Valencia, go there !
 

After six visits to Spain we finally made it to this lovely city.
Talk about exceeding expectations :
the old town with its gleaming
white buildings and elegant plazas sorunded by wide boulevards and a green belt ,
miles of sandy beaches next to a wide boardwalk dotted with bars and restaurants
and , more strangely beautiful than pictures could ever tell, Calatrava's
City of Sciences and Arts.
Several other posters ( eks, for one) have expressed similar sentiments about Valencia.

After a week in the city ( including a day trip to Xativa ) , I would most definitely
recommend a visit .
Only an hour and 40 minutes from Madrid...
300 days of sunshine.....

I'm so glad your trip was a success!

Danon: We were in Valencia in 2011 and also found the city one of the best in Spain, beautyful and friendly.Waiting for your report.

Where's the "Like" button?

Yes lovely city, but they would have been better off without the City of Arts - did it feel like a ghost town??

interesting article below

http://tinyurl.com/ctsuztj

The city do Sciences was busy ( a tennis tournament) when we visited.
We liked the look of the area at night....too bad the Opera was not in season yet.
there is a lot of development near by- modern apr. buildings, a shopping center, restaurants and bars..
right across the street.
I certainly hope the City does not turn into a ghost town . I love the beauty and uniqueness
(IMO) of Calatrava's work. The cost of construction must have been huge.
sorry, I don't write reports.

I have just read the link.....yes, the cost of all projects was enormous
The buildings left over after the Cup are mostly empty....
I have been to Bilbao and Sydney...... neither the museum in Bilbao nor the Sydney
Opera are nearly as spectacular as the City of Sciences.
IOne can only hope more travelers to Spain include Valencia in their itinerary and , in a way,
" help" this delightful city.

I could not agree more. So glad you enjoyed, Danon.

thanks, eks
your report on Valencia was partly" responsible" for our decision to visit the city.

"Better off without the City of Arts and Sciences"?

No. Better Off without such UN green buildings requiring so much maintenance and artificial heating, cooling and unreasonable cleaning systems, as well as design flaws we paid HIGHLY for.. etc.etc.

It would have been nice if Calatrava had stayed on budget. If he had not had such a binding contract. Had he paid for his own design flaws.

-If he had designed the interior of the Opera house better so he did´t have to RE-DO the seating a few years later.

If he had remembered to put the fire escapes in to the design plan of the Science center from the beginning.

There's a long list.

On the whole.. it is striking. And before the project was accepted, there SHOULD have been a demand for making these buildings more self sufficient. Nowadays a good architect certainly could have done better in that field.

I think Calatrava should stick to bridges, myself.

interesting comments, Lin
this is Calatrava designed space in my home town


http://kam.hubpages.com/hub/Calatrava_in_Toronto

Did he design the whole building the structure is resting on?

I just saw the whole project elsewhere..

I think enclosing streets in a similar was is a great way to make those areas more pedestrian friendly all year long.

the project incorporates and old bank building, two modern buildings , several stores and restaurants.
It is the most beautiful indoor space in the city.

Looks great.

I loved Valencia! Cant wait to get to it in my trip report.

Marigross: So far, so good! waiting for more of this great report.

We loved it too!
The City of Sciences and Arts is a breathtaking complex.
I took tons of pictures of random buildings; the architecture reminded me some building of St Petersburg.
And the amazing Mercado Central… I got small packs of different peppers, and saffron.

This is about the most positive post I have seen about Valencia since I joined Fodor's. How many times are people told to "SKIP" Valencia? Maybe now they won't. This is very exciting to see how many people have really enjoyed their visit here.

I feel like "thanking " you all.. don´t know why.. but it feels good to see such glowing reports.