic views of Arnedo.

The aforementioned reform facilitates the visit and after it some corners have been arranged where they are presented recreations of the life of monks.

You will also see an area decorated like a dovecote, which was one of the later uses of these caves.

How to visit and what to see at Arnedo Castle

Another cultural and monumental attraction is the castle which, as we have commented, rises above the population of Arnedo.

You have the best views of the castle from the aforementioned San Miguel Hill, the access point to the caves.

From there you can see a nice panoramic view of Arnedo in the surroundings of Cidacos Valley, and with the castle as the main protagonist.

To visit its interior you must also sign up for one of the guided tours organized by the tourist office, lasting one hour.

Now, if you are a little tight on time, you can go up on your own to the parking lot located at its feet where a parking lot has been set up. wooden gazebo which allows you to see the castle in the foreground, and at its feet, the town Arnedo.

El Arnedo castle It dates back to Muslim times, as it was built in the 8th century.

It is known as the Banu Qasi Fortress, an important Muslim family that lived there between the 9th and 10th centuries, until in the 11th century it passed definitively into Christian hands. Kingdom of Navarra.

It is actually a small fortress, but due to its location and its system of ramps to access it, it became an impregnable place.

Today only remains of the wall and towers remain.

The specific objectives of the Circular Tower It is from the 9th century, from the time of Muslim occupation, and the Polygonal Tower It is thought to be from the 15th century.

If you sign up for the guided tour of the castleThe advice is that if you have a car, meet the guide in the parking lot at the foot of the aforementioned castle, avoiding the walk uphill to it.

Where to buy shoes in Arnedo: Arnedo Shopping Factory

Of course you should also take advantage of your getaway to Arnedo to make shopping for branded footwear as well known as CallagHan, Pitillos, Fluchos, Chiruca or Victoria.

The most popular place for it is Arnedo Shopping Factory, a great o considered the largest shopping center for footwear and sports clothing open in the north of Spain, which you find in the aforementioned industrial estates.

There you have up 25 stores with top brand footwear that you can buy at the best prices.

Basilio García Footwear Museum in Arnedo

But if you want to delve deeper into shoe culture, it's worth visiting the Basilio García Footwear Museum, located next to the store Callaghan factory, and where you can see curious examples of footwear.

In addition to having a corner that emulates a traditional shoemaker's stall, as an example I can tell you that in this small museum you can find everything from winter boots of German soldiers of the Second World War, to espadrilles and rural footwear, or children's shoes from the 19th century.

You can also see examples of Chinese shoes or Arab slippers, sandals from Afghanistan from the 3000st century, and even sandals from Egypt from XNUMX BC.

In short, a really curious place.

Where to eat in Arnedo: Sopitas Restaurant

Finally, if you want to enjoy Arnedo of a very good food in a special environment, you have the Sopitas restaurant, old wine cellars in whose cavities you now find small reserved dining rooms.

There you can taste local kilometer zero products, having as a specialty vegetables and goat, although I tell you that you should not miss trying the roasted garlic croquettes and the caramelized piquillo peppers.

Map: how to get to Arnedo in La Rioja

Arnedo is located 50 kilometers southeast of Logroño and an hour and a half southeast of Vitoria

Photos of Arnedo in La Rioja

Here you have more photos of Arnedo and its caves.