Valencia nautical activities costa azahar Nautical Activities Venues

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It forms part of the Costa del Azahar.

Valencia has a very changeable Mediterranean climate, with warm dry summers, mild humid winters and stormy autumn and springs.

Valencia coastline sailing

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The ancient winding streets of the Barrio del Carmen contain buildings dating to Roman and Arabic times. The Cathedral, built between the 13th and 15th century, is primarily of Gothic style but contains elements of Baroque and Romanesque architecture. Beside the Cathedral is the Gothic Basilica of the Virgin (Basílica De La Virgen De Los Desamparados). The 15th century Serrano and Quart towers are part of what was once the wall surrounding the city.

World-renowned (and city-born) architect Santiago Calatrava produced the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències), which contains an opera house/performing arts centre, a science museum, an IMAX cinema/planetarium, an oceanographic park and other structures such as a long covered walkway and restaurants. Calatrava is also responsible for the bridge named after him in the center of the city. The Music Palace (Palau De La Música) is another good example of modern architecture in Valencia.

Port

Valencia’s port is one of the biggest on the Mediterranean coast and the third of Spain, handling 20% of Spain’s exports. The main exports are food and drink (the Valencian region is famous for its oranges), furniture, ceramic tiles, fans, textiles and iron products. Valencia’s manufacturing sector focuses on metallurgy, chemicals, textiles, shipbuilding and brewing. Unemployment is lower than the Spanish average. Small and medium sized industries are an important part of the local economy.

Following the announcement that the 32nd America's Cup is coming to Valencia in 2007, the port underwent radical changes in which the port was divided into two parts, one part remaining unchanged while the other section would be used exclusively for the America's Cup festivities. The two sections are now divided by a wall that goes deep into the water in an attempt to maintain clean water for the America's Cup side.

Tourism

Formerly an industrial city, Valencia saw rapid development that started in the mid-1990s, expanding its cultural and touristic possibilities, which turned it into a vibrant city, restoring old landmarks like the old Towers of the medieval city (Serrano Towers and Quart Towers), monasteries like the San Miguel de los Reyes monastery, which now holds a specialized library, the whole Malvarrossa beach, with the construction of a 4 km (2 mi) long paseo or complete quarters, like the old Carmen Quarter, which has seen extensive renovation. Valencia sees about 840,000 tourists a year. Another appealing feature of the city is its numerous convention centres, like the Valencia Fair (Feria de Valencia), the Conference Palace (Palau de Congressos) and several 5 star hotels.

Additionally, Valencia is now hosting several world events.

Nightlife

Valencia is famous for its vibrant nightlife. In the 1980s and 1990s clubbers would follow the "ruta del bacalao" from Madrid to Valencia. Today, the more alternative/bohemian bars and nightclubs are concentrated in the Carmen, while the student nightlife is found around Blasco Ibanez and the more mainstream weekend nightlife has its clusters in the areas of Canovas and Juan Llorens. In the summer there is also nightlife on the beach and at the Port and Malvarossa Beach. Since the America's Cup is taking place at Valencia, new clubs have been opened and people from all nations go there to party every weekend. As is normal for Spain, nightlife does not take off until well after midnight. Agua de Valencia is the city's unofficial cocktail.

Food

Valencia is famous due to its wonderful gastronomic culture. Paella - a kind of fish and rice dish -, orxata, fartons, buñuelos, Spanish omelette, rosquilletas and squid (calamares) are some of the examples of typical foods.