Valencia – The New Spanish Jewel

Western Europe is such an ultimate travel destination that anything worth seeing has already been triple-packed. It is practically impossible to find a place that has major attractions yet has retained its innocence. And, out of all countries, Spain – the place where annual tourist head count overtakes that of its residents – is a very unlikely candidate for such location. Considering this, Valencia comes as as an awesome surprise.

Valencia leaves you perplexed. When you see the vastness of its treasury, you can’t help but looking for a catch. Valencia is such a multi-dimensional city, truly sporting everything you could ever ask for from a destination (and at a top scope and level, not just a promotional token), that you simply feel lucky to have found it on your way. Many of the much more popular European locations don’t have a half of what Valencia has, yet here it is all business as usual, consuming you into its culture, forcing you to leave yours behind and truly banning all tourist conventions. This is a real journey and definitely one of Europe’s best kept secrets.

(Alex is the webmaster of Valencia Travel Guide - an independent resource on travelling in Valencia, Spain)

The basic attraction of any European city is its historic core – the Old Town. Valencia’s is a rich kaleidoscope of styles, spanning 8 Christian centuries of its history. Not just architecture on the streets, but spectacular monuments worthy of any important European city – two pairs of gigantic Gothic city gates, a Gothic castle-like palace, gorgeous Basilica – one of the first Baroque buildings in Europe, elaborate Cathedral sporting a mixture of styles and cultures (plus the only viable claim in the world to hosting the Holy Grail), and not to forget La Lonja – one of the most spectacular European Gothic structures protected by UNESCO. There are even Roman ruins. These are just some of the highlights amongst a myriad of other beautiful churches and building from all epochs.

These riches reflect Valencia’s history – it is a place that has always been a city, ever since the concept of the city was formed in the early Middle Ages. A curious place, Valencia has always been somewhat of a runner up – perhaps not one of the major European centers but definitely one of the most forward-looking and dynamic ones. The printing place entered Spain through Valencia, the Renaissance had its first Spanish roots here, the Enlightenment found its Spanish core here, the shock of the French Revolution was felt here the most, the coronation of the first constitutional monarch in the First Spanish Republic took place here, and it was here that the Second Republic centralized to fight Franco in 1930s.

And in the 15^th century – the Golden Age of Valencia – it was the most populous, prosperous and cultural city in the whole of Europe.

Yet when you walk around all this legacy here, there is no sense of distance, like in many other destinations. Here you remain close. On the streets it is business as usual, as if the time stopped a few centuries ago. Full of cozy corners and genuine snapshots of the past, the Old Town is an insane maze of old Arabic streets. It’s impossible not to get lost but you accept this fate easily, for you will be rewarded with stunning finds all the way and the surprise element makes your walk that much exciting.

Part of Valencia’s charm is how green it is. I have heard it is one of the greenest cities in Europe. There is always some kind of park, garden, shady alley, anywhere you go. And the city is split in half by 9 km of a wide green belt – the Turia Garden which used to be a river until it got diverted. The calm and tranquility of a sunny Spanish afternoon in that river of greenery, right in the middle of this metropolis, is the essence of Valencia. Valencia is also called the City of Flowers – they are abundant everywhere and the locals make incredible things out of them for their many fiestas.

They also call Valencia the City of Contrasts. Ancient monuments in the centre are interspersed with some of the most spectacular and imaginative XIX and XX century architecture. Even deeply residential districts tend to sport something curious on their apartment blocks. In the recent years a whole range of purely futuristic buildings has sprung up, culminating with the mind-boggingly ambitious City of Arts and Sciences.

This thing, built by Santiago Calatrava, is an enormous educational-leisure complex, that would have been selected as one of the New Wonders of the World, had it been completed in time for nominations. A totally unique idea, it takes you right into the 23^rd century – onto some distant space base. Gigantic futuristic shapes are surrounded by crystal clear water. And if you keep in mind that Calatrava bases his designs on skeletons, this becomes an insane intergalactic graveyard of giant alien creatures. More than just a pretty face, the City hosts the biggest marine wildlife park in Europe, an ultra-interactive science museum, an IMAX cinema and an opera house.

There are cities, like London or Paris, that embody the individual culture of that nation. Then there are cities, like Jerusalem or Istanbul, which embody the constant flux of cultures in mankind. Valencia is one of those. Built by the Romans and taken over by the Visigoths, it later flourished under the Moors (Muslims) for 6 centuries until it was finally re-built by Christians.