Valencia Top Ten Tourist Attractions

The Cathedral, El Miguelete and Plaza de la Virgen

Each of the three gates of the Cathedral has a diferent style: Irons Gate (baroque), the Apostles Gate (gothic) and the Palace Gate (Romanesque). The bell tower El Miguelete where you can enjoy amazing views. And the Plaza de la Virgen sits on the site that once was the forum of Roman Valencia.

Plaza del Mercado: Lonja de la Seda, Santos Juanes Church and Mercado Central

The Plaza del Mercado is home to 3 buildings of interest, the Silk Market, one of the best examples of gothic civil architecture in Europe which is Patrimony of the Humanity (UNESCO), the Santos Juanes Church in baroque style and the Central Market, a colourful market in a beautiful modernist building.

Serranos Towers

The Serranos Towers are considered to be the largest Gothic city gateway in all of Europe, and were constructed at the end of the 14th century by Pere Balaguer as part of the city's fortification. They provisionaly housed prison cells and served as a triumphal arch on many festive occasions.

National Ceramics Museum Gonzalez Marti

The National Ceramics Museum Gonzalez Marti is housed in a palace that dates from the 15th century and was refurbished in 1740 on rococo style with a magnificent alabaster entrance. Inside, you can find the 19th century rooms and a collection of tiles made in the Royal Ceramics Factory in Alcora.

The City of Arts and Ciences

The City of Arts and Ciences complex includes four buildings: L'Hemisferic is a Laserium, Planetarium and IMAX cinema, the Science Museum is one of those museums where it is forbidden not to touch, L' Oceanographic is a giant marine park or aquarium and the Palau de les Arts is an Opera House.

The Museum of Fine Arts San Pio V

Located in a Baroque building recently renovated, The Fine Arts Museum San Pio V is one of the most outstanding painting archives in Spain, renowned for its collections of primitive Valencian painters, although there are also works by El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Goya, and some archeological pieces.

San Juan del Hospital Church

San Juan del Hospital is one of the oldest churches in Valencia, built around 1261. The church has a single nave covered with a pointed barrel vault. Inside, you may contemplate the magnificent chapel of Santa Barbara and others chapels with painted murals from the Gothic period.

San Miguel de los Reyes Monastery

The Jeronime monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes was erected in the 16th century over the old abbey. The facade is in the Renaissance style and is framed by two towers with salomonic Baroque columns. The monastery also has two cloisters surrounded by arch galleries.

The Port and The Beach

Valencia is hosting of the 32nd America’s Cup, the international yact race, in summer 2007. Visit the port and enjoy with the team bases, the house of America’s Cup, the superyacht pier and the port sheds. After, walk by the promenade seafront in the Las Arenas, La Malvarrosa and Alboraya beaches.

The Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden was founded in 1567 for the study of medicinal plants. In 1802 it was installed in l'Hort de Tramoyeres, where it is currently situated. The restoration that was concluded in the year 2000 allowed for the reclamation of this spectacular green space.

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Saint Dionysius´ Feast Day in Valencia

On October the 9th Valencia celebrates Saint Dionysius' Feast Day, the local version of Saint Valentine. The valencian men wrap up specially decorated and shaped marzipan sweets - Piuletes and Tronadors in silk handkerchiefs - Mocaors and give them to their girlfriends as a demonstration of their affection. October the 9th it's also Valencia region's official holiday to celebrate the triumphant entrance of Jaime I into the city after defeating the Moors in battle hundreds of years ago. But will talk about Jaime I in another post. Now let´s enjoy some fruit and vegetable shaped marzipan sweets and at least send some loving thoughts to the loved one!

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Valencia Museums

For the museum lovers Valencia is heaven. From classic to modern art, from ancient ruins to futuristic architecture, everything is here.

The Museum of Fine Arts
Outstanding works from the Valencian School: Joan de Joanes, Ribalta, Espillosa, Vicente López, Sorolla, Pinazo, etc. International works such as Velázquez's self-portrait, works by Pinturicchio, Andrea del Sarto, Van Dyck, Murillo, El Greco, Goya, etc. In the sculpture pavilion, you'll see interesting examples of contemporary art and an important archeological collection.

