A Long way to travel for a C & A! (Valencia)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Valencia
Date:	21/08/02 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Marvellous City, Great shopping and sight-seeing, History and culture.

Disadvantages: Can get very hot, A day trip isn't enough!

We travelled to Valencia on a day trip from Benidorm on the Costa Blanca in May 2002. Our trip was organised from the hotel and lasted for the whole day. As well as visiting the tourist sites in the city we also went to the shopping centre on the outskirts...where I spent a good couple of hours in C & A buying all the bargains.

Valencia is the third biggest city in Spain and is the Capital of the region of Valencia. It has a population of around 800,000 people and is also a very popular tourist resort. It is famous for being the home of Paella, its fruit and vegetable market (a huge one that rivals those in most of Europe), the oranges that grow in the region and the lively nightlife. We just went for the day, so I can't vouch for that!!

It was a really hot day when we went (around 36 degrees) - this was in May, so I would imagine the height of season would be far too uncomfortable. The best times to visit would be May and June and then wait until September or October. There are lots of lovely buildings (many of them in the Baroque style) and places of interest - it would be a shame not to see them because you were too hot!

You will probably enter via one of the impressive city gates - my neck hurt straining to see all the buildings; I will have to go back and see the things I missed! We went on a coach, but if you are making your way by bus from Valencia airport, you can get into the city centre for around a pound...taxis are available and our guide told us they would set you back about a tenner. It's a pretty busy city and I wouldn't advise trying to drive there unless you have no other choice!

~~THE CATHEDRAL.

If you only see one thing in Valencia, make it the Cathedral! It is very impressive 13th Century building that claims to be the home of the Holy Grail. The Cathedral is open every day, but it closes at 1pm - bear this in mind when planning your journey to avoid a wasted trip! It's fre
e to get in, but there are boxes to make donations and a fee to light candles. Don't be put off by the people "begging" outside...it's a big city and it HAPPENS! Just don't be fooled by the ones who say they are collecting for the upkeep of the cathedral..most of them ARE NOT!

The inside of the Cathedral is very cool and a welcome relief from the sun outside. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of calm and serenity. There are some really beautiful stained glass windows too. I did find some of the Saint's Relics a little gruesome, but they are an important part of the religious significance of the church.

There are little chapels all around the main area, each dedicated to a particular Saint...please bear in mind that people are there to pray and not all are sight-seeing! Show respect to those who are having religious services and they didn't mind you watching or taking photographs!

The room housing the Holy Grail is near to the gift shop (where you can buy souvenirs, postcards, etc) and I was surprised to see that there was no restriction on taking photos of the chalice...it was just behind glass, but not hidden away. The site of the Cathedral has been a religious place since at least Roman times - before the Cathedral (building started in the Gothic style in 1262) it was a temple to the Goddess Diana and later a Mosque.

We were lucky enough to be there during a Festival - the grounds of the Cathedral were full of market stalls selling locally produced pottery. Apparently this only happens during a couple of weeks in May...I would recommend trying to make your trip coincide with this because we picked up some wonderful bargains.

~~~MUSEUMS.

You won't get to see them all in the one day, but I would advise you to make time to see a few. The Art Museum (Museo de Bellas Artes) is a great one to chose. There is an impressive collection of works by many famous artists...for e
xample El Greco and Goya. If you like Art you should also check out the Valencia Institute of Modern Art - maybe not to everyone's taste, but interesting nonetheless.

We took some good photos of the new development - The Hemispheric - at the City of Arts and Science Park...inside the large (almost space-age) dome there is a planetarium, IMAX cinema and a Laserium. We didn?t get chance to go inside. We also saw the Palace of Arts...a new building that will apparently have the largest Oceanarium in Europe inside!

~~~TORRES DE SERRANOS.

This is one of the remaining two city gates that lead into this magnificent city. This one is located in the Calle de Serranos and was built in the 1390's. The gate is really impressive; it's surprising, and hard to believe, that they are so old, because they are still standing and in excellent condition. I read that the Torres (means "Tower") de Serranos is open Tuesday to Sunday, but is shut on Sunday afternoons...another thing to bear in mind when planning when to visit!

~~~PALCIO DEL MARQUESDE DOS AGUAS.

This has to be seen to be appreciated...not something I can really describe. It is a Baroque palace that is sculptured in a very extravagant fashion. We didn't get inside, but from the guide books it looks just as amazing and unbelievable inside! This building also houses the Ceramic Museum...we saw quite enough ceramics in the market!

~~~WHAT ELSE?

Well...there's so much more than we got to see! There are loads of shops (some souvenir shops and department stores), including a Cortes Anglais (not sure how you spell it) which is an English styled department store - a good place to use the toilets and to get some perfumes cheaper than you would here in the UK. The Markets are worth looking at - I would recommend the Fruit & Veg market if you want to see a little taste of the real Spain, or the octagonal Lace Market if you want t
o see some beautiful quality workmanship. I could have spent a fortune...but I was saving myself for C & A!

There were some nice "green areas" too - nice parks where we sat eating an ice-cream and finding a bit of VERY welcome shade! The fountain next to the Cathedral and the Basilica was also a good place to cool down! It's just a shame we only had one day and couldn't explore further - what we saw was impressive and we would have loved to have had more time the explore the Gothic Quarter and wander around...there's even a beach, but we never got there. Still, there's always next summer!

Valencia is well worth a visit...we will certainly go again when we are in the region again. Just make sure you keep cool and I'm sure you will find it as beautiful as we did!

...and I've got to go back to buy some more tops from the C & A!

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