ING 000-000 portada.fh11 21/12/10 12:54 P gina 1 C
Composici n
M
Y
CM
MY
CY CMY
K
ING 000-000 portada.fh11 22/12/10 12:17 P gina 2 C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY CMY
K
© Conselleria de Turisme, 2011 Texts: Francisco Pérez Puche Photographers: Adam Lubroth Bruno Almela Evaristo Cantó Amparo Domingo Javier Marina Manolo Magán Design: DIMARCO Depósito Legal: V-4763-2010
Composici n
ING 001-059_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:42 P谩gina 1
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 2
Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Valencia. 39° 27’ 17.82” N 0° 21’ 10.88” W
ING 001-059_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:42 P谩gina 3
02
04
Gives you everything
06
The main attractions
16
Four destinations, just one heartbeat
26
The beach is life
30
Cities with their own style
44
Diverse and plural
46
Visions
56
Nature
74
Culture
90
Gastronomy
102
People who love festivals
110
Sports
118
Adventure
122
Health
124
Shopping
128
The night
132
Tourism portal for the Region of Valencia
134
Tourist Info Network
136
Practical information
139
Tourist map
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 4
Lonja. Valencia. 39° 28’ 28.09” N 0° 22’ 41.45” W
This is an inviting town that loves its traditions and has been open to tourism for decades. In the Region of Valencia, receiving the traveller is a duty of courtesy that has become a profession, carried out with an informal style. Like a surprising, large and diverse kaleidoscope, the Region of Valencia is spread along the shore of the Spanish Mediterranean. It is an inviting and sunny territory with open and active people. It is a land that, bordering the sea for over 500 kilometres, changes its landscape and becomes mountainous in the
interior, in the areas that border Aragón and Castilla-la Mancha. Changing and renewed, full of charming sites, the Region of Valencia hopes to capture the traveller’s senses. Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar. These are the four tourist areas that the Region
of Valencia offers to its visitors. For thousands of years, expansive and cordial people, hard-working and festival-loving, attentive to agriculture, industry and commerce, have lived between the generous soil and a blue sky that stays clear most of the year. This is the famous land of rice and the fertile orange tree orchards. But it is also
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 5
04 - 05
Promenade of la Explanada. Alicante. 39° 28’ 28.09” N 0° 22’ 41.45” W
El Fadrí Tower. Castellón de la Plana. 39° 59’ 10.01” N 0° 2’ 14.93” W
the land of olive oil and wine, as well as fruit and almond trees that look out to the sea. Surprises are still possible in the Region of Valencia. Here, discovering the landscape is an adventure that turns the trip into an unforgettable personal experience. As inviting as they are lovers of their own traditions and roots, the Valencian people have been open to tourism for decades, a duty of courtesy that has become a profession carried out with affection and an informal style. It does not matter where we go: Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar or
Castellón Costa Azahar. From north to south, going wherever they wish, in this land the tourists soon become travellers; and at once they become a guest that is treated as if they were in their own home. In the Region of Valencia, the experience of travelling is always a safe bet. Rock fortresses and thermal springs, solitude and jubilation, sea and mountain, sun and soil: the ranges of colours and tastes are always open in the four tourist areas of the Region of Valencia. Because this is a land of contrasts, of flavours and aromas, of complementary and varied places.
Benidorm. 38° 32’ 3.14” N 0° 7’ 49.47” W
ING 001-059_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:42 P谩gina 6
The main attractions
The roar of motors or the silent advance of the prow on the waves. Tight sails or vibrating accelerations. The Region of Valencia has made a strategic commitment: the main sporting events, media spectacles that summon thousands of people are a phenomenon of our century that serve to attract thousands of tourists as well as to generate dynamics that spread
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 7
06 - 07
Valencia Street Circuit. 39° 27’ 36.22” N 0° 19.58’ 97”W
our reality in a globalised world. The response, to both aspects, is highly positive. In fact, thousands of people have visited the Region of Valencia because of these large events, which have provided a global impact to our appeal. The America’s Cup, the Castelló Golf Masters Costa Azahar that took place in Castellón and the start of
the Volvo Ocean Race from Alicante have been specific events which have led to the worldwide dissemination of the milestones of Valencian tourism. But the Region of Valencia has many other attractions and incentives. They are the large infrastructures of leisure, culture and sports that are capable of attracting thousands of visitors and turning the traveller’s experience into
an unforgettable adventure. From the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias to Terra Mítica, from the Oceanogràfic to the Circuito de Velocidad Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, each year the Valencian lands offer unexpected incentives.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 8
Access to the European Grand Prix. Valencia
Race cars in the city Between sailboats and cruise ships, the most deafening and fastest car The motors roar on the streets for the race of the European Grand Prix, set in Valencia. A course created by the best specialists permits the single-seaters to run at over 300 kilometres per hour
next to the seashore and in front of the bases of the America’s Cup sailboats. Turning an old port into a Formula 1 circuit was a challenge that Valencia has surmounted. The port for the America’s Cup has been adapted and, on it, a spectacular urban circuit has
been laid out, which will include the new districts of Valencia that extend to the sea’s horizon. The city has taken a new step in its promotion and thousands of visitors have answered the call of its attractions.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 9
Circuit Ricardo Tormo. 39° 29’ 5.34” N 0° 37’ 34.51” W
08 - 09
Excitement in Cheste The first Valencian commitment to highly competitive events took place at the Cheste Circuit. Dedicated to the great Valencian champion Ricardo Tormo, each autumn it is the setting for the final trial of the World Motorcycle Racing Championship: the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana. The annual
circuit of world motorcycle racing, with all the famous Spanish racers, close its long run in Cheste every year. Thousands of fans come from all over Spain and liven up the town’s streets and even Valencia. The hotels in the entire province experience an unusual demand: over 120,000 spectators meet in the stands and
fields at Cheste to see its stars. But the Cheste Circuit, after these autumn events, is still active. For over 200 days a year there are training, trials, techniques, rehearsals, concerts and every type of activity.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 10
Mediterráneo Country Club. Borriol. Castellón. 40° 02’ 17.56” N 0° 03’ 20.17” W
Golf for the best The international golf and tennis elites meet regularly on the courses and courts of the Region of Valencia to participate in the tournaments reserved for the great stars. The informative impact that these events have the world over highlights the attractiveness of a golf course network where travellers can satisfy their highest demands. The Castelló Masters Costa Azahar tournament brought together, near the sea, not only Sergio García, who
started his sports career there, but also the best Spanish and European figures of the moment; Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Ángel Cabrera and Camilo Villegas, among others. One hundred and fifty journalists met at Castellón to follow the event, which reached over 690 million people in 33 different countries in the world. The Agora of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias of Valencia is one of the settings of the 500 ATP tennis
tournament, since 2009. This new sports form is an important event aimed at transmitting the external image of the Region of Valencia. The exclusive tennis circuit in which Valencia is now integrated is made up of Rotterdam, Dubai, Acapulco, Memphis, Barcelona, Washington, Peking, Tokyo and Basel, among other cities.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 11
Veles e Vents. Valencia Port. 39° 27’ 36.19” N 0° 19’ 25.20” W
10 - 11
Sails and winds Between 2003 and 2007, the old dock of the Valencian port was the setting for the 32nd edition of the America’s Cup, the oldest sports competition in the world and the most prestigious among nautical sports. The Swiss sailboat Alinghi won the trophy, as a culmination of the some brilliant years of regatta. The port of Valencia changed, the building Veles e
Vents was created, which is now a new reference point in the city, and international tourism became aware, through the thousands of visitors, of the city’s and region’s incentives, which were the object of unprecedented worldwide dissemination. The hosting of the America's Cup meant the opening of Valencia to the sea with the best sporting
and leisure infrastructures to house every kind of competition, regatta and nautical event. The weather conditions are excellent for nautical sports and its strategic location has turned the Marina Real Juan Carlos I of Valencia into a benchmark in the European Mediterranean.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 12
The toughest navigators In October 2008, the world’s most intrepid navigators left the port of Alicante to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race. King Juan Carlos gave the official starting signal in the race, which is over 35,000 miles. Aboard the fastest sailboats in existence, eight teams, two of which were Spanish, try
to defied exceptional winds and exasperating calms in all the planet’s seas. The first phase, between Alicante and Cape Town, gives an idea of the massive feat. Once more, a city of the Region of Valencia is the setting for an exceptional sports adventure, capable of producing a generous return, both
because of the tourist entertainment that was generated by the start of the event, and because of the huge media impact that the dissemination of the news has had on Alicante.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 13
L’Hemisfèric. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Valencia. 39° 27’ 17.82” N 0° 21’ 10.88” W
12 - 13
The spirit of Calatrava in Valencia For ten years, the architect Santiago Calatrava, sponsored by the Generalitat, has been building, in his home city, a great complex that arouses universal curiosity. It is the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the setting where Pope Benedict XVI closed the World Meeting of Families in 2006, the frame for millions of images that have gone
around the world and of hundreds of advertisements that have resorted to this fascinating architecture. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is made up of L’Hemisfèric, which has an IMAX; the Príncipe Felipe Museum of Science; the Umbracle, which is an elevated gardened path, L’Oceanogràfic and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, opera
house of Valencia. In 2008 a new bridge was finished next to the Agora, a great covered forum for all types of celebrations.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 14
Bioparc. Valencia. 39° 28’ 40.57” N 0° 24’ 41.80” W
Animals of earth and sea Valencia has two facilities dedicated to land and sea wildlife that are leaders in Europe. They are the L'Oceanogràfic and the Bioparc. The first, which is part of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, is one of the largest aquariums of marine water in the world, where hundreds of species coexist in five large circular pools. With buildings designed by the famous
architect Félix Candela, it is an attractive site in which orcas, seals and penguins coexist with every kind of species. Each day there are several performances with dolphins. The Bioparc is the most modern zoological facility in Europe and entails the adaptation of the most refined techniques that exist so that the spectators can closely observe, with
complete safety, the life of dozens of species of African wildlife. Provided with great freedom and the most favourable living conditions, elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, lions and every kind of animal from the savannah delight children and adults.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 15
Terra Mítica. Benidorm. 39° 28’ 40.57” N 0° 24’ 41.80” W
14 - 15
Myths from ancient times In Benidorm, in a place from where the city and all the bay can be seen, there is a large theme park, Terra Mítica, which relives the myths of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt through intrepid installations of risk
and adventure. The most exciting roller coasters, the most intrepid and daring slides imaginable, compete with its visitors’ emotions. But in the Region of Valencia there are other many theme parks, some of them dedicated to
water games. They are leisure infrastructures that each year attract thousands of visitors to the Valencian tourist spots.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 16
Benidorm Beach. 38° 32’ 8.44” N 0° 7’ 19.69” W
Four destinations, one heartbeat
Peñíscola. 40° 21’ 44.07” N 0° 24’ 13.49” E
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 17
16 - 17
San Pío V Fine Arts Museum of Valencia. 39° 28’ 45.54” N 0° 22’ 16.15” W
Four brands make up the presence of Valencian tourism in Spain, in Europe and in the world: Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar refer to four destinations, to four settings with
their own well-defined personality, which beat in unison in service of the proverbial hospitality and courtesy of all the Valencian lands. Being daughters of the same region and answering to the same beat, the four
areas, the four brands appear with their own personality, separately, thanks to their particular charms.
Xàbia. 38° 47' 38.52" N 0° 10' 33.43" E
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 18
Benissa. 38° 43' 19.97" N 0° 11' 17.93" E
Costa Blanca Costa Blanca, the White Coast, because of the whitewash of the fishermen’s old houses. Costa Blanca because of the almond tree blossoms that appear on the cliffs and because of the white windmills. It is the white of Greece, of Sicily and Ibiza; the white of a latitude where
houses are made to contrast with the deep blue of the sea. From Dénia, in the north of the province, to Pilar de la Horadada, in the south, a series of beaches and bays, of cliffs and inlets offer the most varied landscape in a climate that is always ideal. Winters are warm and sunny. The old prestige
of the Costa Blanca still attracts travellers from the Nordic countries as if they were migrating birds. Few cloudy days, and a blue that makes the sky here different from anywhere else, invite one to the simple life, to the observation of the sea, to walks and excursions. There are charming
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 19
Nuestra Señora del Consuelo Church. Altea. 38° 35’ 55.66” N 0° 3’ 6.05” W
18 - 19
“We see from far away, increasingly distant, the blue dome. The blue dome is exclusively of the Kingdom of Valencia”. (Azorín) valleys, fishing boats that return at sundown with a silvery load and a way of life where work and festivities wisely complement each other. Alicante is the capital of the province. To the north are the cliffs of the Marina, with solitary inlets and ports where the sailboats drop anchor to
pass the winter season. La Granadella, Teulada-Moraira, Calpe, Dénia, Xàbia, Benissa, L’Olla d’Altea, L’Alfàs del Pi, La Vila Joiosa, El Campello, Sant Joan d’Alacant, etc. They have all won tourism prestige and top awards for best service. South of the capital are Santa Pola and Elx, Guardamar del
Segura, Torrevieja, La Dehesa de Campoamor and Pilar de la Horadada. The winter sun, the summer sea. The prestige of a sweet life protected from the stress of the big cities.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 20
Levante LevanteBeach. Beach.Benidorm. Benidorm.38° 38°32' 32'4.09" 4.09"NN0°0°7'7'5.79" 5.79"WW
The prestige of Benidorm Everything the most capricious tourist could want is here. This is the paradise city of those who are seeking variety, exoticism, multiculturalism and the unusual, as an accessory, of course, to the prime attraction of the sun, sea and beach. This is Benidorm, which has been called “the city that never sleeps”, the
capital of Mediterranean tourism, not just Spanish, but European as well. In the 1950s, Benidorm was still a small fishing and farming town, linked twice a day to the capital by a bus service. Located at the foot of the Serra Gelada natural park, it had no more than 3,000 residents when it became the pioneer city of Spanish tourism. Today,
however, it is a large city full of skyscrapers which reminds one of a beachside Manhattan. In less than six decades, Benidorm has become in a tourism empire, with over 38,000 hotel rooms –more capacity than in many European countries- and a regulated offer of over 17,000 rooms in rented apartments. Perhaps Benidorm began
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 21
20 - 21
Poniente Beach. Benidorm. 38° 32' 0.20" N 0° 9' 18.10" W
as the favourite tourist spot of Madrid, but now it is a European benchmark with its own personality and renowned brand in the world of travel and summer vacations, which generates loyalty that goes beyond the markets’ contingencies. This coastal city in the province of Alicante soon became the favourite vacation
spot of the German and British middle class, of Nordic and Dutch tourists who wanted sun and beach. The most prestigious hotel chains have established themselves in the territory. Today there are over 120 hotels, some located in high-rises that beat the height records of Spain. From those magnitudes and from the great
amount of tourists that Benidorm receives each year, with a floating population of up to 300,000 people, it can be deduced that the range of Benidorm’s attractions is practically infinite.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 22
Plaza de la Trinidad. Xàtiva 38° 59' 22.93" N 0° 31' 11.86" W
València Terra i Mar The brand València Terra i Mar covers a tourism variety of a province with at least two different and complementary landscapes. The sea, with beautiful beaches, announces a coast with intense tourism, as well as commercial
and agricultural activity where the orange tree orchards dominate. But the interior is also intense and varied, mountainous and with forests that one must also associate with the Valencian landscape. Ayora and Requena, part of that mountainous
landscape, compete in beauty and attractions with Ontinyent and Bocairent, cities where there still exists a labyrinth from Moorish times. Xàtiva is a historical city, the city of the Borja family, a family of popes and nobility that gave glory to the Kingdom of
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 23
El Saler Beach. Valencia. 39° 21’ 42” N 0° 18’ 59” W
22 - 23
Valencia. La Ribera del Xúquer is the fertile cradle of orange trees; the river flows into Cullera, close to the Albufera, which irrigates the old rice fields of Valencia. To the north of Turia’s banks, the Serranos region
hides peaceful and beautiful villages with white country houses. On the coast is Sagunt, with all the prestige of its Roman history and traces of a powerful past. The capital, Valencia, sits at the centre of the province’s
arch, with all its classic values. But in the south it is important to highlight the presence of two cities with tradition, Gandia and Oliva, full of history and prestige and with wellmaintained beaches.
