CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Oddly enough, Valencia was, for a long time, the ‘forgotten’ city of Spain. Few Europeans knew that it existed and even fewer visited it. This is despite Valencia being the third largest city in Spain, an important port, the capital of the (very large) autonomous region of Valencia and an intrinsic part of the overall culture of Spain.
Of course, Valencia is now no longer the ‘forgotten’ city of Spain. Principally, this has been due to the recent world wide publicity gained from the America’s Cup in 2007 and the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix in Valencia. Incidentally, the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Valencia is really dramatic – as it takes takes place on the streets of Valencia around the port area.
In fact, the emergence of Valencia onto the international scene was also helped greatly by the building of the City of Arts and Sciences. This stunning area comprises a series of extraordinarily gorgeous avant garde buildings (designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela) and is located around the old course of the diverted river Turia.
So wonderful and exciting is the overall design of the City of Arts and Sciences that it has become, justifiably, one of Valencia’s most important ‘must-see’ tourist attractions.
Indeed, if ever you come to Valencia then you must not miss the City of Arts and Sciences. It must, surely, rank as one of the finest complexes erected anywhere in the world over the millenium period. If that is not good enough for you – then you should know that it also has the biggest aquarium complex in Europe!
A further attraction that has caught the imagination of the world is the amazing fiesta of La Fallas. Whilst this is celebrated throughout many other towns and villages in Valencia province, the most dramatic Las Fallas celebrations tend to be in Valencia city itself.
Certainly, the remarkable figures (burnt on the final night) of La Fallas are often colossol and fabulous works of art. Meanwhile, the daily Valencian mascaleta (music from fireworks) during Las Fallas is quite literally breathtaking and so bizarre that it has to be heard to be believed! If you want to see the Valencia Las Fallas then it is held between the 15th – 19th of March every year.
Of course, Valencia also has a world famous football club (Valencia F.C) – which is the third most supported club in Spain. It has some 50,000 season ticket holders and has fervent supporters seemingly everywhere!
Valencia city is, of course, located roughly half way down the eastern sideboard of Spain on the Costa Del Azahar (the orange blossom coast). It is surrounded by a countryside remarkable for its greenery. This, as the name of the coast indicates, is replete with enormous citrus groves, which remain evergreen and provide the area with a surprisingly lush appearance.
To the south of Valencia city are paddy fields which provide high quality rice, mostly used, no doubt, to satisfy the Valencians insatiable passion for paella – the traditional provincial dish. Inland from Valencia is a spine of low but dramatic mountains, which make for an attractive back drop to the area as a whole. Meanwhile, the coastal beaches around Valencia are notable for their endless stretches of perfect, golden sand.
Valencia city, itself, has a population of some 800,000 people and a turbulent history – as is well illustrated by its many historic buildings. Indeed, Valencia could stand as a reasonably good illustration of Spanish culture through the ages!
Founded by the Romans, Valencia’s name means valour or strength and this must have been needed over the years – as the city changed hands between the Romans (who also sacked it!) the Visigoths, the Moors and the Catalans.
Of course, famously El Cid in 1094 captured the city – only to die peacefully (probably to everyone’s surprise) in the city in 1099.
Certainly, everyone seems to have had their hands on Valencia at one time or another including, amazingly, even the English, who held the city for 16 months during the War of Spanish Succession (1701 – 1714)!
Finally, of course, during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) the capital of Spain was moved by the Republicans from Madrid to Valencia – which was duly besieged by the Nationalist forces of General Franco. Not surprisingly, the early years after the Spanish Civil War were hard on Valencia and its people. Even their language (Valenciano) was banned!
Now, Valencia city is a bustling, exciting city – somewhere proud, urbane and confident. It is certainly packed with things to do, whether you want to explore Spanish culture or just go shopping! It is delightful at night (a great time to see the lit-up City of Arts and Sciences) and it has a terrific park in the bed of the diverted River Turia. Valencia even has beautiful beaches!
Certainly, Valencia more than justifies a visit. It has a temperate climate, a good metro and excellent communications to Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante. It also has an international airport with a new (very smart!) terminal. In fact, the airport (I gather) is the closest international airport in the world to any major city centre. Certainly, the Metro only takes 20 minutes to reach the centre of the city – which is no time at all.
More prosaically, Valencia also has several large industrial parks on its outskirts with malls and all the major hypermarket stores you could ever possibly need. This makes living within reasonable distance of Valencia extremely handy!
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