Summer - Like most European countries, August is a slow month as many of the residents are on vacation. At this time of year Valencia is extremely hot and humid with temperatures averaging between 30-40°C (86-104°F).
*Autumn - September and October are more active months and the weather permits beach outings. Pavement cafes are still open until around the end of October.
*Winter - Though temperatures are still relatively mild, it's too cold to sunbathe at the beach.
*Spring - A lovely time to visit. The annual "Fallas de San José" [http://www.fallasfromvalencia.com/] unofficially marks the beginning of spring. Cafes and restaurants open their terraces and life spills out onto the street once again.
Valencia Airport [url=http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?cid=1048790574453&pagename=Estandar%2FPage%2FAeropuerto&SMO=-1&SiteName=VLC&c=Page&MO=0&Language=EN_GB]] is 9 km from the city center. The bus (Metrobus) to Plaza de Espana departs every 25 minutes and takes about 30-40 minutes (€1.45). The bus stop is a bit hidden, only a small sign in front of the parking lot at the level of the arrivals. Metro [http://www.metrovalencia.es/page.php?idioma=_en[/url] goes directly to the town centre and links the Airport to the main train station, Estación del Norte (beside Xàtiva metro stop), running every 8 minutes and taking about 20 minutes. The ticket card itself cost €1, and the fare from Airport (zone D) to Xàtiva metro (Zone A) cost €3.90 as of April 2013 (you can save yourself some money by walking to the next station, Rosas, from where the centre can be reached for €2.10 because it is in zone B).
A taxi ride form the airport to Calle de La Paz, which is in the heart of the historic city centre and covering a distance of approximately 11km costs around €19 with an additional 'airport supplement' of around €4. The tarifs are on display in the taxi in Valencian, Spanish and English but are difficult to see. The same journey back from Calle de La Paz to the airport half the price! These fees are accurate as of August 2008.
Valencia is served by Iberia, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, AirFrance, AirBerlin, TuiFly, Ryanair, Transavia, Vueling, and several other airlines.
Many trains come from [wiki=6314044c3803213e9fd3f3ecf8c90d65]Madrid[/wiki] (eg: Alaris), [wiki=550d05ab240ec337038af814ff0de287]Barcelona[/wiki] (eg: Euromed or ARCO), and many other cities. The main train station, Estacion del Norte, is in the center of the city, near the Town Hall. Travel time by train from Barcelona Sants is about 3 1/2 hours while from Madrid by AVE (high speed rail) is 1 hour 33 minutes.
The national train company is RENFE [http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html]. The tickets can be booked online. The cheap tourist class tickets are often sold out, so economical travellers should book their tickets some couple of days in advance.
There are also many buses coming from almost every big city in [wiki=907eba32d950bfab68227fd7ea22999b]Spain[/wiki] and most of the cities in the Valencia region. The bus station is located by the river in Valencia, about a 15 minutes walk from the center.
Direct ferry routes exist between Valencia and [wiki=bae09da3d6334eaaab33ae4fbdcde6c0]Ibiza[/wiki], [wiki=7b3fe8e75691bb35d176785419028915]Palma de Mallorca[/wiki], and [wiki=60561e8653d1654e5c73f16e39b6edc4]Mahon[/wiki].
Renting a bike is an increasingly popular way for visitors to explore this essentially flat city.
Since 2010 the city offers public bicycle rentals at over 250 locations around the city (and growing). This service is called Valenbisi [url=http://www.valenbisi.es/].]For 14€ you get access to unlimited use of the bikes during 7 days, first half hour is free, then 1€ every 30 minutes extra. You can purchase the ticket at any terminal at the stations.
If you stay longer than two weeks while using the bike system it might be smart to get the 365-days pass for around 25€. You need a credit card, internet and a metro ticket to get it. You can also let them mail it to your Valencian address, but that takes about 20 days. With the normal paper metro ticket you can online chose to book the Valenbisi on this very metroticket. You only need the ID-Number of the ticket. This will instantly grant you one year without the need of an address or the waiting.
Lights at night and reflective clothes are mandatory, helmet is only recommended. Riding through the pavement is also forbidden and bikeways are not frequent, this can do riding a bike in Valencia not recommended if you're not used to deal with city traffic. Drivers usually are unkind to cyclists.
