ShipCon Erasmus+ training courses give you opportunity to discover Valencia; Spain’s third-largest city is a magnificent place, content for Madrid and Barcelona to grab the headlines while it gets on with being a wonderfully liveable city with thriving cultural, eating and nightlife scenes.
WHY VALENCIA
València is one of those destinations that never disappoints. And whatever the time of year, there will always be a good reason to come and visit. Valencia offers 300 days of sun per year with an average temperature of almost 18º. The perfect climate to discover the city, while walking under blue skies and stopping now and again at a sunny terrace. A plan so simple that you’ll love!
SHIPCON ERASMUS+ PREMISES – VALENCIA
ERASMUS+ IN VALENCIA
Valencia is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, surpassing 800,000 inhabitants in the municipality. The wider urban area also comprising the neighbouring municipalities has a population of around 1.6 million. Valencia is Spain’s third-largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million depending on how the metropolitan area is defined. The Port of Valencia is the 5th-busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
PLACES TO VISIT IN VALENCIA
Oceanogràfic
The star of the City of the Arts and Sciences is this cutting-edge oceanarium that opened in 2003. With 45,000 individual animals from 500 different species, you won’t find another attraction on this scale in Europe.
The aquarium is organised by ten zones, each synthesising a distinct environment, and using real seawater pumped from Valencia’s waterfront. So at the Arctic tank you’ll get to see beluga whales swimming in a spacious and thoughtfully designed tank.
Valencia Cathedral
The city’s solemn gothic cathedral dates to the 13th and 14th centuries, with renaissance, baroque and neoclassical modifications made over the next few hundred years. Go inside to see 15th-century renaissance paintings by artists such as the Valencian, Jacomart as well as several from Rome commissioned by Pope Alexander VI.
Malvarrosa Beach
Within minutes of the old-town you could be sunning yourself on a Mediterranean beach. Malvarrosa is a wide strip of golden sand that stretches for a kilometre along the city’s seafront.
The beach has been awarded the Blue Flag for all the amenities it provides, from lifeguard towers , a medical station, drinking fountains and showers, to its easily-navigable ramps and footpaths.
Barrio del Carmen
The northeast side of the old-town is the youngest and most bohemian part of the city. El Carmen took shape in medieval times, situated outside of the 11th-century Moorish walls but within the Christian ones that went up in the 14th-century.
What’s great about this place is the way the palaces next to these cool, shaded alleys have been converted into hip boutiques, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Calle de Caballeros, which begins at Plaza de la Virgen, is where many nights out in Valencia will end up.
Jardín del Turia
This astounding Jardin del Turia park brings you fresh air and relaxation right in the middle of the city. It came about in the 20th century after the River Turia burst its banks in 1957 causing great damage to the city.
The river was diverted and in the 80s its riverbed in the city was turned into nine kilometres of verdant green space. A total of 18 bridges still cross the riverbed, the oldest dating back to the middle ages, and are now just another part of the unusual scenery in the park.
Central Market
Opposite the Silk Exchange is another prized landmark, the cavernous and palatial Central Market building. Even if you’re just sightseeing here you’ll love the building’s art nouveau metal and glass design.
Despite dating to the early-20th century it blends perfectly with the historic architecture in this part of the old city. And if you do feel like doing some shopping at the market you’ll be in foodie heaven. There are 400 small traders at the market, with 959 selling farm and sea-fresh produce at the best prices in the city.
Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
Tourists can experience a cutting-edge world of arts and sciences at this futuristic complex on the outskirts of Valencia. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is one of Europe’s most impressive centers dedicated to cultural and scientific exhibitions. In a two-kilometer space along the Turia River, the complex includes several stunning examples of avant-garde architecture designed by architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.