Júcar River. Cortes de Pallás. Valencia. 39° 14' 22.86" N 0° 59' 7.29" W
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 24
Morella. Castellón. 40° 36' 44.07" N 0° 5' 46.69" W
Castellón Costa Azahar Castellón Costa Azahar refers to, naturally, the orange tree blossom. They perfume the pleasant nights of lands where citrus fruits have been cultivated for over a century in stately orchards. Vila-real, Borriana, Nules, Almenara, Moncofa... These are ancient cities with solid agricultural prestige, which look out to the sea and ended up giving the name to the
coast of an entire province. To the north, Vinaròs and Benicarló are cities with tradition. They have known how to develop serene and efficient tourism, where many residents from Aragón appear. The isthmus of Peñíscola, with the castle of Pope Luna, receives an intense and welldeveloped tourism. To the south are Alcalà de Xivert - Alcossebre and
Torreblanca, where the Serra d’Irta natural park becomes a beautiful landscape overlooking the sea. Oropesa del Mar and Benicàssim, with lovely beaches, announce the city of Castellón de la Plana. During the 1920s, Benicàssim became the place for families from Castellón de la Plana to spend the summer. But, the interior of Castellón holds very interesting
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 25
Basílica de Lledó. Castellón de la Plana. 40° 57' 17.46" N 0° 16' 40.05" E
24 - 25
attractions for the traveller. El Maestrazgo rises up towards the pine forest of Teruel and has a unique attractiveness in Morella. Sant Mateu and Albocàsser, Vilafamés and l’Alcora, Segorbe and La Vall d’Uixó hold treasures in their landscapes, secluded squares, medieval churches and distinguished modern art museums.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 26
Les Devesses Beach. Dénia. 38° 52' 17.97" N 0° 0' 33.99" W
The beach is life
The duality of the Valencian landscape causes the long sandy beaches to alternate with cliff landscapes, even abrupt ones, where small coves become jewels of limited access and crystal-clear waters. The coast of the Region of Valencia has magnificent beaches: extensive dune chains, where the characteristic flora has been conserved and sandy areas announce areas with hawthorn and landscapes of reeds and wetlands. The
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 27
26 - 27
good weather, facilities, quality services and best accessibility conditions make the Region of Valencia’s beaches the ideal place for anyone who wants a relaxed summer under the sun. Xilxes in Castellón; El Saler, next to Valencia; and Guardamar del Segura and Santa Pola in Alicante are among the beaches with the best-conserved flora in their dunes. But next to them are Benicarló and Oropesa del Mar, Benicàssim and Peñíscola, Nules and Almenara. Farther
south in Valencia, Canet d’En Berenguer, Sagunt, Alboraya and Malva-rosa; Cullera, Oliva and Gandia; in the province of Alicante, Dénia and Xàbia, Altea, Benidorm, Sant Joan d’Alacant, Elx and Torrevieja... It would be unfair to make a list. Beaches with fine and delicate sand, and also round pebble beaches; they are all pleasant. There are over one hundred highquality beaches with sandy areas recognised each year for their natural
charm and for the care with which the cities tend to the bathers in them. From morning to night, there is the beach, alive and all-embracing. The beach is sun, it is bathing in warm and transparent waters. But in this part of the world it can be a lot more. In the Region of Valencia there are beaches that are lighted at night, like soccer stadiums. This way, the tourist can make the most of them or get the best ratio with nature that is sought in the
ING 001-059_MaquetaciĂłn 1 15/12/10 16:42 PĂĄgina 28
edge of land and sea. The beach is part of the vacation city; in reality, it is the result of the beat of a population that looks out to its sea, it relates to it in the strip of sand and in the process, urbanises it, furnishes it and tames it. With large sunshades and loungers, showers, foot washers and rubbish bins, very careful supervision, healthcare posts and assets that include reserved areas for playing
sports as well as bathing areas accessible to persons with reduced mobility, the Valencian beaches boast of responding to bathers’ demands. The towns strive each year to take better care of their beaches: providing them with more comforts for the users. The blue European flags are the acknowledgement of that effort. Populated beaches for relaxing under the sun for dozens of families with
colourful sunshades. As well as deserted beaches where solitude is predominant and nudism is practiced: all of this, in an orderly variety, is possible on the coast of the Region of Valencia.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:42 Página 29
Vinaròs Benicarló Peñíscola Alcalà de Xivert-Alcossebre
Torreblanca Oropesa del Mar
Benicàssim
Castellón de la Plana
Moncofa
Puçol El Puig La Pobla de Farnals
Nord / Torrenostra Morro de Gos / La Conxa / Platgetes de Bellver
Voramar / L’Almadrava / La Torre de Sant Vicent - Torreó Els Terrers / Heliòpolis
L’Arenal
Nules Illes Columbretes
Masbó / Grao
Les Cases / Cerezo
Almenara Canet d’En Berenguer Sagunt
Carregador / La Romana / Les Fonts Manyetes / Moro / L’Estany
Gurugú / El Pinar
Borriana Nules
Xilxes
El Fortí El Morrongo / La Caracola Nord
Casablanca Racó de La Mar
L’Almardà / El Port de Sagunt Puçol Playa-Puig Puebla de Farnals
Port Saplaya
Alboraya
Arenas - Cabanyal
Valencia
La Malva-rosa Pinedo L’Arbre del Gos
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
El Saler La Devesa Sueca Cullera
El Perellonet / El Perelló Mareny de Vilxes / Les Palmeretes El Dosser / El Far / L’Illa - Los Olivos El Racó / Sant Antoni
Tavernes de la Valldigna Xeraco
Tavernes de la Valldigna / La Goleta Xeraco
Playa Nord Gandia Bellreguard Bellreguard Miramar Miramar Piles Piles
Oliva
Terranova / Pau-Pi / L´Aigua Blanca
Dénia
Les Deveses / Les Marines / Les Bovetes Les Rotes / Marineta Cassiana / Punta del Raset La Grava / L´Arenal / La Granadella
Xàbia Teulada-Moraira Benissa Calp Altea L’Alfàs del Pi
El Raco de L´Albir
Benidorm Finestrat La Villa Joiosa
Llevant / El Mal Pas / Poniente La Cala
Centre / El Paradís El Campello El Carrer de la Mar / Mutxavista
Alicante Elx
Sant Joan / El Postiguet / Saladar / Albufereta L` Altet / La Marina / Les Pesqueres - El Rebollo Els Arenals del Sol
Playa Lisa / Llevant / El Varador Santa Pola Tamarit / Calas del Este Tabarca La Marina / Les Pesquers - Rebollo
Guardamar del Segura Torrevieja Orihuela
Pilar de la Horadada
El Portet / L’Ampolla / Les Platgetes Cala Fustera
La Fossa / Port Mauri El Cantal Roig / L’Arenal-Bol L’Olla / La Roda / Cap Blanc
Centre / La Roqueta / Els Vivers / Moncaio
Torrelamata / Los Locos / El Cura Los Náufragos-Acequión / La Mata Flamenca / La Zenia / Campoamor / Cabo Roig Mil Palmeras / Cala Capitán / Barranco Rubio
Jesuitas-Cala Rincón / El Puerto / Las Villas-Higuericas / Conde
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:43 Página 30
Central Market. Valencia. 39° 28’ 23.82” N 0° 22’ 42.06”W
Cities with their own style
Port of Alicante. 38° 20’ 21.48” N 0° 28’ 44.48” W
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:43 Página 31
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. 39° 27’ 37.74” N 0° 21’ 20.57” W
30 - 31
Espai d’Art Contemporani. Castellón de la Plana. 39° 58’ 57.52” N 0° 1’ 56.18” W
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:43 Página 32
Marqués de Dos Aguas Palace. Valencia. 39° 28’ 21.50” N 0° 22’ 28.53” W
Valencia’s ambition The songs, the verses, the passionate proclamations of journalism and novels have made the city of Valencia, and all of this region, a land of flowers and light. But there is much more. In the last decade, Valencia is a city that has been rediscovered by tourists who want to be travellers. This city has new and emerging charms for those who are looking to city tourism for the incentives of rediscovering small
and large secrets. Permanently blue skies, fertile ground; orchards and orange trees that are both exuberant and rich. Valencia makes its trip through history accompanied by these compliments and definitions, and even by more flattering ones. They are not completely clichés, nor are they distorted legends; they have a lot of truth because the landscape and weather favour everything that has
been written about Valencia, even if it has been done with passionate affection. However, besides everything that has been written, Valencia holds pleasant surprises for the new city travellers; for the tourist without a fixed calendar and without any rush; for whoever appreciates finding the middle road between culture and enriching leisure. Valencia has two thousand long years of history. A Roman settlement at
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:43 Página 33
Cathedral and Miguelete. Valencia. 39° 28’ 33.62” N 0° 22’ 31.18” W
32 - 33
the shores of the Turia river. After that, a Visigothic and Muslim city, Cid Campeador who conquers and loses it, and Jaime de Aragón, who takes it, falls in love with everything he sees and founds on this ground a new Christian kingdom, associated from that moment on, with no interruption, to the Aragón Crown and to the Spain that would come later. A city linked to the Borja, Vives and Centelles families; city of trades and guilds, of gentlemen with ruffs and of honest artisan professionals. City of the young Azorín and young Ramón y Cajal. Of Llorente, Blasco
Ibáñez, Benlliure and Joaquín Sorolla. Valencia is the city of silk and grain, of port and artisan workshops. Furniture and clothes, swords and ceramics. Valencia is a crossroads and at the same time, with an eternal vocation of being Castilla’s port in the Mediterranean. All these characteristics are alive in its streets and squares, even after all this time. The Velluters and Carmen neighbourhoods, the twisted roads of the Moors with Christian trade names; the route that Luis Vives evokes with his students. City of Moors and Jews, of old and new Christians, Valencia now shows
all the styles from the art history textbooks, from Romanesque to Modernism, with a balance that does not overwhelm and that ends up winning the heart of the visitor. Sarcastic and fun-loving people live here, but also very hard-working people; the executive that works by day will make you the best paella at night, without batting an eye, lighting a fire in the middle of the street during the Fallas festival. Gothic style in the Micalet and baroque in Santa Catalina, the city’s two most famous towers. In the Cathedral, a cimborio (octagonal dome)
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 34
“Valencia, open city, is a land so propitious for the acclimatization of trees, as well as for men and cultures”. (José Ombuena)
Lonja. Valencia. 39° 28’ 27.46” N 0° 22’ 42.22” W
that becomes transparent in alabaster and a lecture room where the Holy Chalice is kept. And the tomb of Ausías March, the Patriarch of the Valencian language. Nights and days, wars and centuries: Valencia. With its unique rarities: it has dedicated almost half of its territory to a natural park named La Albufera and has two riverbeds for the same dry river, after having turned its old riverbed into an urban park (ten kilometres long) that now makes up the city’s unusual landscape. Valencia is the
The Water Court. Door of the Apostles. Valencia. 39° 28’ 34.00” N 0° 22’ 31.66” W
city that became modernist at the end of the 19th century and proudly shows the mosaics of the Mercado de Colón (Columbus Market) and Estación del Norte (North Train Station). In front of the age-old Lonja (Silk Exchange) is the Mercado Central (Central Market), vibrant with colours and aromas, sensual and fresh; so that we know, from the voices of the vendors, that there’s no town or life without the hustle and bustle of vegetables, fruits and fish. It is a city for the pleasure of
living, for chatting in the square; for tapas and the semi-secret corners. The Borja family walked through here. This was the birthplace of Saint Vicente Ferrer and the cloistered convent for Sister Isabel de Villena. Olive and cypress trees. A Mediterranean city, willing to play with costumes and festivals. On some days it feels classic and on others it presents a spontaneous and natural atmosphere, without ever losing the composure of its roots. This city, at the end of the 20th century, dedicated its
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 35
Palau de la Música. Valencia. 39° 27’ 58.62” N 0° 21’ 42.59” W
34 - 35
new image to Santiago Calatrava, one of its favourite sons. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias was the dynamic element of an urban change that was accompanied by a change in motivations, ambitions and projects. There is a new Valencia shaped by the Palacio de Congresos (Convention Centre), a very important International Fair, the IVAM (Valencian Modern Art Institute), Palau de la Música (Music Palace) and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Art Museum). The world has
acknowledged this transformation and Valencia, since then, changes each year, adapting and transforming. It looks for sporting events, unprecedented festivals, and ambitious challenges. It knows it is not easy to be Spain’s third city; but its spectacular change has made it the city with the largest hotel increase in Spain and with the greatest attraction for tourists. On the city’s outskirts, the green blanket of orchards, splashed with white farmhouses and some solitary adobe houses. The
rectilinear crops and the delicate attention to the earth speak more of gardening than of agriculture; the irrigation ditches reach every plot of land through a capillary system that has been regulated by the Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court) for thousands of years. White towns extend to the north and west of the great city.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 36
Port of Alicante. 38° 20’ 21.48” N 0° 28’ 44.48” W
Alicante, city of sea One will rarely find in a city such an intense relation and integration between the city and its sea. Unlike Valencia and Castellón de la Plana, which were located in the orchards but away from the beach and the ports of Grao, Alicante originated next to the sea, in a perfect location of nature and landscape where the Benacantil mountain offers inhabitants the possibility of finding shelter next to a good natural port. These features, with time, would give the entire city a marine nature and would end up influencing the open and friendly spirit of a tourism city par excellence.
Phoenicians, Greeks, Iberians, Romans, Arabs, etc. All the people who have dared to sail the Mediterranean have passed through this natural shelter, where now, so many centuries later, one could say that the warriors, never completely worn out, come to find shelter from modern times. Alicante, and many towns in its province, in fact, have a very high percentage of residents from other regions of Spain and from all of Europe. Over a hundred nationalities have been recorded in some cities of Alicante, some of which have registered more residents of foreign origin than nationals for years.
It has been written that winter has a rendezvous and takes refuge in Alicante. Although Vicente Ramos wrote that this is a city pierced by the Mediterranean, Gabriel Miró spoke of the “serenity of a blue sky, always blue” and of a “golden sun, strong, generous”. In fact, the former Lucentum (ancient predecessor of Alicante) has awakened the sensitivity of writers, travellers and poets because here, the calmness of the sea and the serene architecture of the palm tree are combined and turned into enviable traveller service, quality of life and service professionalism. Generous in
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 37
36 - 37
“Serenity of the blue sky, always blue, a golden sun, strong, generous”. (Gabriel Miró) festivals and traditions, Alicante is reborn each year on the Sant Joan holiday, when it creates and burns bonfires in the midst of popular street celebrations and thunderous pyrotechnics by day and by night. With continually lively beaches and a port well-established in the business sector (the setting for the arrival of dozens of cruise ships), the city has just found a new role as the starting point of the Volvo Ocean Race, a regatta of worldwide prestige which takes the city’s name to all seas. Intense by day as well as by night, Alicante is enlivened by tourism in both the
peaceful winter and intense summer. The traveller must walk down the Explanada, the esplanade where everything and everyone can be found, and go to Santa Bárbara Castle, the city’s reason for existing, from where one can see an impressive marine and urban landscape. Museums and churches, such as Santa María in the old quarter, are landmarks of a pleasant walk through the city. The co-cathedral of San Nicolás, patron saint of Alicante, makes up the historical centre, along with the City Hall. Although the entire coast is beautiful, Cabo de Huertas deserves a
visit for its marine landscape. On the outskirts of Alicante, each day the island of Tabarca calls hundreds of travellers. But it is also nice to go to the monastery of Santa Faz, site of an annual procession for the citizens of Alicante. A short distance away, the beach of Sant Joan d’Alacant is the summer vacation centre of Alicante, a place of very effective development where hotels, spas and first-rate golf courses are brought together.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 38
Cathedral and El Fadrí. Castellón de la Plana . 39° 59’ 10.01” N 0° 2’ 14.93” W
Surprising Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana is the capital of the province with the same name. Surrounded by extensive green plains, that which in the past was a hidden city has become in a few years a dynamic and prosperous city, full of charm for the visitor. Well balanced, Castellón de la Plana divides its influences among agriculture, heavy industry and a services sector in which the traveller finds, besides golf, top-level facilities. If its port is a dynamic force of the overall province, the airport that is being built a few kilometres away will
soon be one also. Castellón de la Plana’s birth certificate is dated 1251, when King Jaime I authorised the primitive village, established around the fortified hill where today is found the Magdalena Hermitage, to move to the plain and found a new town. This community peregrination is still remembered each year: it is the popular Romería de les Canyes, in which the residents go up to the original hermitage and recall their ancient roots. The very act of this pilgrimage, the “romería”, is characteristic of numerous festivals,
devotions and traditions of the province of Castellón. The idea of a village in motion has been used in modern times to highlight the change experienced by the city. Because from being a city with agricultural features it has turned to urban activities and determined expansion, to a powerful and courageous growth in urban aspects. Always in relation to controversy, innovation and tradition have clashed in the city that, despite the great changes, continues maintaining features of a life that was
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 39
Planetarium. Castellón de la Plana. 39° 58’ 43.41” N 0° 1’ 21.16” E
38 - 39
“Castellón is located on a plain, a league from the sea. The amenity and warmth of its district, the beautiful streets and excellent buildings place it among the most distinguished towns of the Kingdom.” (Antonio José Cavanilles) provincial and tranquil. Castellón de la Plana is always pleasantly surprising. The Greenwich meridian and the 40th parallel intersect in the city. The Planetarium, located near the sea, recalls this and for years it has been a milestone in the city’s capacity for leisure time and culture. Castelló Cultural is a constant dynamising factor in the field of fine arts and shows: the Teatro Principal, the Museo de Bellas Artes, l’Espai d’Art Contemporani and the Auditoriums and Convention Centres of Castellón de la Plana and Peñíscola
move together in search of complementary cultural activities. The annual festivals of the city are famous, which take place on the third Sunday of Lent to recall the peregrination of the residents. Returning from the pilgrimage, the Gaiates, monumental floats of light and colour are paraded, which move like triumphant carriages. In the historical centre, the Plaza Mayor is the heart of the city: there the City Hall, the Central Market and the Santa María co-cathedral meet. Castellón de la Plana is surrounded
by agriculture that provides pleasant and noble landscapes, associated with the cultivation of orange trees. Between the city and the sea, the strip of land of the marjalería (wetlands) is an unbeatable vegetable garden, splashed with rural houses for spending the summer holidays. But, in a nearby radius, the visitor will find the site of the Desert de les Palmes, a protected natural park, and the Columbretes Islands, the only islands of the Region of Valencia, also protected, as a natural park and marine reserve.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 40
Convention Centre. Valencia. 39° 29’ 46.11” N 0° 24’ 5.50”W
Business, conventions and fairs A balanced network of fairs, auditoriums and convention centres has made the Region of Valencia an ideal place to hold conventions, conferences and professional or commercial meetings on the national and international level. In the last fifteen years, the construction of new facilities and the radical
transformation of those already existing have left the four Valencian tourism areas prepared to tend to any demand in the commercial field and to be leaders in convention tourism. The most veteran institution, the Feria Valencia (trade fair grounds), originated in 1917, has recently renewed and expanded the centre of
operations that were erected in the 1960’s. With 1,400,000 visitors annually and 13,000 exhibitors in the 60 different shows that it organises, the institution has become a tool at the service of the modern economy. The current facilities, which occupy four pavilions and a large Forum suitable for celebrations and conferences,
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 41
Valencia Trade Fair. 39° 30’ 13.11” N 0° 25’ 43.72”W
40 - 41
provide all types of possibilities: up to 300,000 square metres of useful surface area can be occupied simultaneously. A leader in the number of events, exhibition area and customer service, Feria Valencia is offered as a profitable channel for generating business. The city of Valencia, moreover, has
forums suitable for all types of seminars, technical and professions meetings. Besides the Palau de la Música, the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the two universities and other institutions, Valencia has, since 1998, the Palacio de Congresos (convention centre), a building designed by the British architect
Norman Foster. Effective and practical, the premises provide all types of facilities while offering the user the best equipment for the organisation of all types of events. The modern professional installations with which the three capitals of the Region of Valencia are equipped make it an ideal place for the venue of national
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 42
Auditorium and Convention Centre of Castellón de la Plana. 39° 59’ 29.95” N 0° 1’ 47.06” W
and international conventions and fairs. The new premises of Valencia Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar, the future Palacio de Congresos (Convention centre) of Alicante in the Costa Blanca or the experience of Benidorm and its hotel capacity make the Region of Valencia an ideal place for all types of professional meetings.
The existing Palacio de Congresos of Alicante is a building with four stories and more than 8,000 square metres of surface area. In its eleven rooms of diverse capacity, it offers the latest technologies at the service of all types of events. The largest room has more than 500 seats, and all the facilities have the latest technologies. In reference to the future Palacio de
Congresos of Alicante, it will have large auditoriums and conference rooms, exhibition halls and other facilities, renewing those already available in a more efficient way, in a new framework. L’Auditori i Palau de Congressos of Castellón de la Plana placed the city among those prepared for seminar and convention tourism. Surrounded
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 43
Convention Centre. Peñíscola. 40° 21’ 40.66” N 0° 24’ 0.40” E
42 - 43
by green zones, in a beautiful setting, the institution has an auditorium with capacity for 1,200 persons and different rooms, with flexible use for holding conferences as well as concerts. It has the Magic Box, a multipurpose room capable of holding 500 diners. The 10 meeting rooms have capacities that vary from 50 to 125 people. In a total area of 2,025 square
metres prepared for any celebration, all with the services of catering, cafeteria, translation, hostesses, etc. Finally, the Region of Valencia has the Palau de Congressos of Peñíscola, located in this beautiful Castellón province, next to the sea. Thanks to a design as effective as it is vanguard, the institution has a main hall for 700 seats. The building has an exhibition
hall, meeting rooms, press and management, as well as a lower and upper hall of dimensions appropriate for functionality and for possibilities and multiple uses.