You can choose to discover Valencia on your own, by renting a bike, though if you want to learn more about the culture and history of Valencia doing a bike tour is a good option. Several bike tour companies offer the opportunity to go cycling with a guide who knows everything about Valencia. Within a couple of hours you´ll get familiar with the beautiful city of Valencia. Fun bike tours are given by [url=http://www.valenciabikes.com]ValenciaBikes[/url[/url],[url=http://www.bajabikes.eu/en/highlights-in-valencia-bike-tour]Baja Bikes[/url] and [url=http://www.bravobike.com]Bravo Bike[/url]
* .
* Rent the best quality bikes at the lowest prices.
* Rents bikes at relatively reasonable prices. Also a store on Calle Puebla Larga, 13 and Avenida Puerto 21.
Aside from going to the beach and the City of Arts and Sciences, exploring the hub of the city requires no public transportation. Much of this city can be done walking, stopping for a coffee or a beer, and then walking more, all very leisurely. It's not necessary to have the mindset of mastering a complex public transportation system. However, for longer trips, see below for some pointers.
The Metro Valencia [http://www.metrovalencia.com/] consists of five lines (from which one is a tramway to the beach) and connects the suburbs with the city. As of Apr 2013, the one-way fare for one zone is €1.50. The ticket itself costs an additional €1 and contains a rechargeable chip. This metro system is not extensive, but can get you to major points within the city. If you want to take the tram, you have to buy a ticket from the machine, then validate it, before you get on.
If you use the metro a lot, you should consider getting a Bonometro (see above), or a one-, two- or three-day pass, which can be quite economical. For just over €22, you can ride for 72 hours on the metro and tram as much as you like during that time; a bonus is that if you buy a ticket at, for instance, 16:00 on a Monday, it will expire not on Wednesday night, but on 16:00 Thursday.
Driving to Valencia from Barcelona, travellers take coastal route E-15. A long and scenic roadway, at many points directly adjacent to the water, the E-15 is a toll-road (costing 35 Euro to traverse its entire length).
EMT [http://www.emtvalencia.es/] runs buses to virtually every part of the city.
What are Fallas?
The origins of the Fallas Festivity [url=http://www.fallasfestival.com]]goes back to an old tradition of the city's carpenters, who before the Festivity of their patron Saint Joseph, burned in front of their workshops, on the streets and public squares, their useless things and other wooden utensils they used to hold the candles that gave them light during the winter season. This is the reason why the night of the cremà (in which the Fallas monuments burn down) is always on March 19th, the Festivity of San José.
In the 18th century, Fallas used to be piles of combustible materials that were called "Fallas" and were burnt the night before the day of San José.
These Fallas evolved and acquired a more critical and ironic sense when showing in the monuments reprehensible social scenes.
Around 1870, the Fallas celebration [url=http://www.fallasparty.com[/url]]was forbidden, as well as Carnival. In 1885 this pressure created a movement that defended typical traditions by awarding in the magazine "LaTraca" the prizes to the best [url=http://www.lasfallas.net[/url] Fallas Monuments[/url]. This competition, which began to be popular among different neighbourhoods, brought the creation of the artistic Falla, where critique was still an important element together with aesthetics.
In 1901 the Ayuntamiento de Valencia awarded local prizes to the best Fallas. This was the beginning of the union between the people and the political power. This relationship has greatly developed this popular festivity in its structure, organisation and size.
In 1929 the first poster contest for the promotion of the Festivities and in 1932 the Fallero weekend was established. It what then, when Fallas became the Mayor Festivity of the Region of Valencia. Today, more than seven hundred big and small Fallas are burned in the city of Valencia.
Valencia has a fantastic festival each March called Fallas [url=http://www.fallasfromvalencia.com/],]in which local areas build big papier maché models. They are mostly of a satirical nature and can be as tall as a few stories. Fallas are constructed of smaller figures called ninots, Valencian for "dolls". The fallas take a whole year of planning and construction to complete. Each neighborhood has a falla, but 14 fall into the Sección Especial category and these are the most important, expensive, and impressive. Each falla has an adult falla (mayor) and a kid's falla (infantil). It is best to arrive by 16 March, as all of the fallas are required to be finished or they face disqualification.
