Cheap Vacations to Valencia
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Land of Oranges and Paella
Valencia is Spain's third largest city. This deservedly popular travel destination never fails to delight with its pleasant Mediterranean climate, friendly inhabitants, colourful festivals (including the popular Las Fallas celebrations) and superb beaches. The city also boasts world-class museums, Europe's biggest aquarium, renowned restaurants-let's not forget that the paella was created here-, fashionable boutiques, Spain's largest fruit and vegetable market and a resolutely lively nightlife.
Attractions
The magnificent city of Valencia boasts a majestic cathedral whose construction was undertaken in 1262. Its structure was subsequently modified several times up until the end of the 18th century. Predominantly Gothic in style, it also features a few Romanesque and Baroque details, as well as the Holy Chalice, which many believe is actually the mythical Holy Grail. A superb view can be enjoyed from the top of the cathedral's Miguelete tower, and its museum also boasts a lavish collection of artwork.
Fittingly, the Lonja de la Seda ("Silk Exchange"), which encompasses a group of buildings that were built between 1482 and 1533, was initially devoted to the silk trade and is now the seat of the Cultural Academy of Valencia as well as an important agricultural trade centre. A masterpiece of Flamboyant Gothic architecture, it provides a reminder of the city's status as a major Mediterranean centre of commerce during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Valencia's fine arts museum, the Museo de Bellas Artes, is the country's second largest institution of its kind, surpassed only by Madrid's famous Prado Museum. Visitors will find several collections of artwork dating from what is considered the city's golden age, between the 14th and 16th centuries.
The city is also home to one of Spain's most interesting modern art museums, the Instituto Valenciano De Arte Moderno, whose location also provides an opportunity to get a look at some of the remains of Valencia's ancient fortifications.
The huge, futuristic City of Arts and Sciences is devoted to the promotion of artistic endeavours in the region of Valencia. It is divided into five areas: the Hemispheric, which features, among other attractions, a planetarium; the Principe Felipe Museum of Sciences, which provides visitors with an interesting introduction into the world of science; the Oceanographic, which boasts Europe's largest aquarium; the Umbracle, a covered walkway which offers a panoramic view of the city; and the Reina Sofia Palace of Arts, a sumptuous building where concerts, as well as art, opera, theatre and dance shows, are presented.
Valencia's Botanical Garden features over 40 000 plants, trees and herbs, and is the city's oldest garden.
Finally, Valencia's surrounding area also boasts another must-see attraction: the Parque Natural de la Albufera de Valencia. This nature preserve, located south of the Valencian coast, was created in 1986 and is a veritable ornithologists' dream thanks to the huge, 2.5m-deep natural pond (albufera) that lies in the middle of the park and attracts scores of birds all year long. The rice fields that surround this body of water provide a third of Spain's total rice production.
Going Out
Las Fallas, Valencia's most popular festival, reaches its peak during the few days that lead up to March 19th. During the celebrations, revellers erect giant papier-mâché sculptures (fallas) on most of the city's public squares. Most of these "artistic" creations provide a clearly sarcastic and humorous take on social criticism. On March 19th comes La Nit del Foc ("the night of fire"), when gigantic fireworks are set off and all of the fallas are set on fire during the traditional ritual of La Crema (the "burning").
The beach area which borders Avenida Neptuno attracts a steady stream of merrymakers with its bars and nightclubs during the summertime. Visitors should make sure they step into one of the city's many tapas bars to get a taste of one of Spanish cuisine's most famous culinary rituals. Valencia's old quarter, the Barrio del Carmen, is another good spot for those who wish to spend a night out on the town. Trendy restaurants and bars can be found all along its pretty narrow and winding streets.
Where on earth
Valencia is the capital of both the autonomous community of Valencia and the Spanish province that bears the same name. The city also gave its name to both the western Mediterranean gulf that its port opens onto and the famous oranges that are harvested in the region. Located at the mouth of the Turia River in the middle of Spain's Mediterranean coast, this hub of industry and rail transport is home to some 800,000 inhabitants spread over an area of 135km2. Valencia's rich surrounding huerta is replete with rice fields and citrus fruit plantations, and the city's greater area covers more than 1,400km2 and numbers 1,700,000 inhabitants.