ING 001-059_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:44 P谩gina 44
Diverse and plural
This is a diverse and plural land. A land of contrasts that offers everything to the traveller. Past and present, serenity and agitation. At a very short distance, on the same route, in the Region of Valencia it will be possible to experience the discovery of the most innovative next to a tradition preserved for thousands of years: the
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 45
44 - 45
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. 39° 27’ 37.74” N 0° 21’ 20.57” W
architecture of Santiago Calatrava coexists here with the ancestral Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court); just like the palm trees of Elx open under the same sky as the cliffs of Morella. Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar. Harsh and sweet, dry lands and irrigated lands, green and brown, the Valencian
landscape is plural. The rugged forests of the mountain heights are as possible as the lagoons of reeds a few steps from the sea. It is this enormous variety, the contrasted duality of the Valencian geography, that gives it a particular charm. So that the traveller can find it all. From north to south and from east to west, at a time in which the journey
is a personal experience, with a great variety of options in order to please the palate of very different travellers. Under the sun and next to the sea, the Region of Valencia waits for those who love sailing and golf, Iberian art and contemporary design. Full of contrasts and of life, diverse and surprising.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 46
VISIONS
Serra Calderona. Valencia. 39º 42’ 0.00” N 0º 24.20’ 0.00” W
The Altea cove is crowned by the blue dome, characteristic of the Valencian landscape. The old white village, with narrow streets, crowds around the Virgen del Consuelo Church. Between the Punta Bombarda and the Morro de Toix spreads a bay of serene water and a port where small yachts harmonise with the activity of
the fishermen that each morning go out to fish. In the province of Castellón, in l’Alcalatén, the Penyagolosa rises imposingly to confirm that there is a Region of Valencia of mountainous landscape, harsh and designed for effort. From Vistabella of the Maestrazgo one can reach the sanctuary of Sant Joan de
Penyagolosa and, from there, hike up to the highest peak of the region, Penyagolosa, at 1,814 metres. If a blanket of clouds does not impede it, from the peak the traveller can contemplate an astonishing landscape of mountain ranges, forests and valleys. El Turia nearly always ends up dry in Valencia, but it is a mountain river
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 47
46 - 47
Altea Port. 38° 37’ 44.19” N 0° 0’ 7.42” W
Ports and mountains Next to the beauty of the beaches and calm ports, the mountain takes over the landscape
whose source is in the mountains of Teruel, and irrigates the Rincón de Ademuz and crosses the rugged landscapes of the Valencian mountain region. From Benagéber to Pedralba, passing through Tuéjar, Chelva, Calles, Domeño and Chulilla, the traveller will find imposing canyons, little-known reservoirs, crests and pine forests. In
Chulilla, the river outlines the town, settled on a rock mass crowned by the old castle of Moslem style. The ducal city of the Borja, Gandia, is one of the substantial points of València Terra i Mar. Capital of an agricultural district of great prestige, La Safor, the city treasures a distinguished past and a present of great tourist
attraction. For many years, thousands of summer vacationers have come to its beach, golden and serene. There are so many residents of Madrid that have a house next to this beach that there are trains and buses that make the MadridGandia route and there is a stable office of this city in the capital of Spain.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 48
VISIONS
Altea. Alicante. 38º 35.92’ 0.00” N 0º 3.04’ 0.00” W
Calm and intensity Serene towns where life passes slowly next to municipalities of amazing flurry
Not very far from Morella, El Forcall is offered to us as a symbol of towns with a quiet life where nothing seems to have changed. The palace of the Osset presides over this serene town. Streets and mansions of a Gothic style have tranquilly gone through time to offer their new
attractiveness to the modern traveller. In the city of Valencia, the San Jaime plaza, in the heart of the popular Barrio del Carmen, changes the morning calm for an unusual night time activity. During the weekends, the young people meet here to set up one of the most
well-known recreation and leisure areas of the entire Mediterranean: old pharmacies, former stores, haberdasheries and warehouses are now active establishments where the clock stops. The Rincón de Ademuz is an enclave of the Valencia province
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 49
Terra Mítica. Benidorm. 39° 28’ 40.57” N 0° 24’ 41.80” W
between neighbouring Teruel and Cuenca. Ademuz, the capital of this mountainous district is presented to the traveller propped up on a hill as if it were a Nativity Scene. Between the Ebrón and the Turia, valleys of fruit trees and poplar groves, and thick pine woods, an exceptional setting for a
serene stay and for strolling in spring and autumn. Benidorm is, by itself, a force in the tourism of the Region of Valencia. Cosmopolitan, famous worldwide, with thousands of hotel rooms, the city that drove tourism of Alicante and of all of Spain is a place of exceptional
intensity where life is hectic both at night and during the day. With its particular configuration of skyscrapers, Benidorm has its own style and charm: the Terra Mítica theme park is one of its hundred attractions, among which the beaches are not the least.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 50
VISIONS
Biar Castle. Alicante. 38° 37' 47.69" N 0° 46' 12.88" W
Morella is a fortress perched on a cliff, a town clinging to its castle and sustained by the walled enclosure. Its beauty originates from its rarity and is transformed in picturesque streets, plazas and settings. A perfect tourist destination, it combines history with attractions of the present, traditions with modern art, particular gastronomy and surrounding areas full of surprises.
The scene of wars and battles, many events of the history of the Valencian lands have taken place in this impregnable fortress. The Provincial Archaeology Museum of Alicante, MARQ, is excellent proof of the development that culture has had in the Region of Valencia for the purpose of teaching as well as a tourist attraction. A
combination of the most modern computer resources with the highest selection of historical pieces have allowed archaeology to find an ideal place in this museum to explain the customs, cultural expression, food and coexistence models of the primitive villages of the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. It is said that the San Pío V Fine Arts
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 51
50 - 51
San Pío V Fine Arts Museum. Valencia. 39° 28’ 45.54” N 0° 22’ 16.15” W
Castles and museums Fortresses that speak of centuries coexist with cultural institutions of all kinds
Provincial Archaeology Museum (MARQ). Alicante. 38° 21’ 12.79” N 0° 28’ 35.63”W
Museum of Valencia is the second pictorial collection in Spain because of its quality and the quantity of artwork that it houses. Expanded in recent years, it brings together the collection of the San Carlos Fine Arts Academy and its own collections that go from the early Valencian and Flemish works to very select pieces of the last decades of the 19th century.
The Valencian artistic group of that time –Sorolla, Benlliure, Sala, Pla, Pinazo– is magnificently represented in its halls. Rugged and powerful, the Biar fortress dominates the city and reiterates that the Valencian lands have had gradual borders of conquest and have also been the scene of tension with Castilla. In the most extraordinary
cliffs, dominating valleys, road and the outline of the rivers, there are walls and towers that invoke a vigilant and battling past. Beside the fortress, Biar, which continues speaking to us of ancient Christian and Arab kingdoms, preserves a labyrinth of winding streets, with a particular charm.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 52
VISIONS
Exposición Bridge. Valencia. 39° 28’ 20.56” N 0° 21’ 57.23”W
Declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Silk Exchange of Valencia refers to a commercial past in which the trade guilds shaped the basic structure of the city in which the port linked all of those of the Mediterranean. The Gothic spiralling columns give solemn architecture to a contracting room festooned with a ribbon with the
legend, in Latin, that recalls ethical sentences of the traders. The international architect Santiago Calatrava was born in Valencia. And for more than a decade he has been leaving in his city a set of buildings that can be considered as his most powerful professional and artistic legacy. Whichever you may prefer, the Ciudad
de las Artes y las Ciencias is made up by the Hemisfèric, the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, Reina Sofía Art Palace, l’Oceanogràfic and l’Umbracle, to which now is added the Assut de l’Or Bridge and the Ágora. The church of the Sangre is one of the most outstanding pieces of Valencian religious culture and a key building of
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 53
52 - 53
L’Almoina Gate. Valencia Cathedral. 39° 28' 32.51" N 0° 22' 28.04" W
Classical and contemporary The styles of the past coexist with the most fascinating modern architecture
the city of Llíria, called the “City of Music”. It was the first temple that achieved the protection as an historical artistic monument in the Valencian region. And this is due to the fact that it is one of the few that preserves Romanic traces along with those of Sagunt and Xàtiva. It is, then, a temple of the first era of Christian domination, a time of change and the
settlement of a new culture. In Castellón de la Plana we can find the contrast: it is the Planetarium, the first that was built in the Region of Valencia, a facility from the 1980s, prior to that of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias of Valencia. It is located next to the Pinar beach, to the north of the Grao Port, and it was the first dynamic element
of the change of the city de la Plana in reference to leisure and culture. Castellón de la Plana, in the first years of the 21st century is a city with outstanding examples of new architecture at the service of culture.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 54
VISIONS
El Saler Golf Course. Valencia. 39° 19' 9.51" N 0° 18' 5.43" W
The serenity of a golf course, the solitary peace of a good stroke is a pleasure within reach of everyone on the golf courses of the Region of Valencia, that appear among the best equipped and designed of Spain. Always with fair weather, any of the facilities to which the traveller may go, located next to the sea or towards the interior, will satisfy the aspirations of
the golfers. El Saler golf course, located next to the Tourism Parador of the same name, is one of the most prestigious facilities in Europe. Thousands of young fans, coming from all over Europe, join in with multitudes, each summer, in the International Music Festival of Benicàssim, FIB. Enjoying music of the latest trends, in a multitudinous
atmosphere of festivity and participation, it is one of the many possibilities of tourism of the Region of Valencia. Singers with great appeal and the best national and international rock groups increasingly include the four Valencian tourist areas in their schedules of activities and tours. Each June, Les Fogueres de Sant Joan (bonfires of St. John)
ING 001-059_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:44 P谩gina 55
54 - 55
Desert and town The traveller can look for solitude or enjoy being submerged in multitudes
culminate with the fire ceremony in a mass festival, worth being experienced in the street, in the popular stalls where young and old get together for a coexistence that extends without hours to bridge the day and night. Among fireworks, the flames devour cardboard and wooden monuments to set the rhythm of the festival of the following year. That
night, the firemen carry out the ritual established ritual of watering the excess flames on the fa莽ades and the heat of the multitude of festival goers. But the lovers of serenity and large spaces, also have their opportunity in the mountain heights of Castell贸n, Alicante and Valencia. The mountain climber will find daring cliffs for his activity and the hiker a
network of paths perfectly marked and preserved. Deep ravines, winding paths, torrents and forest allow all types of sports activities individually or in small groups, far from the bustle and noise of the multitudes.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 56
NATURE
Monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna. Simat de la Valldigna. 39° 2’ 34.80” N 0° 18’ 18.89” W
The church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles was built on a large fortified Templar tower erected on the rocky mound of Castielfabib. Perched on a cliff, peering out over lush valleys of poplars and fruit trees, the town is one of the most picturesque landscapes of the Rincón de Ademuz, a characteristic district of the Valencian interior. Rural tourism
has awakened new tourist routes in the three provinces of the Region of Valencia and has opened new scenarios, now placed within the reach of travellers. The monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna is located in one of the most beautiful valleys of the region. Surrounded by mountains, the stream bed, populated with lush orange
groves, it opens to the sea and conforms an exceptional setting. In the 14th century, the Cistercian monks founded a cenobium, profusely decorated in baroque times and abandoned because of the disentailment. Through extensive efforts, the Valencian Regional Government is recovering the place and returning it to its former splendour.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 57
56 - 57
Calpe. Costa Blanca. 38° 38' 33.24" N 0° 3' 23.82" E
Peaks and valleys The orography of the Region of Valencia allows great contrast with the landscape
Monastery of Santa María de Benifassà. La Tinença de Benifassà. 4 0° 40' 35.44" N 0° 11' 49.58" E
Challenging the Mediterranean, like a watchtower, the Peñón de Ifach carries with it the legend of being one of the towers of Hercules. It is the most characteristic landscape of the Costa Blanca, the reference of a postcard of blooming almond trees and white houses that climb up in search of a benign sun all year round and an intensely blue sea. In the rocks
of the coast we can find the Baños de la Reina, remains of rafts from a factory where the Romans prepared salted fish. Benasal has the name of a spa of salutary waters where the Font d’En Segures has for centuries tried to attain the wellbeing of those who go to its facilities. Located in one of the most beautiful valleys of the interior of
Castellón, the town has a rich history that is preserved in ruins of the wall and various ancestral houses that make up plazas with porticos. For decades the hermitages, pine woods, walks among shadows and fruit trees have made more enjoyable the excursions of the summer vacationers that look for relief in the fountains and health from the springs.
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:44 Página 58
NATURE
East and west The variety of landscape takes us to very different scenarios
The interior of the Region of Valencia is mountainous and is frequently covered with lush forests. Those of the natural parks of the Tinença de Benifassà, the Sierra de Espadán and the Desert de les Palmes, in the province of Castellón, are particularly rich in corn oaks, Kermes oaks and Holm oaks, besides different types of pine and
coniferous trees. The protected birds of prey have taken over the peaks in the Valencian mountain ranges. Palm trees make one think of the south. Palm trees refer us to an oriental landscape. In midst of the vast Valencian orange grove, the slender palm tree is a reference for the hiker. As we advance towards the south, the
contrast of the palm trees becomes more frequent and intense until making up actual forests in the south part of the Alicante province and especially in Elx. But along with the adobe houses, or the white farmhouses, it is an unavoidable reference of the Valencian landscape. The orange tree continues being the master of extensive areas of Valencian
ING 001-059_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:45 Página 59
58 - 59
The palm grove of Elx. Alicante. 38° 5’ 67.0.00” N 0° 56’ 28.0.00” W
landscape. From the coastal zone it has been climbing in altitude in the protected areas of the interior. Marina and Safor, Ribera and Camp de Turia, and of course Plana de Castellón present lush orchards with orange groves that tradition teaches to cultivate with delicacy. In Vila-real and Borriana, in the province of Castellón, the exporting
brands compete in quality and pedigree with those of Carcaixent and Alzira, on the banks of the river Xúquer. A few kilometres from Vila-real or Nules, towards the interior, the landscape changes and the orange tree concedes its priority to the olive tree. It is still possible to find thousand-yearold olive trees in the interior of the
province: an official declaration has given them protection as assets of public interest. In the areas near the natural park of Sierra de Espadán –from Aín to Chóvar and from Alfondeguilla to Eslida– the oil is elaborated with traditional care and results in accredited handcrafted brands.
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:54 P谩gina 60
NATURE
Large and small Nature, with its variety, offers the most vivid contrasts
In the Bioparc of Valencia, Africa has been reconstructed in detail so that the species may adapt to their new habitat. In this way, it is not unusual to see in the same excursion a rhinoceros and elephants, giraffes and large felines. Hundreds of people visit the facilities each day, especially those designed so that the greatest freedom
of movement of the animals is made possible, the utmost safety and the greatest sensation of unity between the fauna and the landscape. Four islands make up a singular and very old island chain of volcanic origin. They are the Columbretes Islands, one of the most cared for natural parks of the Mediterranean, a place
where being delicate and small is still important. The protection permits the rarest plant species to coexist with birds that find there a specialised refuge of environmental quality. The lizard of the Columbretes is an endemic species that cannot be found in any other part of the world.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:54 Página 61
60 - 61
Beluga. L’Oceanogràfic. Valencia. 39° 27’ 19.49” N 0° 21’ 9.64” W
The seabeds of the Valencian coast are places of singular beauty and environmental quality. They are bays of clean and transparent water where the meadows of seagrass are part of the landscape between bands of fish. On the coast of the Serra d’Irta, in the setting of the Tabarca island, or in the natural park of the Serra Gelada, in the
proximity of Altea and Benidorm, the Region offers scuba divers the guarantee of enjoyment at a depth of a very few metres. In l’Oceanogràfic de Valencia, the larger marine species wait for the visitors. In some cases, as occurs with the dolphins, to give them thrilling shows, full of liveliness and intelligence.
