Valencia, Spring break 2013

Valencia, Spring break 2013

The port city of Valencia lies on Spain’s south-eastern coast, where the Turia River meets the Mediterranean Sea. It’s known for its City of Arts and Sciences, with futuristic structures including a planetarium, an oceanarium and an interactive museum. Valencia also has several beaches, including some within nearby Albufera Park, a wetlands reserve with a lake and walking trails (ref: Google)

Well, this was our first visit to Valencia, with a bit of research about the city we made a great start on our first day. Valencia offers a huge variety of things to see, from cutting-edge modern architecture such as the City of Arts and Sciences buildings to fantastic, museums. The city is also packed with great cafes and restaurants, an one of my favorite places to visit is the Central Market. I am going to share with you, the stories of each of the major tourist attractions’ we visited during our visit.

City of Arts and Sciences.
We started our exploration of Valencia by visiting the City of Arts and Sciences complex. This is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the heart of the city. The architectural design of the building is truly modern, grand and spectacular, possibly and one the most important tourist destinations in Valencia. Here in this complex you will find AX cinema, the planetarium, the opera house and the marine park, all housed in extraordinary sculptural spaces. .

City of Arts and Sciences is located in Avenida Autopista del Saler 5. The complex opens from 10 am – 6 pm daily and you can by either a combined ticket to visit each of the attractions, or you can purchase them individually.

The Turia Gardens
Apparently, the Turia river flowed around the city until the 1950s, and during a major flood, it had to be diverted to save the city from complete flooding. The river bed is now dry, and it had been transformed into a magical public garden, where everyone can enjoy strolling along this park. The park is always busy with joggers, skateboarders, cyclists. I Valencia, you can hire bikes, and tour around the city easily. We visited the Turia Gardens several time during our visit, as it was such a great place to unwind.

The Valencia Cathedral
The Cathedral holds an amazing history. Apparently, a Roman temple was built on this site, then replaced by a mosque before the finally built the Cathedral between the 13th and 15th centuries. The architectural design of the Cathedral is mixed breathtaking, consists of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque features.

The Central Market
This is a truly “jaw dropping” market, and the real feast for the eyes. Packed with stalls all displaying the best seasonal produce of the country, I am just so glad that we stayed in an apartment, and we were able to cook amazing food purchased from the market. This is a dazzling reminder of what real food looks like. Built in the 1920s, the art nouveau market is one of the largest in Europe. Look up to see the stained glass and mosaics adorning the domes of the iron structure, and definitely have a freshly-squeezed orange juice at the tiled bar outside.

We have enjoyed Valencia so much. This city offered hips of activities for individual travellers and family. We will certainly go back one day, perhaps for a longer adventure.

Happy holiday.

 

 

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