Local Info & Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) Valencia

Valencia


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Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and capital city of the Valencia region.  It offers a wealth of things to see and do and is a vibrant and modern city that retains its heritage.

In 1238 James 1 freed Valencia from the Moors and to this day Valencia’s independence is celebrated on 9 October.  This is a public holiday for the region and is celebrated in traditional Spanish style by fiestas of music, dancing and general partying.

Another important fiesta for Valencia is Las Fallas, held at the beginning of March every year.  These celebrations take place over a couple of weeks and end with each area of the city burning large papier mache figures.  This fiesta is a spectacular scenario of coloured costumes, figurines and firecrackers, and not one for the faint hearted!

Valencia is also full of attractions and places to visit.  Some of the more popular locations are:

-          The Cathedral, which took 350 years to build and is a combination of Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance styles.  It is believed the Holy Grail was brought to Valencia Cathedral from Jerusalem in the 13^th century.

-          Museums, including el Museo del Gremio de Artistas Falleros which houses some of the figures not burnt in the fiestas www.gremiodeartistasfalleros.com, el Centro Cultural y Museo Lladró (lladró museum and exhibition centre) www.lladro.com, Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales (the natural science museum) museociencias@valencia.es and el Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe (science museum)  www.cac.es.

-          The Bioparc, www.bioparcvalencia.es a modern and innovative zoo designed to allow the animals to live in tune with their natural environment.

-          The City of Arts and Sciences (CAC), www.cac.es a cultural entertainment centre.

-          Oceanográfico, the largest aquarium in Europe.

-          El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, www.lesarts.com, a spectacular architecturally designed opera house.

-          Several parks and gardens to relax in.

-          Over 2.8km of beaches, most with bars, restaurants and children’s play areas.

Valencia also has plenty of lively nightlife, with clubs, discos and bars in the main Barrio del Carmen area.  Eating outside throughout most of the year at night is a pleasurable experience as the city is lit with a myriad of lights.

On the subject of food, you can’t visit Valencia without sampling the famous dish of the region paella.  Paella rice is grown in this fertile region and there are several types to enjoy, from meat to sea food to squid ink (which makes the rice black).  Valencia is also famous for its Valencia oranges, which are in season from November and you must try horchata, a milky drink flavoured with tiger nuts.  Fartons are also a popular choice, long pastry sticks covered in icing sugar.

Valencia is also a shopper’s paradise.  It has plenty of indoor shopping centres, both in the city and on the outskirts, which all house the main high street shops of Spain.  If you prefer a more traditional style of shopping there are street markets held every morning in different locations throughout the city and the Sunday Rastro (flea market), held in Plaza Redonda is full of bargains.

Valencia is easily reached by air, road and rail.  Travelling around Valencia is easy – there’s a modern metro system and an efficient bus service run by the company EMT.
 

Pl. de l'Ajuntament, 1  46002 València

Tel: 963525478

www.valencia.es

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