In others, as is the case of the orcas and other large marine mammals, so that the curious can know the power and the majesty of animals that have found in this aquarium the accommodation that they needed to live and reproduce in freedom.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:54 Página 62
NATURE
Peñón de Ifach. 38º 37.95' 0.00"N 0º 4.80' 0.00" E
Natural Reserve Network A great variety of Mediterranean flora and fauna
The Region of Valencia has a network of natural spaces that are among those of the best quality in Europe and that are already the second in Spain. Established for the purpose of protecting the natural territory in the upcoming years, it is object of
investments dedicated to the restoration of the environment, the promotion of research and the prevention of forest fires. In all these areas, the traveller will find the best landscape and environmental conditions, a variety of fauna and flora worthy of interest and
sheltered places and information on activities that are scheduled and the values that are defended in the reserves. Besides the more than twenty natural parks, the Region of Valencia has landscapes with protection, natural settings of a municipal character and
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:54 Página 63
62 - 63
Chera. Valencia. 39° 35’ 36.08” N 0° 58’ 22.02” W
protected natural monuments. Other protection models that the European legislation considers are those places of community interest, of which there are around one hundred in the region, and the areas of special protection for birds that exist from north to south. The Region of Valencia has precious wetlands that are especially protected. They are the ones of Prat de Cabanes- Torreblanca, Albufera of Valencia and the Santa Pola salt
L’Albufera. Valencia. 39° 19’ 19.01” N 0° 19’ 49.92”
marshes. The Fondo d’Elx, the Marjal Pego-Oliva and the lagoons of MataTorrevieja complete a series of protected areas at the edge of the sea. As stopping points for the migratory birds, these wetlands located in coastal areas of the region have special relevance and protection. The Albufera of Valencia is the largest wetland and especially characterises the city to which the lake belongs. Valencia is the only large capital of Spain that has a natural
park in its municipal district: specifically, it occupies 43% of the surface that is owned by the city. Of this area especially protected for its beauty and environmental importance, 48% is occupied by the lake, with the remainder being reserved for rice fields, reeds and the sandy bar of El Saler and La Devesa.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:54 Página 64
NATURE
Serra Gelada. Benidorm. 30º 31.83' 0.00 N 0º 5.43'0.00 W
Besides the Peñón de Ifach, in Calpe, there are coastal mountain ranges that have been subject of special protection for the high landscape and natural value. They are the Serra d’Irta, in Castellón Costa Azahar, and the peaks of Montgó and Serra Gelada, in
the areas of Costa Blanca and Benidorm. For its beauty, for its values, thousands of hectares of territory of the Region of Valencia are subject of special supervision and protection. Each year, around 300,000 persons visit the
protected natural settings of the region, either on group excursions or on private visits. The affluence of excursionists is growing, in step with the extension of the environmental values in the society. In the proximity of Castellón de la Plana and Benicàssim, the Desert de
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 65
64 - 65
Penyagolosa Massif. Vistabella del Maestrazgo. 40º 13’33.00” N 0º 20’57.00”W
Penyagolosa is a beautiful protected park of special environmental value whose peak is at more than 1,800 metres in altitude.
les Palmes is a place of more than 3,000 hectares, protected since 1989 for its singular beauty. The mountains of the Puebla de San Miguel, in Ademuz, and the Sierra Calderona have been protected recently, contributing more than 25,000
hectares to the areas of special supervision. The Sierra Calderona is comprised of more than 18,000 hectares of extension and takes in lands of fourteen towns on the two sides of the mountain chain, in the province of Valencia as well
as in that of Castellón. In addition to being one of the green lungs nearest the city of Valencia, the Sierra safeguards two important monasteries: the Cartuja de Portaceli, founded in 1272 by the Cistercians, and the Franciscan convent of Santo Espíritu del Monte.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 66
NATURE
Los Cuchillos. Cabriel River. 39º 36.30’ 0.00 N 0º 46.74’ 0.00 W
“The Valencian does not disdain anything. If he finds obstacles, he overcomes them with tenacity; if the soil is unrewarding, he improves it; if it is fertile, he makes it produce up to three or four crops a year” (Antonio José Cavanilles. “Observaciones sobre el Reino de Valencia” [Observations on the Kingdom of Valencia]. 1792)
The Hoces del Cabriel, that separate the Region of Valencia from the province of Cuenca, is an area of exceptional interest that has
been object of protection by the Valencian Regional Government. It concerns more than 30,000 hectares of the best protected places, with
canyons where the river Cabriel draws the border between the two regions. Among the fauna stands out the abundance of birds of prey, with the
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 67
66 - 67
Font Roja. Alcoy. 38º 39.82’ 0.00” N 0º 32.35’ 0.00” W
presence of eagles. More than twelve thousand hectares of the Sierra de Mariola, in Alicante, are also protected,
where more than 12,000 species of plants are catalogued, many of them endemic, and the two thousand hectares of Holm oaks of Font
Roja, pride of the city of Alcoy, one of the natural sites of all of Spain that has obtained the Q of quality for the excellence of its management.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 68
NATURE
Turia River. 39º 36.30’ 0.00” N 0º 46.47’ 0.00”
“Through time, the Valencian has always tried to tame the river Turia”. (José Soler Carnicer)
The Ribera del Turia is an important area, protected since 2007; it spreads for almost five thousand hectares in a total of thirteen riverside towns of the
Turia, in the region of l’Horta and Camp de Turia. The pine trees make up the main forest masses in the surrounding area. The Barranco Hondo aqueduct and
the Vallesa de Mandor reservoir make up the protected area. The Tinença de Benifassà, the Sierra de Espadán, the Columbretes Islands
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:55 P谩gina 69
68 - 69
and the massif of Penyagolosa are four natural spaces, each different from the other, but all of great importance in terms of landscape and environment.
With them, the heritage of the province of Castell贸n is enriched. On the other hand, in the province of Valencia over 6,000 hectares of thick forests in the
Chera-Sot de Chera area, have also been the object of unique protection from the Valencian Regional Government.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 70
NATURE
Llíber. 38º 44' 32.66" N 0º 00' 22.78" E
The value of rural tourism
One of the best values exploited by private initiatives in the Region of Valencia is rural tourism. Small business owners from Valencia have begun reforms and adaptations in their rural homes in order to turn them into shelters and simple vacation homes where the way of life and tending to the
ING 060-101_Maquetaciรณn 1 15/12/10 16:55 Pรกgina 71
70 - 71
Ademuz. 40ยบ 3.64' 0.00" N 1ยบ 17.13' 0.00" W
travellers have been maintained as in classic times. With simplicity, honesty of a natural and generous cuisine, with approved facilities in every case, small town entrepreneurs from the Valencian provinces are achieving a growing presence of travellers, Valencian, Spanish and foreigners,
who repeat the experience of good treatment in search of values contrasting with reasonable prices. This way, small towns where there never was a boarding house or where business disappeared years ago, once again have beds available in well-furnished houses. This has brought about the
possibility of travelling to places and exploring new areas, with the resulting benefit for the more deteriorated regions of the interior in resources and perspectives.
ING 060-101_Maquetaciรณn 1 15/12/10 16:55 Pรกgina 72
Columbretes Islands. 39ยบ 53' 38.23" N 0ยบ 41' 10.12" E
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:55 P谩gina 73
72 - 73
Parque Natural
Natural Reserve Natural Marine Reserve
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 74
CULTURE
Cathedral. Orihuela. 38° 5' 9.29" N 0° 56' 45.54" W
In the Valencian lands there are noticeable traces of Romanesque art, which came with the conquerors preceding Jaime I in the highlands of Castellón and Rincón de Ademuz. In Valencia, there is the Almoina gate, the most primitive of the Cathedral, it evokes the legend of the seven families that paid for it and that without a doubt were
among the first Christian residents of the repopulated city. The traveller can read the names of the man and his wife under each of the smiling figures. Ripollés is the symbol of Castellón art in the 21st century. Affable and natural, covered in simplicity and innocence, the painter and sculptor dresses with a white tunic, covers his head with a handkerchief
that is designed each day and always shows a blade of grass in his smiling, ingenious and happy face. Close to life, his work can be seen in many plazas and crossroads of the Valencian cities; to make public a Valencian way of living, close to materials and nature. Eusebio Sempere is the artist of Alicante. So much so that the
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 75
74 - 75
Tribute to books. Juan Ripollés. Valencia. 39° 27’ 50.48” N 0° 21’ 30.60” W
Yesterday and today The diversity of culture and of the fine arts offer examples from all eras
Contemporary Art Museum of Alicante, located in the Casa de la Asegurada, a building from the 17 th century and of noble design, have a highlighted place dedicated to him. Within its rooms, the visitor will find a magnificent collection of contemporary paintings and sculpture, from the donation that the artist made in 1976. In addition to his works, one can
enjoy relevant pieces of Joan Miró and Picasso, of Tapies, Millares, Chillida, Saura, Juan Gris, Julio González and others. The city of Orihuela, cradle of the poet Miguel Hernández, is the Episcopal seat and treasures a set of the noble palaces that make necessary as detailed visit to the stately streets and plazas. Apart from the Palacio Episcopal
and the Santiago church, which is Property of Cultural Interest, it is recommended to visit the Cathedral, which began with a Gothic design and later had elegant Renaissance and Baroque additions. A good museum, linked with the episcopate, summarises the city’s artistic history.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 76
CULTURE
Dama d’Elx. 38° 14' 14.67" N 0.39° 42' 0.84" W
Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno. IVAM. Valencia. 39° 28’ 47.73” N 0° 22’ 58.72”W
Serene and beautifully covered, the Dama d’Elx was named the Reina Mora in the days of its discovery. Her eyes seem to hold mystery; her flamboyant chignon evokes forgotten etiquette. What was placed in the hollow that the sculpture has in its back? Perfumes, offerings, ashes? The Dama de d’Elx was discovered by a
farmer, at the end of the 19th century, in an orchard in Elx destiny took it to the Louvre Museum from which it returned to stay in Madrid, cared for in the National Archaeology Museum. Elx longed for its return to where it first came, which became temporarily possible a short time ago. The painter and sculptor Manolo
Valdés, one of the founders of the Equipo Crónica, built for the avenue of the Valencian Courts, one of the main locations of modern Valencia, this new version of the Dama d’Elx, made with thousands of small Damas made of blue ceramic. Stylised, simple and serene, the new Dama also seems to hold secrets in the distance with which it looks out at
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 77
76 - 77
Dama Ibérica. Manolo Valdés. Valencia. 39° 29’ 22.92” N 0° 23’ 58.12”
Tradition and avant garde Classicism and the vanguards offer a wise combination of arts
the daily hustle and bustle from the centre of the monumental roundabout. The Guerrero de Moixent is a figurine of Iberian art. Found in the excavations of the Iberian village of Bastida de les Alcusses, on the outskirts of Moixent, the horse rider has become a Valencian symbol. Prizes with its name are awarded and its image is reproduced on
trophies and sculptures of different sizes. The original, a few centimetres in height, is carefully kept in the Museo de Prehistòria of València, located in the cultural complex of Beneficencia. Close by, barely some distance away, is the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM). It was founded in 1989 and, along with the Palau de la
Música, was the initial dynamic element of the change of Valencia towards vanguardism and modernism. Today. the IVAM, in a renowned institution on an international scale which exhibits and cares for the collections of Julio González, Ignacio Pinazo, Josep Renau, Equipo Crónica and all the vanguards of the 20th century.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 78
CULTURE
Baroque doorway of the Cathedral. Valencia. 39° 28’ 33.62” N 0° 22’ 31.18”W
In Valencian lands, the traveller will find all the styles and very diverse forms to address architecture and art. Thus, in the primitive Cistercian constructions, the simplicity of form will make us recall a world without artifice, where the solidity of stone leads to prayer and contemplation. Years later, the Valencian temples took
on the baroque abundance in the decoration of columns and capitals. If the city of Valencia encloses a complete sampling of all the stages of fine arts, a trip through the Region of Valencia will make the experience even richer and more varied: Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, Neoclassical too, coexist harmoniously in temples, palaces and
belfries of the Valencian lands. Sant Mateu is a beautiful city of medieval style that in its day experienced the splendour of being the true historical capital of the Maestrazgo. Its relation with the medieval military orders (San Juan de Jerusalén and Montesa) can still be followed in the outline of its main temple dedicated to
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:55 Página 79
78 - 79
Colón Market. Valencia. 39° 28’ 7.51” N 0° 22’ 8.27” W
Simple and complex Next to starkness, abundance: the styles are superimposed in culture
Sant Mateu. 40° 27’ 50.08” N 0° 10’ 41.75” E
St. Peter, in the large Gothic windows of its palaces and in the routes of its narrow streets. It was the site of meetings of the Courts of the Kingdom of Valencia and, in its church, Papa Luna, Benedicto XIII, presented his resignation, famous for his resistance in ceding in his schismatic determination from his fortress in Peñíscola.
Modernism is very much present in the buildings of the Ensanche district of the city of Valenica. But a particularly refined and elegant expression is found in Novelda, a city of Alicante, where the seafarer Jorge Juan was born. The city, outstanding for its marble industries and for its table grapes, has created a Museo Modernista
that is a living example of the decoration and furnishing of this style, located in a house – a clear example of Modernism and the moment – built between 1900 and 1904.
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:56 P谩gina 80
CULTURE
Depositary of Culture A complete network of museums await the visitor in the Region of Valencia
Almost all the periods and specialities of art and culture are found in the specialised museums of the Region of Valencia. From large collections to the modest local undertakings to bring together archaeology and ethnology pieces, you are ensured that there are few medium-
sized cities that do not have something of interest and that there are many small towns that have made a cultural effort worthy of respect. Sometimes, this collecting and preserving desire has accompanied a project of a greater goal, such as the restoration of a wine cellar, a mansion, a mill... in a
commendable operation that has led to recalling the old industry and bringing together in it other pieces of cultural and historical interest. It is in the city of Valencia where there is the most variety of museums and collections to visit. From the IVAM to the Museo de
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 81
80 - 81
Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno. IVAM. Valencia. 39° 28’ 47.73” N 0° 22’ 58.72” W
Conchita Piquer, located in the house she was born in, the traveller will find museums dedicated to numerous subjects, from the Corpus Christi procession to rice. It is essential to get to know the Museo de Bellas Artes and the Museo Nacional de Cerámica, the medieval Atarazanas (dockyards) where
Marqués de Dos Aguas Palace. Valencia. 39° 28’ 21.50” N 0° 22’ 28.53” W
ships were built for the Crown and the Museo de la Ilustración y la Modernidad, MUVIM. The school of Corpus Christi, or that of the Patriarca, house a magnificent collection of paintings and a library of excellent worth. The cultural complex of the Beneficencia always presents
interesting expositions and unites the museums of Prehistory and Ethnology. Lastly, the city has two museums of history and an exhibition hall in the medieval Almudín. The bullfight, military, fallas and natural science museums are also interesting. The University also preserves very
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 82
CULTURE
Ducal Palace. Gandia. 38° 58' 08.50'' N 0° 11' 06.81''W
important collections and houses the first book printed in Spain. In the Valencian Library, located in the imposing monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes, in the orchard to the north of Valencia, there are usually seasonal exhibits In the province of Valencia there are outstanding archaeological
collections in Sagunt and in Llíria, as well as in Cullera and Gandia. It is necessary to know the Museo de l’Almodí, of Xàtiva, and the Ducal Palace of Gandia. Albaida has an original museum dedicated to the Puppets (titelles) and Aras de los Olmos has another dedicated to fossils. In Godella one can visit the Casa-Museo
Pinazo and in l’Olleria the Museo de Vidrio (glass museum). Oliva preserves the house of the family Mayans and, in Manises, there is an important collection of ceramics and a museum dedicated to the entire handcrafted process. The Museo de la Imprenta y la Obra Gráfica (printing and graphic arts museum) can be visited in the
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 83
82 82- 83
Modernist Museum. Novelda. 38º 23' 10.77" N 0º 45' 54.65" W
Monastery of Santa María del Puig. Nearly all the medium-sized cities of the province of Alicante have an interesting archaeological collection that can be visited. However, those of Elx, Dénia and Villena stand out, which preserve the impressive treasure of their name. Ethnographical collections and those of lost trades also abound,
especially those related to agriculture. In Ibi there is a notable and curious museum dedicated to the great local resource which is the toy. In Monóvar, there is the house where José Ruiz, Azorín, was born. Castellón de la Plana offers an interesting ethnology museum. The history museum of Nules and that of
natural sciences of El Carmen de Onda guarded by Carmelites deserves mention. Segorbe, the Episcopal Seat, has a cathedral museum; while Vilafamés has a noteworthy contemporary art collection, resulting from the critic Vicente Aguilera Cerni’s passion; and Morella has footprints dinosaurs left behind.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 84
CULTURE
Heritage of Humanity
In the year 1996, the UNESCO decided to bestow the title of Heritage of Humanity on Valencia’s Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange), a monument held as the most beautiful building of the civil Gothic style of the entire Mediterranean. Two years later, it agreed to declare the protection of the
Cave Art of the Mediterranean Arc of the Iberian Peninsula, the Palm Grove of Elx in the year 2000, and the Misteri d’Elx, a sacral-lyrical drama of medieval origin that continues being represented each month of August in honour of the Asunción de la Virgen María (Ascension), was declared in 2001 as an Asset of Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The Tribunal de las Aguas has been declared a world heritage site in 2009. Valencia’s Lonja de la Seda, or Lonja de los Mercaderes, has the virtue of being the centre of trading since it was founded, at the end of the 15th century. Constructed between 1482 and 1498 at the expense
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 85
84 - 85
Inside the Lonja. Valencia. 39° 28’ 27.46” N 0° 22’ 42.22”W
of the city of Valencia, it was the headquarters of the Consulat del Mar, the trade regulating institution. The contracting room, supported by eight twisted columns that open like palm trees in the ceiling, was festooned with a ribbon with Latin slogans that give moral advice to the traders. Doors and windows, a helicoidal stairway without auxiliary shoring, the Consulate Room and the Patio of the Orange Trees complete some of the values of a unique monument. The Cave Art of the Mediterranean Arc of the Iberian peninsula extends from Andalucía to Cataluña, but the most unique examples are found in the
Cave Art. La Valltorta. Castellón. 40° 25’ 46.45” N 0° 5’ 31.86” E
Valencian region. In the mountains and ravines, in areas that are hard to reach, the inland regions of the Region of Valencia shelter cave drawings with impressive representations of hunting scenes, of shepherding or honey gathering. In the town of Tirig, in Castellón, near where the Cova de la Valltorta is found, of particular significance, the Generalitat founded a museum dedicated to these artistic representations, which are between 4,000 and 7,000 years old. In the interior of the province of Valencia there are at least another 16 sheltered places of singular importance of which the Cueva
de la Araña, in Bicorp, is the one of greatest relevance. The palm tree makes up the Mediterranean landscape par excellence and turns Elx into a unique forest. Subject of a protective declaration by the UNESCO as universal cultural heritage, Elx, where the Iberian Dama was discovered that has its name, possesses precious orchards of palm trees among which stands out the famous Huerto del Cura: the imperial palm tree, with eight arms, boasts of an age of nearly two centuries. In the proximity of the sea, the Fondo, or the Hondo, is a marsh rich in flora and fauna.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 86
CULTURE
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. 39° 27’ 37.74” N 0° 21’ 20.57”
Seasons of music and festivals Theatre, symphonic music, ballet, opera, pop music, jazz... The options are always open in the Region of Valencia. All the musical modalities, and all the styles, find accommodation in the institutions of Castellón, Valencia, Alicante and Benidorm. The Valencian
Regional Government, which has a network of theatres and auditoriums in the principal cities of the region, coordinates the most important programming. But along with the public initiative, the private sector offers stimulating programming throughout
almost the entire year in all the Valencian tourist areas. The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, in Valencia, has become one of the most important opera and lyrical auditoriums of Spain. Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta, in just a few years, have
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 87
86 - 87
situated the institution at the peak of musical aspirations. Its programming goes from October to March but it connects, when spring arrives, with the Festival del Mediterráneo, which runs until June. Opera, symphonic music, zarzuela, musical comedy, ballet... They
all appear through the year, making more enjoyable the conferences, exhibits and lectures in a cultural machine that combines three large halls. In the city of Valencia itself the Palau de la Música offers, since 1987, varied programming that goes from great
symphonies to popular band music, in its two sound rooms. The autumn/winter season coexists with that of the spring, which becomes diverse when summer arrives, when the jazz festival arrives as well as the flamenco festival and open-air concerts are lavished on the gardens of
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 88
CULTURE
Roman theatre. Sagunt. 39° 40' 35.82" N 0° 16' 40.55" W
the riverbed of the Turia. Castellón de la Plana and Alicante also have lyrical seasons to satisfy a demanding public. If in the city of la Plana opera is offered from October, the city of Benacantil prepares each year a prestigious festival of contemporary music with
national impact. In Castellón there are festivals and competitions, as in Benicàssim, in honour of the guitarist Tárrega, and in Valencia each year the pianist José Iturbi is evoked. As regards the theatre, the traveller will find stable programming in the principal
theatres of the three capitals and in many other public and private halls of the region. But it is in the summer when special festivals will be found: classical and baroque music is programmed in many places, but those of Monserrat and Oropesa del Mar stand out; and of those
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 89
88 - 89
Teatro Principal. Castellón de la Plana. 39° 59' 2.08" N 0° 2' 16.26" W
“The idea of strength, which is always united with the memory of Rome, emerges incomparable from this rubble, adhered to the rocks and hardened like them”. (Teodoro Llorente. Sagunt, 1887)
dedicated to the theatre the most relevant is that of Sagunt, which is carried out in the ancient Roman theatre. But on the more popular scale, the bands of music are the great cultural wealth of the Region of Valencia. There
are more than three hundred federated musical bands, supported by thousands of young workers that are learning musical sensitivity. If in the Valencian festivals we are always going to hear fantastic popular music, in the festivals and competitions, in winter as
well as in summer, the programming becomes more demanding and the quality is not far from the great symphonism. The Certamen de Bandas of the July Fair in Valencia is one of the most prestigious of Spain.