IVAM - Valencian Institute of Modern Art
Permanent exhibition of sculptures by Julio González and regular temporary exhibitions by some of today's leading avant-garde representatives of the arts.

National Ceramics Museum - Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas
Housed in the Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas, with a façade in the churrigueresque style, this museum offer an overview of outstanding works in ceramics from Manises, Paterna and Alcora. Thou the ceramics museum housed here are one of the best collections in Spain, the 1st floor of the palace is... well, still a palace. A lovely one! Definetly worth a visit.

Cathedral Museum
Of note are the works by Almedina, Joanes, Goya, Jacomart, Alonso Cano and Orrente.

Paleontological Museum
Contains a collection ol insects and fossils. The most important museum exhibited is the skeleton of a megatherium.

Patriarch's Museum
A collection worthy of mention, including works by El Greco and early Flemish painters.

Prehistory Museum
A view of the Paleolithic Valencia including a range of curious remains and fossils.

Bullfighting Museum
The one in Valencia is between the oldest and most impressive in Spain, with a variety of bullfighting memorabilia from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Las Fallas Museum
The Ninots are the cartoon-like figures or statuettes decorating the monumental Valencian fallas. Each year, since 1934, the cream of the crop have been saved from the roaring flames and kept in this museum, together with posters, photographs and other objects connected with the fallas.

Municipal Historical Museum
Located in the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), the museum has a collection of historical objects, including the Senyera (the regional flag), the pennant of James I the Conquerer,the 15th century Flemish tablet of the Final Judgement and a series of antique books and guild memorabilia.

House-Museum José Benlliure
Contains the works of this wellknown Valencian artist, along with ceramics and objects from the epoch. The studio of José Benlliure is a jewel. Well preserved, with lots of personal items of Benlliure, has a lovely view at the walled garden where Benlliure familly used to relax once. Well worth a visit!

Joaquín Saludes Maritime Museum
Located in the Torres de Serranos (the east gateway to the ancient city), this exposition presents a valuable collection of amphorae and other archeological objects brought up from the Mediterranean seabed, as well as an attractive shipmodel display.

City Museum- Marqués de Campo Palace
Holds an archeological collection illustrating the pre-Roman age and the founding of the city, and a part of the municipal art gallery. It also contains a permanent exhibition of Christian Valencia in the XIIIth and XIVth centuries .

Museum of l´Almoina
The exhibition spans 5 empires — the Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Visigoths, Islamic Empire, and Christian Kingdoms. The ruins have been pretty much left alone, and today visitors walk on top of them over vertigo-inducing glass floors.

MUVIM - The Valencia Museum of the Enlightment and Modernity

House-Museum Blasco Ibañez

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Las Fallas Festival from Valencia - History

There are a few different theories regarding the origin of Las Fallas festival. One theory suggests that Las Fallas started in the Middle Ages as a simple pagan ritual, when artisans put out their broken artifacts and pieces of wood that they sorted during the winter then burnt them to celebrate the Spring Equinox, the longest day of the year and the subsequent coming of summer. Valencian carpenters used planks of wood to hang their candles on. These planks were known as parots. During the winter, these were needed to provide light for the carpenters to work by. With the coming of the Spring, they were no longer necessary, so they were burned. With time, and the intervention of the ultra-Catholic Spanish Church, the date of the burning of these parots was made to coincide with the celebration of the festival of San José (19th of March), the patron saint of the carpenters.

Las Fallas de Valencia 2009

Las Fallas tradition continued to change. The parot was given clothing so that it looked like a doll or a real person. Features identifiable with some well-known person from the neighborhood were added as well. Children and young people collected objects to be burnt on bonfires called fallas. All were burnt the evening before St. Joseph's Day in the midst of much celebration. With time, people of the neighborhoods organized the process of the creation of las Fallas and monuments including various figures were born.

