Valencia
Overview:
The capital of the autonomous community Valencia in Spain is the city of Valencia and it is the most populous city. Its population exceeds 800,000. Valencia is in the Costa del Azahar industrial area.
The main festival of this place is Falles which is quite popular throughout the world. Paella is a traditional dish that originated in this place.
There are a number of monuments in this city. One of these monuments – Llotja de la Seda has been declared as a World Heritage Site in the year 1996.
Originally the name of the city was Valentia in Latin which means valor or strength. The Romans had named the city to recognize the valor of the Roman soldiers after the war was completed. When Muslims ruled this place, they called it Balansiya. Under Spanish rule it became Valencia.
History:
The city Valencia was founded 2000 years back and you can visually see this in the structures of the historical monuments. Because of this, the Moorish presence is not visible to a large extent. Abd-al-Malik’s Baths or Admiral’s Baths are the best preserved Moorish monuments.
Climate:
The average temperatures in a year are as follows:
Maximum – 26 °C in the month of August
Minimum – 11 °C in December-February
Art and Culture:
The City of Arts and Sciences – is the most important landmark in this city. This is an architectural and cultural complex meant for tourist entertainment and is located at Turia’s old riverbed end. In 1980, this was made into a garden. The city of Arts was designed by Félix Candela and Santiago Calatrava. The construction began in 1996 and the final city was completed in 1998.
Cuisine:
Valencia is popular for its gastronomy. Popular items are – Paella (rice dish with seafood or meat), Spanish omelet, fartons, squid, etc. There are a number of orange groves in Valencia and the oranges produced are quite sweet.
Sports and Entertainment :
The most popular sport in this city is football. The Formula One Grand Prix of Europe is conducted every year once in Valencia Street Circuit. In addition, other tournaments like motorcycle Grand Prix, show jumping tournament, ATP 500 tennis tournament, etc. are held here.
Nightlife in Valencia is very famous for its vibrancy. The nightclubs and bohemian bars are mainly in Carmen whereas Benimaclet and Blasco Ibáñez have the student nightlife. Main nightlife is in the areas Joan Llorens and Cánovas. During summer there is nightlife on the beach.
Business:
The economy of Valencia has grown tremendously in the last decade because of construction and tourism industries.