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:56 P谩gina 90
GASTRONOMY
In the Valencian cooking ranges, there is not much occasion for disputes. Two do not argue if no one wants to and in the restaurants of Alicante, Valencia and Castell贸n in the 21st century, the traveller can find contrasts, and numerous occasions for variety and
contrast; but never contradiction and must less confrontation. Because, in the restaurants of the Region of Valencia, innovation is a required area of the profession of cooking, which always originates from a comprehensive and admiring view of
those who, in the past, exercised the mastery in family atmospheres or with very little projection. There is no dispute, in fact, when establishing that good products are always the key. There can be no tension when there is a decided
ING 060-101_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 16:56 P谩gina 91
90 - 91
Tradition and Innovation The old roots are not incompatible with the research on new textures and flavours
predilection for the simplest materials, presented in the most natural form. Good fish, excellent vegetables, select meat and respectful treatment make up a way of preparing, always full of affection, that will result in the eternal Mediterranean cuisine and also in the
most demanding results of innovation. There is a bit of everything, then, in contrast but without challenge, in the cuisine of the Region of Valencia: for this reason we will find tradition and evolution. And also such different worlds as that of fish and that of meat,
that of the coast and that of the inland. Cuisine without haste in the villages and with the table laid for urban life and the business world. The taste is in the variety.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 92
GASTRONOMY
Rice is the king in Valencian cuisine, the scholars ensure us. But it has never been alone. The Valencian would not know how to live without his rice, but it is also true that one can eat splendidly beyond the rice. In order to see clearly this contrast of the traditional and modern cuisine in the substantial
chapter of rice, over time, it has adapted to the variety of the products that the market offered, the economic possibilities, the local traditions and the good taste and creativity of the chef. In the field of desserts and pastries, the traveller will find an identical set of passionate contrasts.
The arnadí is an ancient Valencian sweet, made with roasted pumpkin. From Xàtiva and its district, its recipe has been preserved from olden times and has extended to many other points of the Region of Valencia. Sugar, eggs, lemon, cinnamon and almonds accompany the roasted pumpkin in
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 93
92 - 93
Arnadí. Xàtiva.
Of the sea and the vegetable garden All the flavours meet in the varied cuisine of the Valencian lands
order to take the palate many centuries back, to the time of Moorish domination of these lands. Sugar cane reached Europe through these lands and was cultivated profusely in large Valencian districts. So it is natural that here there is a very rich tradition of pastries, linked to a
product of its own such as the almond. Alicante is the land of the turrones and ice cream, and the three Valencian provinces have known how to prepare magnificent chocolates for centuries. Along this line, the modern restaurant business continues looking for the way to
surprise the most demanding palate with delicate preparations in which the traditional products of the architecture of flavours are present.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 94
GASTRONOMY
Strong and light The geography and the climate characterise the cuisine of all the districs In the interior of the provinces of Valencia and Alicante, the Valencian cuisine is transformed and adopts as its own dish the gazpacho de caza (gazpacho of game). We are far from the sea and here the roads are what bring the influence of La Mancha’s
cuisine. Ayora and its district are a perfect example. But there are many other places: in Cortes de Pallás, in Bocairent, and in many districts of the Alicante interior, Monóvar and Villena, in Castalla too, the traveller will find the aroma of the mountain herbs together
with that of the game. A shepherds’ dish, strong for those days in which winter is approaching; it is another characteristic of the variety of Valencian cuisine. On the coast, however, there are districts where the preparation of food
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 95
94 - 95
claims minimum intervention. One just needs a sheet of pastry to put into it whatever one’s imagination dictates, depending on the possibilities of our pantry. We have found in the kingdom of the tarts, prepared in Moorish ovens, that the traveller will associate very soon with the world of the pizzas of the not very distant Italy. There are flour tarts, but also of corn (dacsa). On occasions, some vegetables, a little sobrasada (soft spicy sausage), an
anchovy are enough to reach the perfection of culinary simplicity. The tart can be so humble that it barely contains oil and salt. Heirs of a tradition that must be traced to the Moorish domination, the Valencian pastries and desserts enjoy great fame. If Alicante is with full justice the cradle of turrones and of ice cream, the villages of the Region of Valencia collect ancient recipes in which almonds and oil, associated with eggs
and sugar, provide the palate with an incredible variety of flavours. At the same time, from the Roman era, the Valencians have shown a special tendency to prepare magnificent salted and marinated food. The fish (anchovies, tuna, frigate mackerel, cod, octopus) have become delicate bites, very appreciated by the most demanding palates.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 16:56 Página 96
GASTRONOMY
White, rosé and red Valencian wine is famous and boasts of variety
The wine of the Region of Valencia, with Designation of Origin, has wellmerited fame in Europe and America. If from olden times one has spoken with admiration of the wines from Alicante and Valencia, it has been in recent decades when a quality selection process has occurred that has been
ING 060-101_MaquetaciĂłn 1 15/12/10 17:02 PĂĄgina 97
96 - 97
associated with international recognition and appropriate marketing. In this way, on a tradition that in the 19th century gave great returns in quantity of production, they now work on quality levels that are highly esteemed and recognised. Variety also appears when speaking of
Valencian wine. The dry white wines from the Alto Turia are famous, as are the rosĂŠ and red wines from Utiel and Requena. No less recognised is the sweet wine of Godelleta and of La Marina in Alicante. The designation of origin Alicante is especially outstanding for
the quality of its productions. Furthermore, in addition to the great variety of liqueurs that are elaborated in traditional Valencian wineries, some producers have specialised in the elaboration of cava, in which very high levels of quality are reached and that have a great demand.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:02 Página 98
GASTRONOMY
Paellas and stews
The recipes of rice coexist with the secrets of the old stew pots
Gregorio Marañón wrote that in the entire Valencian coast the paella reigns, with dazzling and varied glory”. This land is, without doubt, the kingdom of the rice dishes, which in Valencia makes up the classical name of paella –with vegetables and snails, chicken and rabbit—and that afterwards opens like a
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:02 Página 99
98 - 99
beautiful fan, through which the traveller wants to journey, in a hundred variety of rice dishes, among which stand out those with seafood. Arròs a banda or of fish and seafood; fideuà (noodle dish); juicy or dry rice dishes; baked rice, with vegetables, with cod and cauliflower, rice presented in all the seasons and with the
products from the land nearest to the kitchen that serves us. But if the rice dishes adapt to the land, and near the sea they are cooked in thin paellas, in the mountain we will find the cuisine of the stew pots. It is the cuisine of the cold lands, which awaits us in the Rincón de Ademuz and farther to the west of
Requena and Utiel. It is the strong cuisine of the inland, that which includes game in the right season and that which is devoted to pork and its variables. In the Maestrazgo, in the highlands bordering on Teruel, the stews slowly prepared over firewood flames or the domestic pots with their adorable aroma.
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:02 Página 100
GASTRONOMY
Central Market. Valencia. 39° 28’ 23.82” N 0° 22’ 42.06” W
Designations of Origin At present, the Designations of Origin of harvested and elaborated products in the Region of Valencia are the following:
ING 060-101_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:02 Página 101
100 - 101
Grasses, fruit and vegetables
Designations of Origin • Rice of Valencia. • Artichokes of Benicarló. • Chufa of Valencia. • Kaki of the banks of the Xúquer. • Packaged table grapes of Vinalopó. • Medlar of Callosa d’En Sarrià. Protected Geographic Indication • Valencian citrus fruit. • Cherries of the Mountain of Alicante
Wines, Liqueurs and Cava Designations of Origin • Alicante. • Utiel-Requena. • Valencia. • Cava.
Specific designations • Wine from the land of Castellón. • Traditional spirits from Alicante: - Paloma Anisette of Monforte del Cid. - Coffee Aperitif of Alcoy.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 102
FESTIVALS
Fallas. Valencia.
Valencian people love festivals. Men and women, children and elders live passionately, throughout the whole year, with every type of festival, religious and secular, ancient and modern. Valencians submerge themselves in the festivals with the same intensity and
creativity as they dedicate to work. The participation, street ambiance, the use of music and gunpowder and a great ability for flamboyance and baroque expression are characteristics that are repeated throughout the entire Region of Valencia when its time for a festival.
Once again, diversity and contrast will be present in this sphere of life. Thus, in the Valencian regions we will find a celebration as ancient as the Misteri d’Elx, a liturgical representation of medieval origin, which evokes the death and ascension of the Virgin...
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 103
102 - 103
Cremà – Fallas. Valencia
Misteri d’Elx.
A people in love with festivals and tradition The Misteri d’Elx, the Tomatina, Las Fallas, La Magdalena, Holy Week and Carnival
The sacral-lyrical drama is represented each year in August, in the Basilica of Santa María and is one of the most solemn spectacles of popular participation and fervour. In another sense, a modern festival, noisy, with powerful visual impact, has
noticeably grown internationally in very few years. It is the Tomatina, in Buñol, a festival in which thousands of young people, up to 40,000 men and women, get involved in a unique ripe tomato fight which results in flooding the streets of the town in a sauce of no
less than 30 tons of tomatoes thrown by the public, smashed and finally crushed. Dozens of televisions around the world come to the town the last Wednesday of August to witness and broadcast the unique battle.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 104
FESTIVALS
Las Fallas of Valencia and the Romería de les Canyes of Castellón de la Plana are two festivals with a large popular participation, but different in their projection, style and objectives. In the Fallas, hundreds of committees each year are in charge of building an artistic monument of cardboard and wood, with images and scenes that satirise and criticise matters of life, which will be burned on the night of the 19th March. Each day, at 2 p.m., thousands of
people meet in front of City Hall to watch the mascletà, a noisy display of pyrotechnics. Thousands of Valencians, accompanied by dozens of music bands travel the city streets towards the basilica of La Virgen in order to make an offering of flowers. In Castellón de la Plana, the Romería de les Canyes evokes the pilgrimage that the city’s founders took from their old location to the new one. Today, they return to the hermitage of the Magdalena, where the
old city was. The pilgrim, who carries a cane, receives the rotllo, a circular bread that recalls the food of the old pilgrims in their transfer from Castell Vell to La Plana. The fireworks, music, traditional clothing will also be typical of this festival, where the memory of the pilgrim’s lights will become Les Gaiates, triumphal and colourful carts that are profusely lighted.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 105
104 - 105
Romería de Les Canyes. Castellón de la Plana.
Holy Week is celebrated in many towns and cities of the Region of Valencia. And although it evokes identical historical events and equal religious mysteries, it acquires very different nuances and forms wherever it takes place. Austere in the northern and interior lands, the religious festival becomes more brilliant and colourful on the seashore, as can be seen in Valencia’s fishing quarters. There are representations of the Passion in
Moncada and Benetússer, and solemnity in Alzira, Gandia and Sagunt. But the profound tradition of the procession on Palm Sunday takes on special meaning in Elx, from where the palms of the festival come, as well as the richness and high participation in the processional parades of Orihuela and Crevillent. In another very different direction, the Carnival, which took place in the cities during the 19th century, has been recovered in some
Valencian towns, where it is celebrated with very high public participation and an unusual richness of resources and clothing. That is what happens in Vinaròs. Considering all this, Villar del Arzobispo, in Valencia, and Pego in the province of Alicante, also celebrate eye-catching festivals with a very long tradition. In all of them there are satirical parades with ancient origins and references to His Majesty Carnestoltes.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 106
FESTIVALS
Moors and Christians. Alcoy. 38° 42’ 07.23” N 0° 28’ 37.91” W
Dozens of Valencian towns, especially of the province of Alicante and the southern part of the province of Valencia, celebrate festivals to evoke the old struggles between Moors and Christians in medieval times. But it is evident that the festival that is the oldest, most unique,
luxurious and well-known throughout the world is the one celebrated each year in the city of Alcoy. It takes place in April, in honour of Sant Jordi and is a spectacular attraction because of the richness and colour of the clothes of all the “filaes” who participate, as well
as the accompaniment of musicians, mounted riders and carriages. Gunpowder makes up a substantial part of the noisy festival: the entrance of the Moorish and Christian squads, the Alardo (battle), the Estafeta (running of the Moor), the embassies and the appearance of the Saint are
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 107
106 - 107
Muixeranga. Algemesí. 39° 11’ 37.92” N 0° 26’ 05.13” W
The festivals of the Valencian people Moors and Christians and La Muixeranga
key moments in the festival. In Petrer, Elda, Ontinyent, Bocairent, Crevillent, Cocentaina, l’Olleria, Villena, Callosa d’En Sarrià and Vila Joiosa, among many other towns and areas, the traveller will find festivals of this kind. However, during the first days of September, in Algemesí, we will
find another festival with profound religious roots, which is expressed in the streets through an attractive series of plastic paintings, dances and human towers. The festival is organised around Nuestra Señora de la Salud, and there is proof of it in the 18th century, although they are older
than that, without a doubt. The clothing of the dancers, the music and the street performances evoke battle representations. Spectacular human towers, dressed in colourful stripes, where a boy climbs to the top of four men.
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:03 P谩gina 108
FESTIVALS
Festivals of tourist interest Noisy and extroverted. Made for abundance, ostentation and noise. This is what the most famous Valencian festivals are like. Dedicated to fire and gunpowder, to pyrotechnics, uproar and the pleasure of marching to the beat of the music. Here we have the main Valencian festivals, for every taste and budget. Throughout the decades the most important have been highlighted for their international, national and local tourism value. In all of them the traveller will find guaranteed fun, friendship and entertainment in the streets.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 109
Festivals of Internacional Tourism Interest • Alcoy. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Alicante. Hogueras de San Juan. • Buñol. La Tomatina. • Castellón de la Plana. Fiestas de la Magdalena. • Elx. Procesión del Domingo de Ramos. El Misteri d’Elx. • La Vila Joiosa. Moros y Cristianos. • Segorbe. Entrada de Toros y Caballos. • Torrevieja. Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonía. • Valencia. Fallas de San José. Festivals of Nacional Tourism Interest • Alcoy. Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos. • Alzira. Fallas. Semana Santa. • Banyeres de Mariola. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos en honor de San Jorge Mártir. • Bocairent. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Crevillent. Moros y Cristianos. Semana Santa. • Dénia. Els Bous a la Mar. • La Vall d’Uixó. Fiestas Patronales de San Vicente Ferrer. Fiestas Patronales en honor a la Sagrada Familia y el Santísimo Cristo. • Ontinyent. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Orihuela. Semana Santa. • Peñíscola. Fiestas patronales en honor de la Virgen de Ermitana. • Sagunt. Semana Santa. • Segorbe. Fiestas patronales. • Xàbia. Ajedrez Viviente. • Xàtiva. Feria de Agosto. Festivals of Tourism Interest • Algemesí. Fiesta de la Mare de Déu de la Salut. • Callosa d’En Sarrià. Moros y Cristianos en honor de la Virgen de las Injurias. • Callosa de Segura. La Pasión. • Cocentaina. Moros y Cristianos en honor a San H ipólito. • Elda. Moros y Cristianos. • Gandia. Fallas. Semana Santa. • Guadassuar. Danzas. • L’Olleria. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Moncada. Misterio de la Pasión. • Morella. Fiestas Anunciadoras y Sexenales. • Petrer. Fiestas Hispano-Árabes en honor de San Bonifacio. • Requena. Feria y Fiestas de la Vendimia. • Sueca. Fiesta del Arroz. • Valencia. Semana Santa. • Villena. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos en honor de Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes. Festivals of Tourism Interest in Autonomus Region • Alfàs del Pi. Festival de Cine. • Alicante. Semana Santa. • Altea. El Castell de l’Olla. • Bétera. Festa de les Alfàbegues a la M are de Déu d’Agost. • Canals. Fiestas en honor a San Antonio Abad.
• Grao de Castellón de la Plana. Festes de Sant Pere. 108 - 109 • Cocentaina. La Fira de Tots Sants. • Cullera. Mare de Déu del Castell. • Ibi. Festes d’Hivern. • Forcall. Fiestas de Sant Antoni (Santantonà). • Manises. Cabalgata de la cerámica y festa de la cerámica. • Oliva. Moros y Cristianos. • Orihuela. Moros i Cristians. • Paterna. La Cordà. • Requena. Muestra Embutido Artesano y de Calidad. • Sagunt. Falles de Sagunt. • Torrent. Semana Santa. • Vinaròs. Carnaval. • Xàtiva. Fallas. Festivals of Provincial Tourism Interest • Alaquàs. Cant de la Carxofa. • Almassora. Les Calderes. • Aspe. Semana Santa. • Benetússer. Semana Santa. • Benidorm. Escenificación del Hallazgo de la Virgen del Sufragio. • Benicàssim. El día de las paellas. • Borriana. Fallas y Cruces de Mayo. • Dénia. Les Carrosses. • Ibi. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • L’Alcora. Festes del Rotllo. • Monforte del Cid. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Mutxamel. Festes de Moros i Cristians. • Pego. Moros i Cristians. • Potríes. El Porrat de Sant Blai. • Sant Vicent del Raspeig. Fiestas patronales y de Moros y Cristianos en honor a San Vicente Ferrer. • Vila-real. Semana Santa. Festivals of Local Tourism Interest • Aldaia. Baixà del Cristo de los Necesitados. • Almoradí. Semana Santa y Moros y Cristianos. • Benirredrà. Porrat de Sant Antoni. • Betxí. Festa i Romeria de Sant Antoni Abad. • Borriol. Sant Antoni. • Cullera. Fallas. • El Palomar. Festa del Xop. • Enguera. San Gil. • La Font d’en Carròs. Sant Antoni del Porquet. • Llutxent. Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos. • Montroy. Feria valenciana de la miel. • Nules. Feria Agrícola, Processions Eucarístiques y San Vicente. • Quart de Poblet. La Passejà de Sant Onofre. • Rótova. Porrat de Sant Macià. • Sueca. Fallas. • Tavernes de la Valldigna. Falles. • Vila-real. Festival internacional de teatre al carrer. • Villena. Las Virtudes. Fiestas de Navidad y Reyes.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 110
SPORTS
Port of Dénia. Alicante. 38° 50’ 16.93” N 0° 7’ 17.69” E
Sea and seamanship
The personality and beauty of the coast in the Region of Valencia, the characteristics of its winds, climate and landscape make it ideal for practicing every type of sport and activity related to the sea. From north to south, nautical clubs, marinas and nautical companies from the four
tourist destinations, Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar are available with the best quality and services. The celebration in Valencia of the 32nd and 33th America’s Cup, the most prestigious and oldest sailing competition in the world, served to
renew old local hobbies for everything nautical, to reactivate many sporting projects and considerably increase interest in sea sports, among Valencians as well as among thousands of visitors who decided to practice their favourite sport the waters of the Region of Valencia. Valencia had
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:03 Página 111
110 - 111
thousands of visitors during the four years of competition. But Alicante has joined the cities that feel a passion for the sea and, since October 2008, it is known worldwide for the honour of being the starting point for the Volvo Ocean Race, the hardest and most prestigious ocean regatta in the world, which ended in St. Petersburg in 2009 and the race has its permanent headquarters in Alicante. These events have reactivated the sailing passion and have given extraordinary prestige to the Valencian
coast, where there are 45 available marinas or operative dry docks –26 in Alicante, 7 in Castellón and 12 in Valencia– and where there are 23 nautical clubs –16 in Alicante, 2 in Castellón and 5 in Valencia–of which 11 have been awarded with a blue flag as a reward for excellence in their nautical facilities and the excellent service they offer to the users. The nautical stations are the result of a vocation to give excellent service to those who practice nautical sports on the Valencian coasts. In an exceptional
landscape, the nautical tourist can always be assisted in sailing, renting any type of craft, practicing surfing or diving, or any kind of maritime excursions. The nautical stations of Marina Alta, Bahía de Altea, Alicante-El Campello-Santa Pola and BenicarlóPeñíscola are available for the sportsmen of the sea.
