Valencia - the joy of life
Lunch time - that's about 3pm in Valencia. No sign of siesta. In the streets, large families jostle each other at the tables of the many small restaurants, in front of them huge pans with bright yellow paella.
In Valencia, the most exuberant street festivals in Spain are celebrated. Every occasion is good for fireworks, every night for a stroll through the Barrio del Carmen neighborhood with its myriad of bars and clubs. Life takes place outside. And if it gets too hot in the city, you just get into the Tranvía, the tram, and drive to Playa de la Malvarrosa, the most popular beach of the Valencians, 20 kilometers away. At the beach promenade it is not quiet at night. You take a cana here, so a tiny beer, a nibble there, as a cocktail? the most important rule is always to be in motion.
Valencia is more than 2000 years old, adorned with Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance arches, with Art Nouveau buildings, gardens and palaces, but also avoids the avant-garde. Star architect Santiago Calatrava has built a whole neighborhood of his hometown: the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, "the city of the arts and sciences". Eye-catcher of this futuristic recreational and cultural landscape is the Hemispheres cinema, which is modeled after a human eye. Inside, the universe is projected onto a 900 square meter screen. In front of the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, glass cascades are reminiscent of waterfalls; Everything is transparent, generous and bright - avant-garde and Moorish at the same time. And in the Oceanográfic, the various ecosystems of the oceans are replicated over 80,000 square meters; In a glass tunnel you walk through an Atlantic Aquarium, and in the restaurant only a glass pane separates the guests from the sharks.
Trends & Tips
Mercado
Ad Hoc: beautifully restored house from the 19th century, located between the old riverbed of the Turia and the old town, good food; DZ / F from 179 Euro (Calle Boix 4, Tel. 919140, Fax 3913667.
Reina Victoria: oldest and most traditional house on the square, popular with toreros. (Barcas 4, tel. 3520487, fax 3522721, e-mail: hreinavictoriavalencia@husa.es).
To eat and drink:Mesón Jeromín: excellent tapas and menus at reasonable prices; Young Audience (Jesús 56, Tel. 3524267). La Riuà: exquisite fish, paella and other rice specialties (Mar 27, Tel. 3914571, Fax 39183). Restaurante Ca? n Bermell: typical Valencian cuisine, that is rice in all its varieties; Closed on Sundays and in August (Santo Tomas 18, Tel. 3910288) .Restaurant El Gourmet: regional and international cuisine, specialty and more. Carpaccio of octopus; Closed Sunday evenings and Mondays (Martí 3, Tel. 3952509) .Restaurant La Pepica: Here is the paella Valenciana especially good, with vegetables, rabbit and snails (Neptuno 2? 6? 8, Tel. 3710366) .Restaurante Oscar Torrijos: Cooked What the rich Valencian market just gives. As an aperitif try Agua de Valencia: orange juice with vodka, Cointreau and Cava, the Catalan sparkling wine. Closed on Sundays (Doctor Sumsi 4, tel. 3732949).
Shopping:La Casa de la Madera: wickerwork, wooden toys (Músico Peydro 21) .Mercado Central: Art Nouveau building, Spain's largest market (Plaza del Mercado); Furniture and antiques on Calle Paz; Flea market in Colón and surroundings.
Do not miss:Jardines del Turia: beautiful garden landscape in the former riverbed, designed by architect-star Ricardo Bofill. City of the Arts and Sciences: in particular the Hemispheres Cinema and the Science Museum (Avenida Instituto Obrero, Tel. 902100031, www.cac.es) .Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM): one of the world's most important museums of modern art on the banks of the (dry placed) Turia River (Calle Guillem de Castro 118).
Info:Tourist Information, Calle Paz 48, Tel. 3986422, Fax 3986421, www.ayto-valencia.es.
Phone:Area code for Spain 0034, then the 96 for Valencia.
Extra tip:Popular nightlife district is the Barrio del Carmen (around Calle Caballeros), e.g. Café Infanta (Plaza Tossalt 3? 4) or Café Bolsería (Bolsería 41).