For a long time, the term falla was used indistinctly for the torches, bonfires, rag dolls and platforms, but gradually the term came to be restricted to the satirical pyres that exposed vices or prejudices to public scorn. The special characteristic of the satirical fallas is that they represent a reprehensible social action or attitude. They have a specific subject and aim to criticise or ridicule. They are more than mere bonfires or pyres because they show scenes referring to people, events or collective behaviour that their makers - the falleros - consider should be criticised or corrected. The two most popular subjects for fallas are eroticism and social criticism.

Las Fallas de Valencia 2009

Until the beginning of the twentieth century, Las Fallas were tall boxes with three or four wax dolls dressed in cloth clothing. This changed when the creators began to use cardboard. The creation of Las Fallas continues to evolve in modern day, when largest monuments are made of polyurethane and soft cork easily molded with hot saws. These techniques have allowed Las Fallas to be created in excess of 30 meters. During the 20th century, Las Fallas had become lavish, majestic and imposing - large enough to be seen from a distance and the competitiveness introduced by the awards meant that the artists strove to produce monumental, elaborate creations.

The most important elements are of Las Fallas: cardboard, plaster and wax, without forgetting the wood of the frames and the metal mesh covered with sacking for the large figures. Using these simple materials, the Valencian artists emulate the large, long-lasting creations of sculptors, showing their skill in the production of grandiose monuments. The most difficult and complex task is the construction of moulds for the heads. These are based on clay models which are then cast in plaster and subsequently in wax to give heads that are then completed by adding a moustache, a squint or a sneering expression to give a non-human touch and turn them into the characters featured in the falla.

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Valencia in Photos

As today was a beautiful Sunday we went for a photo session in which Valencia was the protagonist. Here is the end result:

Marquez de Dos Aguas Palace (Valencia)

The Church of Santo Tomas Apostol and San Felipe Neri (Valencia)

Church (Valencia)

Door detail (Valencia)

Art Nouveau detail from La Paz Street (Valencia)

Plaza de la Virgen, next to the Valencia Cathedral (Valencia)

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New Sorolla exhibition in Valencia

There is good news for those of you travelling to Valencia this fall. From the 1st of October 2009 to the 10th of January 2010 the Bancaja Cultural Centre features the “Vision of Spain” exhibition by the valencian painter Joaquin Sorolla. After two years of travelling throughout Spain, the 14 huge panels (almost 70m long and 3,5m high) painted by Sorolla for the Hispanic Society of America at the start of the 20th century will be added to those owned by Bancaja in a new Sorolla exhibition. Sorolla´s "Vision of Spain" paintings featuring the day by day life in the different regions of Spain are shown for the first time in Spain. The works have been kept in the Hispanic Society of America in New York since they were created. Around 50 works will be on show for the public, including the regional panels of "Vision of Spain", together with works that have never been seen before in Valencia from both collections such as "Afternoon Sun" and "Sea Idyll".

The Bancaja Cultural Centre building from Valencia featuring the "Vision of Spain" exibition

Adrress: Plaza Tetuán, 23 (Valencia)
Opening hours:

Mon - Fri & Sun: from 9a.m. to 10p.m. (last entry at 9p.m.)
Sat: from 9a.m to 1a.m. (last entry at midnight).

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The Valencia Cathedral and The Holy Grail

Most of Valencia Cathedral was built between the XIIIth century and the XVth and that is why its style is mainly Gothic. However, its construction went on for centuries. As a consequence there is a mixture of artistic styles, ranging from the early Romanesque, the subtle Renaissance, the heavy Baroque and the more restrained Neoclassic. The three portals suit each style: the Baroque facade in Plaza de la Reina is the most known image, but you have to walk around the cathedral to fully appreciate it - every side of Valencia Cathedral is a different mood, from shady fortress-like West side, to the Gothic Portal of the Apostles on Plaza de la Virgen, to the cosy narrow street passageways on the East side. This mixture, - next to Valencia´s Cathedral most celebrated treasure, the Holy Grail - is the most important feature of Valencia Cathedral and is what makes it a jewel of universal architecture and unique between the sacred places.