ING 102-140_MaquetaciĂłn 1 15/12/10 17:03 PĂĄgina 112
SPORTS
In recent years, the coast of the Region of Valencia has become an ideal place to practice the new water sports. The good wind system, the fidelity and regularity of the warm breezes, make during a large part of the year, not just in summer, numerous
beaches of the four Valencian tourism destinations be ideal for this battle against the waves and the winds that many amateurs enjoy. Well marked, with the uses duly regulated, the Valencian beaches are prepared for exercising sports such as surfing,
windsurfing or kitesurfing. The extensive sandy grounds to the north of the city of Valencia, as well as those of the south of the province of Valencia and those of the nor th of Alicante, especially the beach of DĂŠnia, are very popular because of
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 113
112 - 113
On the waves, under the water
the regularity and strength with which the winds blow. The coast, in turn, offers excellent conditions for practicing scuba diving and skin diving. In safe and not very deep water, of a crystalline transparency, the amateur
and professional will find all that they have dreamed of: impressive underwater landscapes and an unbeatable wealth of flora and fauna. In the protected areas, like the Columbretes, the island of Tabarca, Serra Gelada and the coast of the
Sierra de Irta, the possibilities of diving make this sport a fascinating adventure.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 114
SPORTS
Golf as an attraction The celebration in the Mediterráneo Country Club of Borriol of the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar golf tournament has meant a great support for the projection of the facilities dedicated to the practice of this sport in
the Region of Valencia. In Costa Blanca, Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and Castellón Costa Azahar there are more than twenty golf courses, designed by the most qualified specialists in this sport, that wait for the national and
international players to offer them the best practice of the sport in a setting of their dreams. There are those that have been located at the edge of the sea, like that of El Saler, in the city of Valencia, that is
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 115
114 - 115
El Saler Golf Course. Valencia. 39° 19' 9.51" N 0° 18' 5.43" W
considered one of the best laid out in Europe. From north to south, all the courses of the Region of Valencia are located in typically Mediterranean landscapes, and guaranteed by a climate that makes it possible to play on
them throughout all the seasons of the year, with the best facilities. The visitor will find abundant information on what is necessary to play on them: services, characteristics of the course, location, accesses, map and card
for the courses, photos, weather information and live pictures through the webcams of the tourist portal in Internet of the Region of Valencia.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 116
SPORTS
Villamartín Golf Course. Orihuela. 37° 56' 42.12" N 0° 47' 06.39" W
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 117
116 - 117
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 118
ADVENTURE
Active tourism Routes and paths In the most beautiful and steep spots of the Region of Valencia, the traveller will find a complete network of paths of Long and Short Routes. For those interested in hiking, this is the surest way to get into the Valencian nature: perfectly marked, the so-called GR-7, GR-10, GR-33, GR-36, GR-37 and GR-125 cross the geography of the region from north to south and from east to west, while linking the large urban masses. In any place, at any time, the hiker will
be safe, and he will be enjoying enviable tranquillity in a pleasant and healthy setting. The traveller will find, in all the districts, detailed information on the routes that one can follow, both on foot as well as on bicycle and other means of transportation, in order to get to know in depth the best spots of each province. Springs, woods, rivers and caves... everything allows us unhurried discovery, near to nature. From the Tinença of Benifassà, to the
north, to the Vega Baja of the Vinalopó, to the south, the four Valencian tourist destinations offer dozens of routes for excursions, with very diverse degrees of difficulty. It is the best way to get to know the Sierra Calderona or that of the Espadán, the proximities of Mariola and the valleys and peaks of the nor th of Alicante.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 119
118 - 119
Caves of Sant Josep. La Vall d’Uixó. Castellón. 39° 49’ 39.97” N 0° 15’ 7.97”
Caves and cliffs The orography of the inland allows the practice of highly specialised sports or scientific endeavours, such as speleology. The catalogue of caves of the Region of Valencia includes 122 places especially interesting for their beauty, their qualities and for their fauna. Some of these caves have been adapted for tourist visits such as that of the Rull in the Vall d’Ebo, the Calaveres in Benidoleig, Canelobre in Busot and Don Juan in Jalance. In La Vall d’Uixó, in the province of
Castellón, the underground river of the Grutas de Sant Josep runs through a spectacular natural cave that can be visited in boats with one of the longest underground river courses of Europe. Other abysses (avencs), caves and cavities have significant difficulty and are reserved exclusively for professionals equipped with the best speleological means. Leisure in the Region of Valencia also offers the possibility of practicing different adventure and open-air
sports. Besides the mountain crossings, in the region’s inlands one can practice mountain climbing, classical and as a sport, ascent, canoeing, crossing ravines and hang gliding.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 120
ADVENTURE
Cabriel River. Valencia. 39º 26’ 42.89” N 1º 31’ 23.73” W
Going down the river The inlands of the Region of Valencia have places that are surprising for their variety and areas little explored where the traveller will find unusual experiences. Among many others, that go from hiking to climbing, there is the possibility of getting to know nature by following the course of a river. The Valencian reservoirs offer, for example, the possibility of navigating through the dammed up water of the
Júcar, between Cofrentes and the Cortes dam, enjoying a wide canyon overlooked by forests, peaks and castles hanging from the cliffs. On board an inflatable raft, in the current of a white-water river, it is possible to experience an impressive adventure. In the Region of Valencia, where everything is possible, this option is open. In an area difficult to forget, in the Hoces, the Cabriel river runs through narrow passes and the
voyagers catch all the passion of a descent charged with emotion. Although the inflatable rafts are a very popular possibility, one can also descend the Cabriel river in canoes. For those who like adventure and emotion, but also for those who look for the peaceful contemplation of nature, there are always charming places prepared for the enjoyment of the traveller.
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 121
120 - 121
Going everywhere by bicycle Cycling conquers the thirst for sports of thousands of Valencians, on the routes on the coastal plain as well as on those that go up the inland mountains. From this generic love of the bicycle has emerged, naturally, the love of cycling excursions, cyclotourism, which in few years has managed to organise in the entire region a series of routes that the cyclotourist can get to know during his stay. There are green routes,
especially for bicycles, that have originated by means of a careful process of adapting the former railroad tracks into paths designed for excursions on mountain or touring bicycles. In Alicante, there are four green routes prepared, with more than fifty kilometres in all. In Castell贸n and Valencia, the former mining route from Ojos Negros to Sagunt offers 70 conditioned kilometres with an excellent landscape, although then it
goes into the province of Teruel, nearly 100 kilometres more. In Valencia, finally, there are two other sections, in La Safor and the Xurra track, prepared for bicycle excursions. Furthermore, the Valencian Regional Government is developing a network of ATB (all terrain bicycle) centres for practicing this tourism modality in the Region of Valencia and for discovering the territory in contact with the environment.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 122
HEALTH
Health through water Since time immemorial, the Valencians have known and enjoyed the quality and the therapeutic properties of a series of springs backed by history. During the 18th and 19th centuries, some spas offered thermalism, calm and wellbeing to successive generations of families of the adjacent areas, to which were added travellers coming
from all over Spain. If on the beaches gathered those who had received doctor’s orders for wave baths, the inland spas received summer vacationers that looked for the beneficial effects of different types of water and the added wellbeing of a few days of vacation. In this classical world stand out accredited names such as those of
Hervideros de Cofrentes, Fuente Podrida and the spas of Chulilla and of Verche, in the district of the Serranos, province of Valencia, and the healthy waters of Benasal, of Vilavella and Montanejos, in Castellón. However, in just a decade, the world of the spas in the Region of Valencia has been radically transformed in harmony with the
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 123
122 - 123
new demands of the society, so that all the traditional installations have become modernised and have placed at the service of the visitors the results of the strictest quality. The classical balnearios are now accompanied by numerous facilities in which the three magical letters of SPA (salus per aquam, health through water) have taken on their
true meaning. In fact, all the toplevel and luxury hotels now have magnificent installations in which water treatments complement the massage services and other refinements. In the tourism offices, the traveller will find detailed information on the establishments, and of the offer available in all of them. They will all
offer the highest quality, whether they are the recently renovated classic installations or the modern services located in newly built hotels.
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 124
SHOPPING
Tradition and design
In the Region of Valencia, going
Valencia, there is the double aspect
have at its disposal the latest trends in
shopping is an added pleasure for
that makes everything compatible: the
fashion on streets where the best
the trip. No matter where we may be,
large fashion stores and the warm
brands and the most select boutiques
a large city or a vacation town: the
traditional markets go hand in hand in
gather. Fashion, household linen,
variety of the offer, the quality of
the towns and cities.
footwear, costume jewellery and fine
whatever we may encounter will
In the principal capitals of the Region
jewellery stores combine their offers
always provide an added value to
of Valencia, the visitor will find
with those of the stores dedicated to
dedicating some hours to shopping.
commercial streets where the most
decoration and design, with the most
Because once more, in the Region of
demanding and exclusive taste will
exclusives novelties.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 125
124 - 125
Shopping area. Pedestrian street Don Juan de Austria. Valencia. 39° 28’ 13.59” N 0° 22’ 24.86”W
In the large cities, furthermore, the
as Francis Montesinos, Hannibal
centres of the Valencian cities and
traveller will find, together with the
Laguna, Alex Vidal and Dolores Cortés,
towns, the small stores have also
national and international brands,
among others. Valencian firms of
known how to maintain the tradition
those of the Valencian designers
prestige offer the latest productions,
inherited from past eras and continue
that have dynamically accessed the
whether in the field of haute couture
maintaining the best of their
world of fashion and design.
or jewellery or in others no less
arguments in the personal ser vice to
The fashion week of Valencia brings
attractive such as furnishings, footwear
the client.
together, each year, the most
and lighting. Besides the large
international Valencian designers such
shopping centres, in the historical
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 126
SHOPPING
El Castell de Guadalest. 30° 40’ 35.18” N 0° 11’ 55.02” W
Charming areas A few steps from the most
promenades of the coast boil with
ingenious creators of modern times.
distinguished stores, the traveller
activity in the summer afternoons.
All coexist in the shopping centres of
will find a pleasant surprise.
Everything is possible, here and there,
the tourist areas, where the most
It is the unexpected, perhaps the
in the places of the Region of
recent is probably being created in
unusual: carefree fashion, or the most
Valencia where commerce sprouts
view of the purchaser. Next to them,
recent creation by a valiant designer
each day and the creative activity
the Valencian handicrafts most
of a firm in expansion. Altea and
reconstructs itself with the urgency of
deeply rooted in tradition, fans, wood
Peñíscola, Canet d’En Berenguer,
an alert and innovating sense.
and wicker furniture, ceramics, glass,
Gandia and Santa Pola; the
Craftsmen of the traditional line and
iron and leather coexist with the
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:04 Página 127
126 - 127
handicrafts that work with costume
shops and the bargain markets.
furniture for decorating rural areas,
jewellery, gold and silver. The Centro
The Region of Valencia also offers
clothing, paintings, books, lamps and
de Artesanía (handicraft centre) of the
flea markets in which the antiques
record go on sale together with farm
Region of Valencia endorses with its
make way for the passion of
implements, pitchers and all kinds of
own seal the excellent quality
discovering great hidden values.
traces of the past suitable for
workmanship of the Valencian
In the towns of La Marina in Alicante
decoration and collecting.
products.
these markets are famous and move
However, there is still space in the
thousands of persons each week:
cities and tourist areas for the antique
classical and specific pieces of
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:04 P谩gina 128
THE NIGHT
The night is for everyone
Time stops at night on the coast of the Region of Valencia. With the help of an enviable climate, the promenades, the ports and terraces offer, during the greater part of the year, an atmosphere in which peacefulness takes over the senses. The night, from north to south, at the edge of the sea, but also in the inland areas, becomes a parenthesis where
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 129
128 128- 129
the clock doesn’t count. Benidorm is the main reference of an intense nightlife. Cosmopolitan, brilliant, always in movement, the city of the high towers is as active during the day as it is after sundown. All the shows parade through its halls and discotheques. And the tourist himself, of a hundred different nationalities, is at the same time part of a choral
event with an action-packed collective rhythm. The coast of the Region of Valencia is full of peaceful sites where it is still possible to find the serenity of a candle-lit dinner. For a truly restful vacation, you will find terraces that overlook the sea, hidden ports, coves with discrete lighting. The possibility of enjoying a calm in which nature
still finds that its raison d’être is open in any area of the coast. But very close by, there is the other side of the coin: the bars, pubs, terraces and discotheques convert free time in a series of opportunities, rich in entertainment and surprises. When night falls, thousands of young people ready to have fun to the rhythm of their favourite music, go out
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 130
THE NIGHT
Square Sant Jaume. Barrio del Carmen. Valencia 39° 28’ 34.78” N 0° 22’ 49.25” W
in search of some hours of diversion. In this atmosphere, entertainment and pleasure are guaranteed. Being “under the Valencian moon” meant, formerly, arriving late to the walled city, finding the doors closed and having to sleep on the ground, outside the protected area. Nowadays,
the phrase forms part of a rite of nocturnal and collective diversion: in Valencia there are districts, like El Carmen, where the city seems never to rest. Between the plaza of Sant Jaume and that of Tossal, there is a flow of people that come and go fr om one pub to another, in the proximity of
the street Caballeros. This street, along with those of Serranos, Quart, Guillem de Castro and Blanquerías, are of the most attractive in the Valencian night. Experiencing the night is one of the most intensely exciting events that one can have in Valencia. During most of the year, the climate
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 131
130 - 131
invites you to go out, even if it is to walk through solitary streets. Valencia, which is one of the best lighted cities, is safe at all hours. The most intense life, the energy, is easy to find in Ciutat Vella, a group of historical neighbourhoods that were famous for their activity hundreds of years ago.
Gandia and Cullera, Santa Pola and Torrevieja, Altea and Xàbia, Benicàssim, Peñíscola and Vinaròs. All the Valencian beaches have a promenade that becomes the centre of attraction on the hot summer nights. In the city of Valencia the atmosphere
of the Malva-rosa beach is famous; and along the entire coast, dozens of places wait to offer the tourist diversion and pleasure during the night time hours, whether you look for serenity and silence or your preference is for a more intense enjoyment.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 132
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
www.comunitatvale A window to the Region of Valencia Welcome to the portal of the Region of Valencia, an online site in which you can get to know first hand the entire tourist offer and comfortably your vacation from home. Consult the information of all the t ourist sites in real time, simply and pleasantly; participate and share your interests with other visitors. • You can get to know and enjoy live, 24 hours a day, the best tourist destinations of the R egion of Valencia through the largest network of tourist webcams, and the most updated weather information. The most emblematic places, the large events, the coves with the most charm, the cleanest and bluest waters of the Mediterranean, the clearest skies of the coast, spec-
tacular places, picturesque mountain towns and the towns, streets, plazas and monuments that form part of the Heritage of Humanity. • In the beach section you can find all the information on hundreds of kilometres of coast for enjoying an unforgettable vacation. Beaches with the blue flag, accessible, nudist, and all the weather information for enjoying the Mediterranean S ea when y ou want and how you want. • All the information on the golf courses designed by the most prestigious professionals of this sport, with locations of your dreams next to the sea or in beautiful inland spot. All with an excellent climate year round.
