VALENCIA
Area: Cities
Country: Spain


Location:
Midway down Spain's Mediterranean E coast, 190 miles SE of Madrid, 7 miles E of Manises airport.

Telephone code from UK:
34

Website:
http://www.spaintour.com/valenci.htm

Position:
In flat coastal countryside a mile inland, bisected by a dried-up river bed (the River Turia was diverted outside the city).

Description:
Founded by the Romans and then occupied by a succession of subsequent conquerors, including El Cid and later the Moors, Valencia became and still remains a major Mediterranean port city famous for its oranges and paella. It is also a fairly popular tourist resort combining culture and coastline. It is Spain's third largest city, with 800,000 inhabitants and a bustling, overcrowded and traffic-choked old centre with a wealth of history and interesting architecture among the bland concrete high-rises. Although it is not in the same league as Granada, Cordoba or Seville, several fine public buildings, churches and a large cathedral are situated within the ring of medieval parapets and turrets, along with the huge bull ring and railway station. This area is bounded to the N and E by the old river bed, which has been transformed into an extensive urban park with sports facilities and playgrounds.

Suitability:
Budget to upmarket tourists seeking choice of city and beach activities; large corporate market attending exhibitions and conferences.

Accommodation:
Everything from small humdrum B&Bs to large middlemarket business-orientated properties, with a handful several miles outside town beside the sea front and around the port.

Shopping:
Typical big-city choice. Several major department stores (including Marks & Spencer), fashion boutiques and usual array of jewellers, souvenir outlets and art shops specialising in local ceramics.

Beach:
The long, yet fairly narrow golden sandy beaches of Las Arenas and Malvarosa N of the large port, with La Punta to the S. They are less picturesque than the main Costa resorts. El Saler, several miles farther S, is backed by sand dunes and pine forests.

Entertainments:
Daytime: beach activities. Fine array of historic monuments, museums, huge bull ring and various ecclesiastical sites. Tennis and choice of golf courses on outskirts. Nightlife: lively. Huge range of bars and handful of full-blown nightclubs and discos spread across the city. Regular music festivals at Music Palace; theatre; many cinemas with English-speaking films.

Eating:
Wide selection of national and international restaurants, especially seafood and Valencia's famous paella. Smattering of oriental restaurants, but less prevalent than in the UK. Usual range of well-known fast-food burger bars and pizza parlours. Informal tapas bars popular all day. Spaniards live to eat and don't usually begin dinner until after 10 pm.

Public-transport:
Extensive bus service with plenty of stops in the city centre. Arterial Metro system reasonably convenient for central properties. Hordes of metered taxis, but try to get an approximate price before setting off. Express train services to Madrid and elsewhere.

Local-excursions:
Madrid (by train) (day); Barcelona (day); Alicante and Benidorm (day).