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Valencia
City Guide
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Valencia City Guide
Valencia is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. It is the third largest city in Spain.
The population of the city of Valencia proper was 807,396 as of 2006 estimates. Valencia has a Mediterranean climate, with warm dry summers and mild winters.
Valencia Sights and Museums
The ancient winding streets of the Barrio del Carmen contain buildings dating to Roman and Arabic times. The Cathedral, built between the 13th and 15th century, is primarily of Gothic style but contains elements of Baroque and Romanesque architecture. Beside the Cathedral is the Gothic Basilica of the Virgin. The 15th century Serrano and Quart towers are part of what was once the wall surrounding the city.
UNESCO has recognised the Late Gothic silk exchange (La Lonja de la Seda) as a World Heritage Site. The Mercado Central is one of the most beautiful and largest modernist markets in the world. The main railway station Estacion Del Norte is built in art deco style.
The largest square is the Plaça de l'Ajuntament, which contains the town hall, a cinema which shows classic movies (La Filmoteca), and many restaurants and bars. This is where the noisy fireworks of the mascleta can be heard every afternoon during the Fallas.
The Turia river was diverted in the 1960s, after severe flooding, and the old river bed is now the Turia gardens, which contain a children's playground, a fountain, and sports fields. The Palau de la Musica is adjacent to the Turia gardens and the City of Arts and Sciences lies at one end. World-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava produced the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, which contains a science museum, IMAX cinema and oceanographic park. Other gardens in Valencia include the Real, Monforte, and Botanic gardens.
Valencia Enterteinment.
Las Fallas
are a tradition which celebrates Saint Joseph's Day.
Groups of people, organized in the Casal faller, works all year long holding fundraising parties and dinners (like the famous paella), with music and laughter. Each casal faller produces a construction known as a falla which is eventually burnt.
The days and nights in Valencia are one running party during the two weeks of Falles. The restaurants spill out to the streets. Explosions can be heard all day long and sporadically through the night. Foreigners may be surprised to see everyone from small children to elderly gentlemen throwing fireworks and bangers in t On the final night of Falles, around midnight on March 19th, these fallas are burnt as huge bonfires. This is known as the cremada or crema. This is the climax and point of the whole event.
La Tomatina
is a festival held on a Wednesday towards the end of August in the town of. Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a harmless battle where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
The weeklong festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks. Approximately 30,000 people come to the tomato fight, multiplying by several times Bunyol's normal population of 9,000. There is limited accommodation for people who come to La Tomatina, and thus many participants stay in Valencia and travel by bus or train to Bunyol, about 38 km outside the city.
Valencia Transports
Metro and Rail Network in Valencia is provided by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV. The metropolitan Bus is provided by the EMT.
The airpot is in the municipalities of Manises and Quart de Poblet, about Valencia eight kilometres west of the capital.
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