• A complete guide to any type of nautical activity in the Region of Valencia, privileged destination of mild et mperatures and beautiful coast o f r practicing all the water sports, both on the surface and under the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Regatta courses, marinas, nautical clubs, scuba diving and snorkelling areas, sailing, windsurfing, etc. A paradise for the lovers of nautical sports in all its modalities. • Information of the large events: European Grand Prix , Volvo Ocean Race, Valencia Open 500, C astellón C osta Azahar G olf M asters, Amer ica’s Cup. And those that will o f llow many others in the upcoming years.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 133
132 - 133
enciana.com • Complete information on each and every one of the protected areas, natural parks, sierras, coast, coastal or inland routes … an Eden for any fan of rural tourism. As well as the emblematic areas dedicated to diversion, cultural and scientific dissemination, the theme parks or the protection of the environment, such as Terra Mítica, the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias or the Bioparc. • And if what you like are the gastronomic trips, Designations of Origin, vegetables, fish, sausages , sw eets, wine...all the information of the enormous wealth that the cuisine of the Region of Valencia holds. A true delight for the senses, beyond the paella and the rice dishes, with an infinity of recipes resulting from the wisdom of its in-
habitants and of the natural products that the land offers. • Not to speak of the extensive and detailed information on thefestivals, the centres that teach Spanish, the areas dedicat ed t o fairs, c onferences and business meetings, suggestions of routes and excursions and all the offer of rural lodging, hotels, camp grounds and tourist apartments of the Region of Valencia. • Videos, phot os, specialised f orums, trip logbooks, downloads of publications in PDF, guides for mobile telephone... Discover the endless number of services that we put at your disposal and experience the Region of Valencia for yourself.
www.comunitatvalenciana.com info@comunitatvalenciana.com
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 134
Network of tourist information offices of the Valencian Regional Government ALICANTE ALBATERA C/ San Antonio 22 03340 Albatera Tel. 965 487 902 albatera@touristinfo.net AGRES C. Mayor, s/n 03837 Agres T. 965 510 001 - F. 965 510 288 agres@touristinfo.net ALCOY C. Sant Llorenç, 2. 03801 Alcoy T. 965 537 155 - F. 965 537 153 alcoi@touristinfo.net L'ALFÀS DEL PI C. Federico García Lorca, 11 03580 L’Alfás del Pi T. 965 888 905 - 965 888 265 F. 965 887 112 alfasdelpi@touristinfo.net L'ALFÀS DEL PI - PLATJA Av. Oscar Esplá, 1 03580 L’Alfás del Pi T. 966 867 022 - F. 966 867 023 alfasplaya@touristinfo.net ALICANTE Av. Rambla de Méndez Núñez, 23 03002 Alicante -T. 965 200 000 alicante@touristinfo.net ALICANTE - CENTRO C. Portugal, 17. 03003 Alicante T. 965 929 802 - F. 965 920 112 alicantecentro@touristinfo.net ALICANTE - EXPLANADA Av. Explanada de España,1 03002 Alicante T. 965 147 038 alicanteexplanada@touristinfo.net ALICANTE PLAYA SAN JUAN Av. de Niza, s/n 03540 Alicante T. 965 154 586 ALICANTE - RENFE Av. Salamanca, s/n 03005 Alicante - T. 609 364 099 UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE Soc. Relaciones Intern. Campus San Vte. Raspeig 03080 Alicante T. 965 903 400 -ext. 2939 alicanteuniversidad@touristinfo.net ALMORADÍ Pl de la Constitución, s/n 03160 Almoradí Tel. 966 783 442 almoradi@touristinfo.net ALTEA C. Sant Pere, 9. 03590 Altea T. 965 844 114 - 965 844 122 altea@touristinfo.net BANYERES DE MARIOLA Parque de Villa Rosario, s/n 03450 Banyeres de Mariola Tel. 965 567 453 banyeres@touristinfo.net
BENIDORM - CENTRO Av. Martínez Alejos,16 03501 Benidorm T. 965 851 311 - 965 853 224 benidorm@touristinfo.net BENIDORM - EUROPA Av. Europa, s/n 03502 Benidorm T. 965 860 095 benidormeuropa@touristinfo.net BENIDORM - RINCON LOIX Av. Derramador, s/n 03503 Benidorm T. 966 805 914 - F. 966 808 858 benidormrincon@touristinfo.net BENIDORM - AUTOBUSES Av. Comunidad Europea, s/n 03501 Benidorm T. 965 859 658 BENISSA Av. Pais Valencià,1 03720 Benissa T. 965 732 225 benissa@touristinfo.net BENISSA - PLAYA Av. de la Marina, 307 03720 Benissa - T. 966 498 361 benissaplaya@touristinfo.net CALPE - CENTRO Plaza del Mosquit, s/n 03710 Calpe T. 965 838 532 - 965 838 533 calpecentro@touristinfo.net CALPE - ESTACIÓN Av. Generalitat Valenciana, s/n 03710 Calpe T. 965 874 060 - 965 875 645 F. 965 875 694 calpestacion@touristinfo.net CALPE - LONJA Puerto Pesquero, s/n 03710 Calpe - T. 965 837 413 calpelonja@touristinfo.net CALPE - PEÑÓN Av. Ejércitos Españoles, 44 03710 Calpe T. 965 836 920 - 965 839 693 calpe@touristinfo.net CALLOSA D'EN SARRIÀ C. Sant Antoni, 2 03510 Callosa d'En Sarrià T. 965 880 153 - F. 965 880 153 callosadensarria@touristinfo.net CALLOSA DE SEGURA C. Mayor, 31 03360 Callosa de Segura T. 966 198 451 callosasegura@touristinfo.net EL CAMPELLO Cl. San Bartolomé, 103 03560 El Campello T. 965 634 606 - F. 965 633 548 campello@touristinfo.net CASTALLA Pl. Mayor, 3 03420 Castalla T. 966 561 018 castalla@touristinfo.net
CASTELL DE GUADALEST Av. Alicante, s/n 03517 El Castell de Guadalest T. 965 885 298 guadalest@touristinfo.net COCENTAINA Pl. del Pla, s/n Patio de Armas Palau Comtal 03820 Cocentaina T. 965 590 159 - F. 965 593 067 cocentaina@touristinfo.net DÉNIA Calle Manuel Lattur 1, local E 03700 Dénia Tel. 966 422 367 denia@touristinfo.net DOLORES Pl. General LLopis 1 03150 Dolores Tel. 966 710 363 dolores@touristinfo.net ELDA C. Nueva,14 03600 Elda T. 966 980 300 elda@touristinfo.net ELDA-MUSEO DEL CALZADO Av. Chapí, 32 03600 Elda elda@touristinfo.net ELDA-SAGASTA Pl. Sagasta, s/n 03600 Elda T. 966 910 111 elda@touristinfo.net ELX Pl. del Parc, 3 03202 Elx T. 966 658 196 - F. 966 658 197 elx@touristinfo.net ELX - AEROPORT Aeropuerto de Alicante - El Altet 03195 Elx - T. 966 919 367 elaltet@touristinfo.net ELX - ELS ARENALS DEL SOL Av. San Bartolomé de Tirajana 03195 Elx - T. 966 910 111 elxarenals@touristinfo.net LA MARINA D'ELX Av. de la Alegría. La Marina, 72 03194 Elx T. 965 419 710 marinaelx@touristinfo.net FINESTRAT Av. de la Marina Baixa, 15 03509 Finestrat - T. 966 801 208 finestrat@touristinfo.net FINESTRAT - POBLE Pl. del Poble, 5 03509 Finestrat T. 965 878 834 - F. 965 878 948 finestratpoble@touristinfo.net FINESTRAT - FONT DEL MOLÍ Ptda. Font del Molí A los pies del Puig Campana 03509 Finestrat - T. 648 653 219 FINESTRAT - LA CALA Av. Marina Baixa, s/n 03509 Finestrat - T. 965 868 986
GATA DE GORGOS Av. Marina Alta,14 03740 Gata de Gorgos T. 965 757 317 gata@touristinfo.net GUARDAMAR Pl. de la Constitución, 7 03140 Guardamar del Segura T. 965 724 488 - F. 965 727 292 guardamar@touristinfo.net IBI C. Doctor Waksman, 5 03440 Ibi T. 965 551 296 ibi@touristinfo.net MONFORTE DEL CID Pl. del Parador, 10 03670 Monforte del Cid T. 965 621 190 -F. 965 621 190 monforte@touristinfo.net MURO Pl. Matzem, s/n 03830 Muro de Alcoy T. 965 532 071 - F. 965 532 071 muroalcoi@touristinfo.net MUTXAMEL C. Ramón y Cajal, s/n 03110 Mutxamel - T. 965 956 314 mutxamel@touristinfo.net NOVELDA C. Mayor, 6 03660 Novelda T. 965 609 228 - F. 965 607 381 novelda@touristinfo.net ONIL Pl. Mayor, 1 03430 Onil T. 966 544 705 - 966 544 745 onil@touristinfo.net ORIHUELA Pl. de la Salud, 2 03300 Orihuela Tel. 965 302 747 orihuela@touristinfo.net ORIHUELA - ANDENES Av. de la Estación 03300 Orihuela T. 966 736 089 ORIHUELA - CENTRO Pl. Marqués de Rafal, 5 03300 Orihuela T. 965 304 645 - F. 965 306 294 orihuelacentro@touristinfo.net ORIHUELA - PLAYA Pl. del Oriol, 1 03300 Orihuela T. 966 760 000 - F. 966 761 250 orihuelaplaya@touristinfo.net PEGO I LES VALLS Ctra. Dénia, s/n 03780 Pego T. 966 400 843 - F. 966 400 843 pegoilesvalls@touristinfo.net PETRER C/ Cura Bartolomé Muñoz, 2 03610 Petrer Tel. 966 989 400 petrer@touristinfo.net; adl@petrer.es
PILAR DE LA HORADADA C. Carretillas, 19 03190 Pilar de la Horadada T. 966 767 068 - F. 966 767 340 pilarhoradada@touristinfo.net PILAR DE LA HORADADA PLAYA HIGUERICAS Torre de la Horadada 03190 Pilar de la Horadada PILAR DE LA HORADADA PLAYA JESUITAS Torre de la Horadada 03190 Pilar de la Horadada PILAR DE LA HORADADA PLAYA MIL PALMERAS Torre de la Horadada 03190 Pilar de la Horadada EL PINÓS Carretera de Murcia, s/n -(Centro de Recursos Casa del Vino) s/n 03650 El Pinós Tel. 966 966 043 pinoso@touristinfo.net POBLE NOU DE BENITATXELL Ctra. de la Font, s/n 03726 El Poble Nou de Benitatxell T. 966 493 546 - F. 966 493 546 benitatxell@touristinfo.net ELS POBLETS C. del Mestre Vicent, 32 03779 Els Poblets T. 966 475 352 - F. 966 475 360 elspoblets@touristinfo.net SAN FULGENCIO C. Amsterdam, s/n 03177 San Fulgencio T. 966 790 021 - F. 966 790 021 sanfulgencio@touristinfo.net SAN MIGUEL DE SALINAS Pl. Juan Carlos I, 1 03193 San Miguel de Salinas T. 966 723 466 sanmiguel@touristinfo.netl SANTA POLA Pl. Diputación, s/n 03130 Santa Pola T. 966 692 276 - F. 966 696 039 santapola@touristinfo.net SANTA POLA - CENTRO C. Astilleros, 4 03130 Santa Pola T. 966 696 052 - F. 966 696 039 santapolacentro@touristinfo.net SANTA POLA - GRAN ALACANT Av. Escandinavia, 31 03130 Santa Pola T. 966 699 762 santapolaga@touristinfo.net TEULADA Cr. Moraira-Teulada, 51 03724 Teulada T. 965 745 168 - F. 966 491 504 teulada@touristinfo.net TORREVIEJA Pl. Ruiz Capdepont, s/n 03181 Torrevieja T. 965 703 433 - 901 343 343 torrevieja@touristinfo.net TORREVIEJA - ALTO DE LA
CASILLA Av. Cortes Valencianas, s/n 03183 Torrevieja T. 666 579 949 torrevieja.altocasilla@touristinfo.net TORREVIEJA - Pº. MARÍTIMO Pº Marítimo. Playa del Cura 03182 Torrevieja - T. 617 435 604 TORREVIEJA - CENTRO Pl. Constitución, 1 03182 Torrevieja - T. 965 710 250 torreviejacentro@touristinfo.net TORREVIEJA - ALTO DE LA CASILLA Av. Cortes Valencianas, s/n 03183 Torrevieja T. 666 579 949 torrevieja.altocasilla@touristinfo.net TORREVIEJA- LA MATA Pl. Encarnación Puchol, s/n 03188 Torrevieja T. 966 925 542 - F. 966 926 044 torreviejalamata@touristinfo.net VALL DE POP Ps. de la Alameda, s/n 03727 Xaló T. 966 481 017 - F. 966 481 017 valldepop@touristinfo.net EL VERGER C. Abadía, 2 03770 El Verger T. 966 439 551 - F. 966 439 896 elverger@touristinfo.net VILA DE BIAR Av. de Villena, 2 03410 Biar T. 965 811 177 - F. 965 810 833 biar@touristinfo.net LA VILA JOIOSA C/ Colón, 40 (Chalet Centella) 03570 La Vila Joiosa Tel. 966 851 371 lavilajoiosa@touristinfo.net LA VILA JOIOSA - LA CALA Av. de los Marineros, s/n 03570 La Vila Joiosa T. 965 851 045 lacala_vila@touristinfo.net VILLENA C. Teniente Hernández Menor, 18 C 03400 Villena T. 966 150 236 - F. 966 150 066 villena@touristinfo.net XÁBIA - ARENAL Cr. Cabo de la Nao-Pla, 136 03730 Xàbia T. 966 460 605 - F. 965 796 258 xabiaarenal@touristinfo.net XÀBIA - CENTRE Pl. de la Iglesia, 4 03730 Xàbia T. 965 794 356 xabiacentre@touristinfo.net XÀBIA - PORT Pl. Almirante Bastarreche,11 03730 Xàbia T. 965 790 736 - F. 965 796 057 xabia@touristinfo.net
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 135
134 - 135
VALENCIA ADEMUZ C/ Fuente Vieja, 10 46140 Ademuz Tel.978 782 267 ademuz@touristinfo.net AIELO DE MALFERIT Av. del Santísimo Cristo 1 46812 Aielo de Malferit Tel. 962 360 720 aielo@touristinfo.net ALBAIDA Pl. del Pintor Segrelles, 19 46860 Albaida T. 962 390 186 - F. 962 900 667. (Ayto.) albaida@touristinfo.net ALBORAYA - PORT SAPLAYA C. del Batlle, 1 46120 Alboraya T. 963 190 200 - F. 963 190 204 portsaplaya@touristinfo.net ALBORAYA - PATACONA Av. Mare Nostrum, s/n 46120 Alboraya T. 963 190 226 ALMÀSSERA Camino del Mar, s/n 46132 Almàssera T. 961 862 552 almassera@touristinfo.net ALPUENTE Av. José Antonio, 19 46178 Alpuente Tel. 962 101 228 alpuente@touristinfo.net ALTO TURIA Ctra. CV-35, km. 73 46177 Tuéjar T. 961 635 084 - F. 961 635 084 tuejar@touristinfo.net ALZIRA Pl. del Reino, s/n 46600 Alzira T. 962 419 551 - F. 962 415 756 alzira@touristinfo.net ANNA C. Mayor, s/n 46820 Anna T. 962 211 043 anna@touristinfo.net AYORA C. San Francisco, s/n (Casa de la Cultura) 46620 Ayora T. 961 890 658 ayora@touristinfo.net BELLREGUARD Paseo Marítimo 46713 Bellreguard T. 962 819 320 - F. 962 819 320 bellreguard@touristinfo.net BOCAIRENT Pl. del Ayuntamiento, 2 46880 Bocairent T. 962 905 062 bocairent@touristinfo.net BUÑOL Casa Señorial del Castillo de Buñol 46360 Buñol Tel. 962 503 886 bunol@touristinfo.net
CAMP DE TÚRIA Pla de l'Arc Edificio Sede Mancomunidad 46160 Llíria T. 962 793 619 - 962 792 625 campturia@touristinfo.net CANET D'EN BERENGUER Paseo 9 de octubre 46529 Canet d'En Berenguer T. 962 607 806 canet@touristinfo.net CHESTE C. María Carbonell, 14 46380 Cheste T. 963 211 842 cheste@touristinfo.net CHULILLA C. de las Eras, s/n 46167 Chulilla T. 961 657 979 - F. 961 657 979 chulilla@touristinfo.net COFRENTES Pl. de España, 6 46625 Cofrentes T. 961 894 316 cofrentes@touristinfo.net CULLERA C. Riu, 38 46400 Cullera T. 961 720 974 - F. 961 738 062 cullera@touristinfo.net CULLERA - FARO Pl. Faromar, s/n 46400 Cullera CULLERA - PLAYA Pl. Constitución, s/n 46400 Cullera T. 961 731 586 - F. 961 731 586 culleraplaya@touristinfo.net DAIMÚS Pl. Alcalde Francico Castelló, s/n 46710 Daimús. T. 962 803 822 daimus@touristinfo.net ENGUERA C/ Patriarca, 4 46810 Enguera Tel. 962 226 026 enguera@touristinfo.net GANDIA Av. Marqués de Campo, s/n 46700 Gandia T. 962 877 788 - F. 962 865 577 gandia@touristinfo.net GANDIA - PLAYA Paseo Marítimo Neptuno, 45 46730 Gandia T. 962 842 407 - F. 962 845 217 gandiaplaya@touristinfo.net GANDIA - PORT Av. de la Pau, s/n (recinto portuario zona norte) 46730 Gandia T. 962 959 814 gandiaport@touristinfo.net JALANCE C. Targer, 2 46624 Jalance T. 961 897 171 - F. 962 196 451 jalance@touristinfo.net
LA POBLA DE FARNALS Pl. París, s/n 46137 La Pobla de Farnals T. 961 460 928 - F. 961 444 971 puebladefarnals@touristinfo.net LLÍRIA Pl. Mayor, 1 46160 Llíria T. 962 791 522 - F. 962 790 796 lliria@touristinfo.net LLUTXENT Av. de València, 66 46838 Llutxent T. 962 294 386 llutxent@touristinfo.net MANISES Av. País Valencià, 19 46940 Manises T. 961 525 609 - F. 961 520 931 manises@touristinfo.net MIRAMAR Av. de la Mediterrànea 46711 Miramar T. 962 802 165 - F. 962 819 073 (Ayto.) miramar@touristinfo.net MONTESA C/ Dr. Fernández Villapedroso, 5 46692 Montesa Tel. 962 299 080 montesa@touristinfo.net NÁQUERA Paseo de las Delicias, s/n 46119 Náquera Tel. 961 680 002 (Ayto.) naquera@touristinfo.net OLIVA Ps. Lluis Vives, s/n. 46780 Oliva T. 962 855 528 - F. 962 855 528 oliva@touristinfo.net OLIVA-PLAYA Av. dels Montanyars, s/n 46780 Oliva T. 962 850 391 olivaplaya@touristinfo.net OLOCAU C. Sant Josep, 28 (Casa de la Señoría) 46169 Olocau T. 962 739 650 olocau@touristinfo.net ONTINYENT Pl. de Santo Domingo, 13 46870 Ontinyent T. 962 916 090 - F. 962 916 303 ontinyent@touristinfo.net PATERNA C. Médico Ballester, 23 46980 Paterna T. 963 053 124 paterna@touristinfo.net EL PERELLÓ Av. de Sueca, s/n. El Perelló 46420 Sueca T. 961 772 627 - F. 961 772 627 elperello@touristinfo.net PILES Paseo Marítimo, s/n 46712 Piles T. 962 831 762 - 962 831 711 (Ayto.)