Another feature of Fallas is the fireworks. It's like the city's a war zone for a week! They wake you up early in the morning and go on through the day. Every day, there are three fireworks events, la despertà, la mascletà, and el castillo. La despertà occurs every morning at 8AM in order to wake you up. At 2PM in the main square of the city, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, there's a thing they call Mascletá. This is 120 kilos of gunpowder translated into a lot of noise. It has to be experienced to be understood. This is very popular and you should arrive an hour in advance at least. Every night between midnight and 1AM, there is a castillo, a fireworks display. The last night it's called la nit de foc, the night of fire, and this is the most impressive. This is also very crowded and you need to arrive early to be able to see it. Along with these displays, people set off fireworks all day, making it very difficult to catch any sleep.
The days of 17th and 18th of March is La Ofrenda. The falleras from each falla take flowers to the Plaza of the Virgin. These flowers are used to construct the virgin. The processions are grand and very beautiful and worth catching. They follow two main paths: one down calle San Vicente and the other down Calle de Colon.
At the end of a week displaying the 'fallas' they are burnt. This is called la cremà. The fallas infantiles are burned at 10PM and the fallas mayores are burned anywhere from midnight to 1AM. The one at the town halls is burned last at 1AM. The most impressive to see are the fallas in Sección Especial, because these are the largest and most dramatic when they burn. These tend to be very crowded and one should arrive early.
Things one should do during fallas:
*Go around and see the various fallas, but especially the Sección Especial.
*Pay to enter one of the bigger fallas to get a closer look at the individual ninots.
*See la mascletà and the la nit de foc.
*See one of the various parades, especially the ofrenda.
*See the virgin made of flowers.
*Buy churros or buñelos at one of the many stands on the street.
*Go to one of the temporary bar/nightclubs set up on the street and dance all night long.
Things one should be aware of:
*Most of the streets in the city are closed to everything, except pedestrian traffic and it is difficult to get around. The best way to get around is either by walking or taking the public transportation. Driving a car is not a good idea.
*Most of the restaurants are very crowded and some are not open. There is usually very long waits and slow service and you should plan for this in your schedule.
*Most of the hotels are also very crowded and should be booked in advance.
*Many people throw fireworks near pedestrians and its very easy to get burnt or injured.
*Some of the fallas, like Nou Campanar, are well outside the city center and are quite far by foot, it is much easier to take a bus.
* Fallas Museums
If you can't be in Valencia at the time of the festival, you can at least get an idea of what it's all about by visiting one or both the following museums:
Museo Fallero [http://www.valenciavalencia.com/sights-guide/museums-listings/fallero-museum.htm[/url]
Museo de Artistas Falleros [http://www.valenciavalencia.com/sights-guide/museums-listings/guild-falleros.htm]
There are several city beaches, and three major beaches outside of Valencia. See [http://www.valenciavalencia.com/beaches-in-valencia/beaches-in-valencia.htm]
Playa de Malvarrosa and Playa e Levante o de la arenas are the most popular city beaches, just north of the port. To get there, take the metro or tram to Eugenia Vines or Arenas station, or take the metro to Maritim Serreria and continue with the tram to Neptu (all on one ticket).
El Saler is the nicest and best developed beach near Valencia. Devesa is undeveloped and has nice surroundings. At Devesa and Playa Pinedo there are nudist sections. These beaches are located south of the port. To reach them, take the Yellow Bus (operated by "Herca") from Calle Alicante near the train station, in direction "Perello". The trip takes about 30 minutes; the bus runs hourly 7am - 9pm.
The hot spring is located 90km north of Valencia in a region known for its mountains, deep gorges and scenic nature. The crystalline waters of the lagoon bubble up from the earth at a temperature of 25ºc all year round. This place well known by the locals is still undiscovered by most travellers. The story goes that the hot spring was the preferred bathing and relaxation site for a Moorish king´s harem. The water was said to keep his women young and beautiful.Dip into the water for a swim and explore the lagoon snorkeling, see the fish around you and discover the hidden caves. For the brave there´s the option to jump off cliffs right into the deepest part of the lagoon.