Valencia Cathedral was built between 1252 and 1482 on the site of an earlier mosque and perhaps a Roman temple of Diana. It was originally dedicated to the Holy Saviour; El Cid dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin. King Jaime the Conqueror did likewise, leaving in the main chapel the image of the Blessed Virgin which he carried with him (now preserved in the sacristy). In 1262, Bishop Andrés de Albalat laid the cornerstone of the Gothic building. It had three naves, which reach only to the choir of the present building. Bishop Vidal de Blanes built the magnificent chapter hall, and Jaime de Aragón added the famous tower ("La Miguelete") in 1418.


At the beginning of the 18th century, the German Conrad Rudolphus added the opulent Baroque façade of the main entrance of the valencian cathedral. A restoration in the same century rounded the pointed arches, covered the Gothic columns with Corinthian pillars, and redecorated the walls. Tragically, in the war of 1808, a magnificent silver reredos was carried away and melted into coins to meet the expenses of the campaign.


The exterior of Valencia Cathedral is mostly Gothic. The portal on the north transept, Puerta de los Apóstoles, is richly decorated with Gothic sculpture and a 14th-century rose window, while the entrance portal is lavishly Baroque.


The predominantly Gothic interior of the valencian cathedral contains numerous religious and artistic treasures. Among the notable sights are two Goya paintings in the San Francesco chapel, one of which depicts an exorcism and the tube-like 14th-century lantern over the crossing and it is said to be the first one to display Goya´s characteristic demon-like phantasmic creatures. There is also a mummified hand of San Vicente Martyr (patron saint of the Valencian Community) - the man who changed the course of history here. The soaring windows are glazed with thin sheets of alabaster that filter the strong sunlight.

The octagonal tower, La Miguelete (or Micalet), is the landmark of Valencia, available in all souvenir and postcard shops and it has 207 steps that can be climbed for spectacular views over the valencian cathedral and the old town with the El Carmen neighborhood, which is dotted with blue-domed churches. The tower is named for its consecration on St. Michael's Day in 1418.


The cathedral's museum contains a good collection of paintings and a 2300kg monstrance made of gold, silver and jewels donated by Valencians. It is carried through the streets on festival days.


The most celebrated treasure in Valencia Cathedral is a chalice known as the Santo Caliz, which is said to be the famous Holy Grail. Whether or not this is so, it is certainly an intriguing artifact. It is of ancient date and was hidden in a monastery in northern Aragon throughout the Dark Ages, where it inspired many Grail legends. It has been enshrined in the cathedral since 1437, and can be seen in a dark, simple stone chapel in the corner of the cathedral.

The Santo Caliz is made of two parts: an ancient stone cup attached to a medieval stem and base. Fashioned out of dark brown agate, the main cup is 6.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. Experts have dated it to the 1st century BC with a provenance of Antioch or Alexandria. The medieval stem and handles are made of gold; the alabaster base is decorated with pearls and precious stones.

The curator of the Santo Caliz has asserted the relic's authenticity as the very cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, but the Vatican has not officially agreed. Although both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVII used the revered chalice for Mass during their visits to Valencia, the head of the Vatican Museums' department of Early Christian Art, Umberto Utro, has stated that it cannot be the cup used by Christ - primarily because it is much too fancy for a poor man and there was no tradition of saving relics in Judaism.

In 1931 the valencian cathedral was declared a historic and artistic landmark by the Spanish government, but during the Spanish Civil War it was burned, which meant that it lost part of its decorative elements. The chorus, located in the central part, was dismantled in 1940 and moved to the bottom of the high altar. The organs, which had suffered major damage during the war, were never rebuilt.


Also in 1970, the Houses of Canons, a building attached to the chapels facing Micalet street, was demolished to give the valencian cathedral back its previous appearance, and at the same time elements of little or no architectural value were removed.

The task of removing the neoclassical elements in order to recover the original gothic aspect of the valencian cathedral was undertaken in 1972. The only neoclassical elements spared were most of the ambulatory chapels, and some isolated elements, such as the sculptures at the base of the dome.

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