PUÇOL Pl. Rosa dels vents, s/n 46530 Puçol T. 618 771 089 EL PUIG Av. de la Estación, s/n (Centro Cívico). 46540 Puig T. 961 959 029 elpuig@touristinfo.net REQUENA C. García Montes, s/n 46340 Requena T. 962 303 851 - F. 962 303 851 requena@touristinfo.net RIBA-ROJA DEL TÚRIA C. Cisterna, 30 46190 Riba-roja de Túria T. 962 772 184 riba_roja@touristinfo.net RINCÓN DE ADEMUZ Paraje Los Centenares, s/n 46141 Castielfabib T. 978 783 227 - F. 978 783 229 rinconademuz@touristinfo.net RÒTOVA Pl. Mayor, 7 46725 Rótova T. 962 835 316 - F. 962 835 095 touristinfo_rotova@gva.es SAGUNTO Pl. Cronista Chabret, s/n 46500 Sagunt T. 962 655 859 - 962 662 213 sagunto@touristinfo.net SAGUNTO - PLAYA Av. del Mediterráneo, 67 46520 Sagunt T. 962 690 402 - F. 962 690 402 saguntoplaya@touristinfo.net SERRA C. Sagunt, 31 46118 Serra T. 961 688 125 serra@touristinfo.net SIMAT DE LA VALLDIGNA Paseo 9 d'Octubre, s/n 46750 Simat de la Valldigna T. 962 810 920 simatv@touristinfo.net SUECA C. Sequial, 13 46410 Sueca T. 962 039 150 sueca@touristinfo.net TAVERNES DE LA VALLDIGNA Av. Marina, s/n 46760 Tavernes de la Valldigna T. 962 885 264 - F. 962 885 264 tavernesvalldigna@touristinfo.net UTIEL C. Puerta Nueva, 11-A 46300 Utiel T. 962 171 103 utiel@touristinfo.net VALENCIA - AEROPUERTO Terminal Aeropuerto Valencia 46940 Manises T. 961 530 229 - F. 961 530 229 infoturisticaaeropuerto@turisvalencia.es VALENCIA - DIPUTACION
C. Poeta Querol, s/n 46002 Valencia T. 963 514 907 - 963 519 927 dipuvalencia@touristinfo.net VALENCIA - PAZ C. Paz, 48 46003 Valencia T. 963 986 422 - F. 963 986 421 valencia@touristinfo.net VALENCIA - PLAYA Paseo de Neptuno, 2 46011 Valencia T. 963 557 108 - 963 525 478 infoturisticaplaya@turisvalencia.es VALENCIA - PLAZA DE LA REINA Pl. de la Reina, 19 46002 Valencia T. 963 153 931 - 963 153 920 infoturistica@turisvalencia.es VALENCIA - RENFE C. Xàtiva, 24 46007 Valencia T. 963 528 573 - F. 963 528 573 valenciarenfe@touristinfo.net VALENCIA-AYUNTAMIENTO Pl. del Ayuntamiento, s/n (frente al Edif. de Correos) 46002 Valencia T. 618 183 500 infoturisticaayuntamiento@turisvalencia.es XÀTIVA Paseo Alameda Jaume I, 50 46800 Xàtiva T. 962 273 346 - F. 962 282 221 xativa@touristinfo.net XERACO Av. Migjorn, 2 46770 Xeraco T. 962 888 261 xeraco@touristinfo.net
CASTELLÓN ALBOCÀSSER Ctra. CV-15, La Pobla TornesaVilafranca, km 32 12003 Albocàsser T. 964 428 127 albocasser@touristinfo.net ALCALÀ DE XIVERT Pl. de la Iglesia, s/n 12570 Alcalà de Xivert T. 964 410 647 L'ALCORA C. Teixidors, 5 12110 L'Alcora T. 964 033 099 lalcora@touristinfo.net ALCOSSEBRE Pl. Vistalegre s/n 12579 Alcalà de Xivert T. 964 412 205 - F. 964 414 534 alcossebre@touristinfo.net ALCOSSEBRE - ROMANA Playa La Romana, s/n. Alcossebre 12579 Alcalà de Xivert T. 964 761 195 ALMASSORA C. San Vicente, 47 12550 Almassora T. 964 551 887 - F. 964 551 887 almassora@touristinfo.net ALMENARA Pl. de la Mar, s/n 12590 Almenara T. 962 623 100 - F. 962 623 100 almenara@touristinfo.net ALTURA C/ Ignacio Marín, 1 12410 Altura Tel. 964 147 075 altura@touristinfo.net BEJÍS C. Virgen de Loreto, 2 12430 Bejís T. 964 120 806 bejis@touristinfo.net BENASSAL C. la Mola, 8 12160 Benasal F. 964 442 004 - F. 964 431 411. (Ayto.) benassal@touristinfo.net BENASSAL FONT D'EN SEGURES Av. Doctor Puigvert, s/n 12160 Benasal BENICARLÓ Pl. de la Constitución 12580 Benicarló T. 964 473 180 - F. 964 473 180 benicarlo@touristinfo.net BENICARLÓ - MORRONGO Av. Marqués de Benicarló, s/n 12580 Benicarló BENICÀSSIM C. Santo Tomás, 76 12560 Benicàssim T. 964 300 102 - 964 300 962 benicasim@touristinfo.net
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 136
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
BENICÀSSIM - HELIÓPOLIS Av. Ferrandis Salvador, s/n 12560 Benicàssim T. 964 760 119 benicassim@touristinfo.net BENICÀSSIM - TORRE SAN VICENTE Pº Marítimo Bernat Artola, s/n 12560 Benicàssim T. 964 305 147 BURRIANA C. Mayor, 10 12530 Borriana T. 964 570 753 - F. 964 515 415 burriana@touristinfo.net BURRIANA - L'ARENAL Av. Mediterránea, s/n 12530 Borriana CABANES Pl. de la Iglesia, 4 12180 Cabanes T. 964 657 032 cabanes@touristinfo.net CABANES - PLAYA Playa de Torre la Sal 12595 Cabanes CASTELLÓN Pl. María Agustina, 5 12003 Castelló de la Plana T. 964 358 688 - F. 964 358 689 castellon@touristinfo.net CASTELLÓN - GURUGÚ Av. Ferrandis Salvador, s/n (Playa Gurugú) 12100 Castelló de la Plana GRAO DE CASTELLÓN Paseo Buenavista, 28 12100 Castelló de la Plana T. 902 203 130 - 964 283 621 graocastellon@touristinfo.net CATÍ C. Llarguer, 68 12513 Catí T. 964 409 015 cati@touristinfo.net CINCTORRES Carrer Nou, 6 12318 Cinctorres T. 964 181 417 cinctorres@touristinfo.net FORCALL C. del Carmen, 21 12310 Forcall T. 964 171 290 forcall@touristinfo.net JÉRICA C. del Río, 2 12450 Jérica T. 964 128 004 - F. 964 129 045 jerica@touristinfo.net MONCOFA Av. Mare Nostrum, 143 12593 Moncofa T. 964 588 557 moncofa@touristinfo.net MONCOFA-GRAO Pl. Pintor Sorolla, s/n 12593 Moncofa T. 964 580 421
MONTANEJOS Ctra. de Tales 12448 Montanejos T. 964 131 153 montanejos@touristinfo.net MORELLA Pl. San Miguel, s/n 12300 Morella T. 964 173 032 - 964 161 071 morella@touristinfo.net NAVAJAS C. Valencia, 8 12470 Navajas T. 964 710 801 navajas@touristinfo.net NULES PLATGES C/ de l'Estany, s/n 12520 Nules Tel. 964 675 202 nules@touristinfo.net ONDA C. La Cossa, s/n 12200 Onda T. 964 602 855 onda@touristinfo.net OROPESA DEL MAR Pl. de París, s/n 12594 Oropesa del Mar T. 964 312 320 - F. 964 312 491 oropesadelmar@touristinfo.net OROPESA DEL MAR AMPLARIES C. Moscatel, s/n 12594 Oropesa del Mar T. 964 314 134 - F. 964 312 491 oropesaamplaries@touristinfo.net PEÑÍSCOLA Ps. Marítim, s/n 12598 Peñíscola T. 964 480 208 - F. 964 489 392 peniscola@touristinfo.net PEÑÍSCOLA - PEÑISMAR Paseo Marítimo Norte, s/n 12598 Peñíscola peniscolapenismar@touristinfo.net PEÑÍSCOLA - PUERTO Av. Marcelino Roca, s/n 12598 Peñíscola peniscola@touristinfo.net PEÑÍSCOLA - TOBOSO Confluencia Av. Estación y C. Huerto, s/n 12598 Peñíscola peniscola@touristinfo.net SANT MATEU C. Historiador Betí, 10 12170 Sant Mateu T. 964 416 658 - F. 964 416 129 santmateu@touristinfo.net SEGORBE C. Marcelino Blasco, 3 12400 Segorbe T. 964 713 254 - F. 964 713 254 segorbe@touristinfo.net TINENÇA DE BENIFASSÀ Ctra La Senia-P. Benifassà, km 5 (junto Molí l'Abad) 12599 La Pobla de Benifassà T. 977 713 418 benifassa@touristinfo.net
TÍRIG Av. Gabriel Puig Roda 34 12179 Tírig Tel.964 418 668 tirig@touristinfo.net TORREBLANCA Av. del Mar,1 12596 Torreblanca T. 964 421 212 - F. 964 420 125 torreblanca@touristinfo.net TORREBLANCA-PLAYA C. San Juan, 20 12596 Torreblanca T. 964 425 488 - F. 964 420 125 torreblancaplaya@touristinfo.net TRAIGUERA Santuario Fuente de la Salud 12330 Traiguera Tel. 964 765 869 traiguera@touristinfo.net LA VALL D'UIXÓ Paraje San José, s/n 12600 La Vall d'Uixó T. 964 660 785 VILA-REAL C. Raval de Sant Pasqual, 68 12540 Vila-real T. 964 500 219 vilareal@touristinfo.net VILAFAMÉS Pl. Ayuntamiento, 2 12192 Vilafamés T. 964 329 970 vilafames@touristinfo.net VILAFRANCA Pl. Iglesia, 6 12150 Vilafranca T. 964 441 432 - 964 441 004 VINARÒS Plaza Jovellar 2. 12500 Vinaròs T.964 453 334 - 964 455 625 vinaros@touristinfo.net VINARÒS - ZONA NORD Paseo San Pedro s/n. 12500 Vinaròs vinaros@touristinfo.net VINARÒS - ZONA SUD Avv. Pablo Béjar, s/n (Playa del Clot). 12500 Vinaròs vinaros@touristinfo.net XILXES C. Colón, 11 12592 Xilxes T. 964 583 446 - F. 964 583 446 xilxes@touristinfo.net XILXES - OASIS C. Pizarro (zona oasis) 12592 Xilxes T. 964 583 446 - F. 964 583 446 xilxes@touristinfo.net
COMUNITAT VALENCIANA EN BRUSELAS 227 Wetstraat - B 1040 Brussel T. +32 (0) 22 824 165 +32(0)22824161 bruselas@touristinfo.net COMUNITAT VALENCIANA EN MADRID C. Españoleto, 25-Bajo 28010 Madrid T. 917 022 284 - 917 022 285 comunitatvalenciana@touristinfo.net COMUNITAT VALENCIANA EN LONDRES 34, Seymour Street W1H7BP Londres T. +44 (0) 207 563 71 32 londres@touristinfo.net COMUNITAT VALENCIANA LONDRES 34. Sevmour street W1H7BP Londres Tel. +44 207 563 7132 londres@touristinfo.net COMUNITAT VALENCIANA MUNICH Sonnestrasse 32, 4º Stock 80331 Munich Tel. +49 891 598 9840
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 137
136 136- 137
Accommodations
Store hours
Climate
What bett er wa y t o get t o k now the Region of Valencia than t o enjo y a pleasant sta y in one of the numer ous accommodations distributed throughout its t erritory, that y ear af ter y ear increases in number and le vel of quality, with a wide and div erse range of possibilities , with alt ernatives f or all types of public and budgets , and with establishments that off er e verything from the basic ser vices t o the most complete, that can include culinar y tastings, health and beaut y facilities and the practice of sports activities. A total of near ly 900 hot els and inns , more than 100 camp g rounds and around 1,000 rural tourism establishments complete a broad tourist offering of the first magnitude, considered among the best of Europe, which allows the visitor to enjo y qualit y ser vice and car eful attention. Consult the in or f mation offices of the Tourist Info Network and in www.comunitatvalenciana.com.
Not only do snapshots of the places that are visit ed mak e a tr ip sur vive in one ’s memory for a long time , so do all those souvenirs that the tra veller acquir es f or family, friends or for himself in the department st ores and commer cial streets in the cities , or handicraf t markets on promenades or in historical centres of small mountain t owns, wher e tradition and inno vation go hand in hand . I n the Region of Valencia going shopping is an incentive to add to your visit. The open hours of small st ores ar e normally, f rom M onday t o S aturday, f rom 10 h. to 14 h. and from 17 h. to 20 h. The large depar tment stores and h ypermarkets, also fr om M onday t o Saturday, are open from 10 h. to 22 h. On some holidays and in special s easons ( such a s C hristmas) t hese store hours are usually increased. The banking institutions are normally open from M onday to Friday f rom 9 h to 1 4 h .
The mild Mediterranean climate lets itself be f elt in the entir e R egion of Valencia, with slight var iations between the coast and the int erior. Dur ing near ly 3,000 hours a year the sun shines on the coast and the average temperature during the day varies between 12º-20º in winter and 24ºC - 32ºC in summer . The warm water temperature of the Mediterranean makes it possible t o find bathers on its coasts from spring to autumn. All this under the dome of clear blue sk ies that mak e the Region of Valencia a pr ivileged t ourism destination of mild t emperatures, with long and war m summers , and an excellent climat e dur ing the entir e y ear, even in winter, which allo ws car rying out all types of activities.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 138
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Communications By car
By airplane
By boat
The AP-7 motorway crosses, parallel to the coast, the R egion of Valencia and connects with the European network. The national highways connect the coast with the pr incipal cities of the interior and the rest of the country. A-3 Dual carriageway from Valencia to Madrid. A-35 Dual car riageway fr om l ’Alcúdia de Cr espins t o Albacet e t owards Madrid. A-31 Dual carriageway from Alicante towards Madrid. A-7 Dual car riageway from Almen araAlcudia de Cr espins-Alcoy-Elx t o P ilar de la Horadada towards Murcia. N-232 from Vinaròs to Morella towards Zaragoza. A-23 from Sagunt to Segorbe towards Teruel. N-340 crosses the Region of Valencia from nor th t o s outh t owards Barcelona-Cádiz, var ious sec tions o f dual carriageway. N-330 from A demuz t o A yora, cr oss the w estern par t of the R egion of Valencia. For an y inf ormation, call the H ighway Help line 900 123 505 or the w eb page of the DGT ( Traffic Department) www.dgt.es
Airports of Alicante andValencia with national and international flights: Airport of Valencia (Manises), Tel. 902 404 704 Airport of Alicante (El Altet), Tel. 902 404 704
In the por ts of Valencia, D énia and Alicante there is a passenger ma ritime service with the Balear ic Islands as the destination.
By train Renfe (National railroad network) Valencia, Castellón de la Plana y Alicante, Tel. 902 240 202. www.renfe.es Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (Regional railroad network) (www.fgv.es) Valencia: Metro Valencia Tel. 900 461 046 www.metrovalencia.com Alicante. Tram 900 720 472 www.fgvalicante.com
By bus Estación de Autobuses: Valencia, Tel. 963 466 266. Castellón de la Plana, Tel. 964 240 778. Alicante, Tel. 965 130 700.
Port of Valencia, Tel. 963 939 500 Port of Alicante, Tel. 965 130 095 Port of Dénia, Tel. 965 780 067 Acciona Trasmediterránea, Tel. 902 454 645 Balearia, Tel. 902 160 180 Excursions and tr ips b y boat t o th e Tabarca island , the Benidor m isla nd, the C olumbretes islands and diff erent routes on the coast fr om diff erent towns, organised by companies. Consult information in the offices of the Tourist Info Network.
ING 102-140_Maquetación 1 15/12/10 17:05 Página 139
138 - 139
Consulates GERMANY Tel. 963 106 253. Valencia Tel. 965 217 060. Alicante
FINLAND Tel. 963 525 250. Valencia Tel. 965 866 942. Alicante
MONACO Tel. 963 514 795. Valencia
AUSTRIA Tel. 963 522 212. Valencia
FRANCE Tel. 963 510 359. Valencia Tel. 965 125 813. Alicante
BELGIUM Tel. 963 802 909. Valencia Tel. 965 929 147. Alicante
IRELAND Tel. 965 107 485. Alicante
DENMARK Tel. 963 335 719. Valencia Tel. 965 207 938. Alicante
ITALY Tel. 963 943 872. Valencia Tel. 965 141 133. Alicante Tel. 964 237 466. Castellón de la Plana
NETHERLANDS Tel. 963 910 006. Valencia Tel. 965 212 175. Alicante Tel. 965 857 012. Benidorm
U.S.A Tel. 963 516 973. Valencia
LUXENBURGO Tel. 965 205 333. Alicante
POLAND Tel. 963 580 002. Valencia
NORWAY Tel. 963 310 887. Valencia Tel. 965 138 400. Alicante Tel. 965 852 166/07. Benidorm Tel. 964 222 550. Castellón de la Plana Tel. 966 704 501. Torrevieja
UNITED KINGDOM Tel. 963 520 710. Valencia Tel. 965 216 022. Alicante SWEDEN Tel. 963 940 375. Valencia Tel. 964 244 574. Castellón de la Plana Tel. 965 705 646. Torrevieja SWITZERLAND Tel. 963 518 816. Valencia
Information of interest Location: Western coast of the
Tourist areas: Costa Blanca,
Land transport infrastructure:
Passenger maritime ports: 3
Mediterranean (Spain).
Benidorm, València Terra i Mar and
• AP-7 Motorway of the Mediterranean.
Valencia / Alicante / Dénia.
Between 40º47’N and 37º51’N
Castellón Costa Azahar.
• A-3 Dual carriageway (Valencia-
Tourist sector
(latitude) and 0º30’E and 1º33’ W
Nº of towns: 542.
Madrid).
• 889 hotel establishments with
(longitude).
Climate: Moderate Mediterranean.
A-31 (Alicante-Madrid).
127,692 beds.
Surface area: 23.255 km2.
Average temperatures during the
A-23 (Valencia-Zaragoza) and
• 109 camping grounds with
Coast: 632 km.
day: 12-20º C in winter and 24-32º
A-7 (Valencia-Alicante-Elx).
space for 62,851.
Population: 5.094.675
in summer.
• Railroad of the Valencian
• 3 Tourist Paradors.
habitantes (INE 2009)
Nº of hours of sun each year:
Regional Government (FGV) and
• 6 spas.
Cities (with more than 100,000
2.730.
RENFE (National railway system).
• 1,044 rural tourism
inhabitants): Valencia, Alicante,
Land altitude: : Between 200 m, 26,2%.
International airports: 2
establishments, with 9,669 beds.
Castellón de la Plana and Elx.
De 201 a 600 m, 38,8%.
Valencia (Manises) / Alicante (El
• 12,116 restaurants.
De 601 a 1000 m, 32,3%.
Altet).
• 29 golf courses.
De 1000 a 2000 m, 6,7%.
• 46 nautical and recreational facilities.
Telephones of interest PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE Emergencies: Tel. 112. PROP: Tel. 012 General information on subjects of interest of the Administration of the Valencian Regional Gorvernment
TOURIST INFORMATION www.comunitatvalenciana.com info@comunitatvalenciana.com
ING 102-140_Maquetaci贸n 1 15/12/10 17:05 P谩gina 140