*
* A small traditional restaurant located 10 minutes from the city near the historic Monastery of El Puig. Specializes in traditional Mediterranean cuisine and boasts a cellar with a wide selection of Spanish wine. Has a covered terrace with a view of the nearby plaza.
Agua de Valencia - Valencia water is a very famous mixed drink. There are several recipes, mainly based on a mix of orange juice and Cava, the local sparkling wine.
*Orxata - A drink made from tigernut, xufa in Valencian or chufa in Spanish. Being cold and sweet, it is specially popular during the summer months. In Spanish it is called 'horchata' and it can be found in 'horchaterias' or 'orxateries', but also in most of the cafes and bars. When ordering a horchata, you will most probably be asked whether you would like to have a 'farton', a small pastry for being dipped in horchata, as well.
*Cibada - An iced malt drink.
*Llima Granizada - Iced lemonade.
*Café del Temps - Espresso on ice.
*Blanc i Negre - Iced coffee with leche merengada.
*Calimocho - A popular drink, originating in the Basque Country, made with red wine and cola mixed.
Located in the City of Sciencie: very near to beach.
* Central Valencia apartments that offer all modern conveniences, to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Book your ideal apartment on line with ease, in the knowledge that you will have our expert customer service on hand at all times.
* A modern and comfortable flat (85m2) located less than 5 minutes walk from the City of Science and well connected with other parts of the city
* Located in the City Center. Inaugurated in December 2012. The B&B has six big and comfortable rooms, all with TV, free WIFI and breakfast included. Within walking distance to the main shopping area, the river bed and the City of Arts and Sciences.
* A different type of hotel , 28 thematic rooms designed and decorated by 28 distinct artist. Close to the City of Arts and Sciences, cheap and special. Perfect for couples, very romantic, an experience you will never forget.
* A choice of over 40 centrally located and equipped apartments.
* CasaSpain.com, tel. + 34 902.1.22727, [url=http://www.casaspain.com/wing/holiday-apartments-valencia-vacation-rentals.asp?bu=wt&ca=wt]Rental apartments in Valencia[/url], +5000 selected vacation properties. Only trustful owners and agencies.[url=http://www.casaspain.com/indexing.asp?bu=wt&ca=wt]CasaSpain.com[/url]
*Lovely apartment with excellent location within five min of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias shopping centres. Close to the marina, the beach of la Malvarrosa, and the furure Formula 1 urban cycle. Next to bus stop and very close to metro stop Ayora. Recommended.
* Niumba provides around 2,000 private holiday homes located in Valencia.
*Expo Hotel Valencia[url=http://www.expohotelvalencia.com/en/],]Avda. Pío XII, 4, (34) 96 303 36 00. An ideal location situated within the Nuevo Centro. Offering 3* surroundings, great service and with a private swimming pool, it's a perfect base for business or pleasure visits.
* NH Villacarlos Address: Avenida del Puerto, 60, 46023, Email: nhvillacarlos@nh-hotels.com, Tel.: +34 96 3375025, Fax: +34 96 3375074 [url=http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/valencia/nh-villacarlos.html[/url].]The hotel is within walking distance of the historic centre and the commercial heart of the city, as well as La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the Valencia football stadium Mestalla and the Palau de la Música. There are a few other NH hotels in Valencia [url=http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/valencia.html[/url]]if this one doesn't take your fancy.
*Orange Habitaciones[http://orangevalencia.com/en/home/[/url], Calle Trinquete de Caballeros, 3 Valencia -España. Email:info@orangevalencia.com. A nice boutique hotel only 15 mins walk from center of Valencia. Rooms were decorated in orange colour which gives you the feeling of Valencia as soon as you check in. A taxi ride to the airport is about €20. €50.00/single room/night
A brand new hotel near the Arts and Sciences complex, ideal for business visitors.
* Near the City of Arts and Sciences, this is a brand new hotel.
* A five star hotel facing the sea.
*
* Located in a more quiet place, but still close enough to the center.
Internet terminals for 2 Euros/hour can be found at the main tourist information on the east side of the Plaza de la Reina in front of the cathedral, and at the cyber cafe in the Calle de Cerrajeros. 1 Euro/hour in the Chinese places in Calle de Pelayo, west of the train station. McDonalds on the Plaza de la Reina as well as many other restaurants and cafes offer free WiFi.