| | Overview (Source: Frommers) |
351km (218 miles) SE of Madrid, 361km (224 miles) SW of Barcelona, 650km (404 miles) NE of Málaga Valencia's charms -- or lack thereof -- are much debated. Some claim that the city where El Cid faced the Moors is one of the most beautiful on the Mediterranean. Others write it off as drab, provincial, and industrial. The truth lies somewhere in between. This Mediterranean port is in the midst of a Bilbao-type renewal. Valencia's answer to Bilbao's Guggenheim is the jaw-dropping City of Arts and Sciences. Set amid orange trees and rice paddies, Valencia's reputation as a romantic city seems more justified by its past than by its present. Hidden between modern office buildings and monotonous apartment houses, remnants of an illustrious past do remain. However, floods and war have been cruel to Valencia, forcing Valencianos to tear down buildings that today would be architectural treasures. Valencia has a strong cultural tradition. Its most famous son was writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, best known for his novel about bullfighting, Blood and Sand , and for his World War I novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse . Both were filmed twice in Hollywood, with Rudolph Valentino starring in the first version of each. Joaquín Sorolla, the famous Spanish Impressionist, was another native of Valencia. You can see his works at a museum dedicated to him in Madrid. Back to Top
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| History (Source: WCities) | Top | City Origins Tracing the historical origins of Valencia will take you back in time to 138 B.C. when the Romans, after the Second Punic War, set foot in this land and founded the city they called "Valentia". Not much is left from this period, although some archaeological remains have been found in the Plaza de la Almoina. In nearby Sagunto , a historical town just a few kilometres from the city centre, you will find, however, fantastic ruins, including a Roman theatre. After the fall of the Roman Empire, came the barbarians and later, the Visigoths. Both left their mark on the city. Not much is known about the Visigothic period, although, once again in the Plaza de la Almoina , archaeologists have found the remains of a funerary Visigothic chapel. During their reign, there were countless battles and terrible periods of economic strife which, together with an outbreak of the plague, led social havoc. This situation was taken advantage of by the Moors, who occupied the territory peacefully in 709 A.D. When Islamic culture settled in, Valencia prospered thanks to a booming trade in paper, silk, leather, ceramics, glass and silver-work. The architectural legacy from this period is abundant in Valencia and can still be appreciated today in the remains of the old walls, the Baños del Almirante bath house, Portal de Valldigna street and even the Cathedral and the tower, el Miguelete , which was the minaret of the old mosque. After Almanzor's death, t
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| How To Get There (Source: WCities) | Top | Getting There: By Air: The Valencia Airport ( http://www.aena.es ) offers travel services to destinations throughout Europe. Airlines offering service to and from the airport include: Air Berlin ( +45 30 41 47 75 10/ http://www.airberlin.com ) Air Europa ( http://www.air-europa.com ) Air France ( http://www.airfrance.com ) Blue Air ( +40 40 21 208 86 86/ http://www.blueair-web.com ) British Airways ( http://www.britishairways.com ) Brussels Airlines ( http://www.brusselsairlines.com ) Easy Jet ( http://www.easyjet.com/ ) Hapag-Lloyd Express ( +180 509 3 509/ http://www.hlx.com ) Iberia Air ( http://www.iberia.com ) Jet 2 ( +44 207 1700737/ http://www.jet2.com ) Ryanair ( http://www.ryanair.com ) Spanair ( http://www.spanair.com ) Thomson Fly ( +43 0192 89 598/ http://www.thomsonfly.com ) Transavia ( +312 0406 0406/ http://www.transavia.com ) Vueling ( +34 93 378 78 78/ http://www.vueling.com ) There are a number of ways to get from the airport to your destination. Taxi services are provided by Radio Taxi Manises ( +34 961 521 155 ), Radio Taxi Valencia ( +34 963 703 333 ), and Teletaxi ( +34 963 571 313 ). Major car rental companies include: Avis ( +34 944 869 649/ http://www.avis.com ) Europcar ( +34 944 869 780/ http://www.europcar.com ) Hertz ( +34 944 869 897/ http://www.hertz.com ) By Train: Valencia is accessible by Renfe. For informat
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| What To Do (Source: WCities) | Top | Valencia or the Art of Living Well The high quality of life of the people in Valencia can be explained, in part, by the weather: the almost daily sunshine, the breeze from the Mediterranean Sea and the temperate climate are important factors to bear in mind. To these three basic ingredients you must also add the huge variety of cultural activities available, the excellent food and drink, the scenic beauty of its countryside, the elegance of the city and the enthusiasm for life of its people. That the people of Valencia know how to enjoy themselves is confirmed in March every year during the celebrations in honour of Saint Joseph. The streets are illuminated with the magnificence of the Fallas , works of art made from wood and cardboard and standing more than ten metres tall that dominate almost every square in the city and that are burnt on the eve of 19th March. The "falleras" and "falleros" dress up luxuriously in traditional Valencian costumes and add more colour and beauty to the streets of this city. In honour of Saint George, who according to legend helped the Christians defeat the Moors, the people of Valencia have the Moros y Cristianos (Moor and Christian) parades. They take to the streets dressed in clothing representative of both cultures and with a great deal of realism and enthusiasm re-enact the battles between the two armies. Although Saint George's day is on the 23rd of April, various towns of the Community of Valencia hold these parades through
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