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Valencian Community:
Beach, fest and sun...
This Autonomous Community is a prototypical example of the "Mediterranean
Spain", with a fantastic climate and more than 500 kilometers of coast.
It is decidedly one of the country's most touristical areas.
If you want to discover more than just sun and sand, you will find
remains of most remote civilizations, Phoenicians, Greeks, Iberians and
Romans. The Moorish legacy is still present in traditional artisany and
agriculture with its praised oranges as well as rice. The conquests of
Jaime de Aragon led to the foundation of the kingdom of Valencia,
more or less at the territiory of todays Community.
Major attractions:
Valencia
The capital, with outstanding monuments in particular of Gothic period,
as La Lonja and the bell-tower Miguelete.
Alicante
The second largest city of Valencian Community, dominated by the Moorish
castle Castillo de Santa Barabara.
Costa Blanca
One of the most famous Spanish coasts. Its magnificent sand beaches and
ideal installations made it a first rate touristic center. Among the
most important cities are Denia, Calpe, and Benidorm
with its outstanding hotel infrastructure and boiling nightlife.
Costa Azahar
The "Orange-Blossom-Coast", in the north of Valencia, not only
offers great beaches but as well beautiful towns as Peñiscola
with its great medieval castle or Oropesa, which conserves the
16th century Tower of the King, erected as a defense against
pirates. A true pearl is the enchanting Morella with its
narrow lanes, enclosed by 14th century walls.
Castellon
The most remarkable monuments are the cathedral Santa Maria and
the town-hall.
Valencia:
Bright City ...
One of the biggest cities in Spain, and among the most livelies. It is
located at the Mediterranean sea, and you will find beaches right in the
very heart of it. During the summer-months it is heavily visited by
tourists, and if you want to spend holidays at the beach, with fantastic
possibilities for any kind of sports (golf, diving, cycling, tennis,
etc. are all very popular here) and a boiling nightlife, together with
an ample cultural offer, then Valencia is the place for you. Important
trade fairs confirm Valencia's position as one of the most dynamic
cities in Spain.
After all that probably you will get hungry , and you have the chance to
try Spain's most famous food right where it was born: "Paella
Valenciana"
Then Valencia is of course the city where "El Cid", Spain's national
hero, fought against the Moors, and popular festivals in the city and
many villages around still remind of this epoch.
Valencia:
Sightseeing
- The Old Town
Valencia's old part of town is limited by the rails of the tramway,
which run where have been the old town-walls until 1865. Most
monuments date to the time after the reconquest of Valencia from the
Moors, in 1238 by Jaime I.. That was the town's most blooming
epoch.
The Cathedral is mainly of early gothic
style, though some parts of it were added in later eras. Its three
portals are Romanesque, gothic and baroque, respectively. The main
chapel, Capilla Mayor, is in baroque style, the two lateral
chapels are neoclassic.
The octagonal bell-tower, called Micalet or
also Miguelete, is the landmark of the city. From there you
have a great view over all Valencia, and Victor Hugo has
counted 300 more bell-towers in all the city (to control if this
number is right could be a challenge to patient and unstressed
visitors ...??)
In the Capitulary you can see the Holy Chalice, of which Jesus
Christ and the Apostles are said to have drunk during the Last
Supper.
In the Cathedral's Museum are exposed works of Goya,
Jacomart, Cellini, Paggibonsi as well as paintings of valencian
school of 15th to 17th century.
Close to the catherdral there is the Basílica de la
Virgen de los Desamparados, ("Mare de Deu dels Desemparats"),
a church consecrated to the patroness of the city, and the Almudín,
a medieval granary that is nowadays used as a museum. In the closeby
church Iglesia de San Esteban are said to have been married the
daughters of legendary Cid.
Some more interesting buildings in this area of town are the Palace
of Almirantes de Aragón, the church San Juan del Hospital
and the Convento de Santo Domingo.
- The River
Well worth seeing are the three old bridges, Puente del Real,
Puente de la Trinidad and Puente de Serranos, the latter
with the Torres de Serranos , 15th
century towers that have been part of the old town-walls and combine
the elegance of a triumphal arch with the solidity of fortifications.
The river Turia actually was deviated around the city after a
catastrophal inundation in 1957. The old river-bed today is used by
the population for all kinds of sports and leisure-time activities.
The IVAM (Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno), located at the
river-bed, is one of the leading museums of modern arts in Spain and
so a must to visit for everybody interested in this subject.
- La Lonja and Surroundings
At Plaza de Manises is located the Palacio de
la Generalidad, a 15th century palace that today is
used as seat of government. Of high interest are the wall-paintings in
its Salon de las Cortes, Salón Dorado and
Galería de Retratos de los Reyes de Valencia.
Through the street Calle de Los Caballeros you arrive to the
town-gate Torres de Quart, of 1441, and to Plaza del Mercado,
the square where is located Valencia's probably best known monument,
La Lonja , the old stock-exchange
building of 1483.
At its side there are the baroque church Iglesia de los Santos
Juanes, with important wall-paintings of Palomino, and the
bell-tower Campanil de la Iglesia de Santa Catalina
.
Through Calle Torno you arrive to the Palace of the Marquis
de Dos Aguas, in rococo-style and with a very highly individual
portal designed by Hipólito Rovira. The Patriarca College,
of 1603, is typical for the austere ambience of religious Renaissance
buildings in Spain. Valencia's University and its extraordinary
Law Court are of neoclassical style. Another monument of quite
recent date is the bridge Nuevo Puente of 1995, nicknamed La
Peineta, "side-comb", due to its form.
- Barrio del Carmen
This district represents like no one Valencia's way of living, if you
don't know it you don't know the city. Here you'll find numerous shops,
café-theaters, bars, restaurants, flower-stands, ... it is the center
of everyday life and a unique scenery for the visitor.
- El Ensanche
A walk through this more modern part of town, inhabited mainly by
bourgeoisie and officials, may give you an impression of today's
Valencia.
- The Gardens
"Valencia es la tierra de las flores..", "Valencia is the land
of flowers", says an old folk-song, and the parks and gardens of the
city demonstrate it in an impressive way. The Jardines de la
Alameda and Jardines de Monforte are romantic parks of 18th
century. "Real" Gardens , which include also the Zoological
Garden, have beautiful cultures of roses and large pine-woods.
Inside them you can find the ruins of an old king's palace. The
Botanical Garden shows a variety of exotic plants.
Valencian Community:
Excursions
La Huerta
Seen from the air, Valencia is
surrounded by a wide green belt of very fertile land, called "La
Huerta". Up to four harvests per year are possible here.
Very interesting are the traditional houses of the agricultural
labourers, the so-called Barracas, constructions of clay
with roofs of rush. Few of them are conserved until today. The same has
to be said about the manorial houses, Alquerías. A very
nice example is the gothic Alquería del Pi in
Burjasot.
The perhaps most beautiful cultures are Alcira, Carcagente
and Oliva, as well as the rice-cultures of Sollana,
Sueca and Cullera. Its golden color in autumn creates a
unique ambience.
La Albufera
This lake is located at the South of
"La Huerta". here you may have some boating and visit romantical
fishing villages, as the picturesque Palmar.
Sagunto und Játiva
Sagunto
has to offer a very well conserved Roman theater and an impressive
medieval fortress, thus certainly being worth a visit.
Játiva is conserving its ambience of a traditional
manorial town. Its fortress shows remains of almost all periods of
Spanish history, starting with some old-iberian walls. Close to
Játiva there is the cave Cova Negra, one of the most important
prehistorical remains of the peninsula, at an age inbetween 110.000 and
30.000 years.
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