One of Europe’s most beautiful towns is also one of its smallest, with just over 700 residents to its name. Briones, a tiny town in Spain’s La Rioja autonomous community, owes its name to the ancient word for the region’s first inhabitants, the Berones.
Historians believe the first inhabitants settled in the area during the Bronze Age – between 2,000 BCE and 700 BCE – and flourished in the medieval period.
But, despite having existed for several centuries, the town’s population is low, only in the high three-figure range, according to local statistics. A 2018 census reported just 766 residents, placing the town among the smallest in Spain and, by extension, Europe.
While small, the community is highly regarded and has earned high praise for its beauty from prestigious organisations. World-renowned reviewers have named Briones one of the world’s most beautiful little communities.
Reviewers for the Michelin Guide, the book published by the French tyre-making firm ranking some of the world’s best restaurants, has branded Briones “one of Spain’s most beautiful medieval villages”.
The book drew attention to one of the town’s local eateries, Allegar, a restaurant named after a local Rioja word meaning “to scrape the plate clean”, praising its “intense flavours”.
Briones is famous for more than just its food, with a host of other experiences available inside the town and in the surroundings of its hilltop perch.
People can explore the Rioja region’s famous reputation for wine via local vineyards and drink in the medieval architecture that gives the town its rustic appearance.
The town’s architectural history has seen it named a Historic-Artistic site, with most of its famous buildings set within a crumbling town wall. Among them is Briones House, a home thought to be the oldest in La Rioja.
Briones House is a property with medieval stonework boasting a timber frame and grand door that clearly sticks out within the town thanks to its attachment to a much newer building. The town is dotted with other similar homes, many from the 16th century.
They include the House of the Gadea Family, the House of the Díaz-Lizana family, and the Moscoso del Prado’s solar house, designed with glass to harness the sun for heating purposes. One of Briones’ centrepiece buildings is the Palace de los Marqueses de San Nicolás, an 18th-century building now housing the City Council and local Ethnographic Museum, La Casa Encantada.
Those not interested in the town’s time-honoured architecture can enjoy its culture, which is heavily festival-based, take one of many local wine tours, and discover how local Iberico ham is made.
