Ciberfallas International

Nou Campanar photo: ciberfallas

* Go around and see the various fallas, but especially the Sección Especial

* Pay to enter one of the bigger fallas to get a closer look at the individual ninots.
* See la mascletà and the la nit de foc
* See one of the various parades especially the ofrenda
* See the virgin made of flowers
* Buy churros or buñelos at one of the many stands on the street.
* Go to one of the temporary bar/nightclubs set up on the street and dance all night long.

* Take a day trip to the Albufera to see this fresh water lake and the surrounding area where rice is grown. The Albufera is also known to host an interesting variety of migratory birds. The local village in the area, El Palmar, is also a good place to try paella and other local dishes.
* Take a trip to the beaches of Saler. These beaches are on “protected” land and are the cleanest and most secluded beaches near the city. Accessible by bus but complicated. A round-trip taxi ride should cost between 10€-20€, depending on how far along the beach you go.

* Manises, fifteen kilometers soutwest of Valencia, is not only the site of Valencia’s airport but also an important center for pottery. Some 100 ceramics factories are in the municipality, where the art has been practiced for 700 years. At the MCM museum there are exhibitions about the history of ceramics in the area.

* Rent a car and do a day trip to any number of picturesque villages or small cities in the region, including  Chulilla, Sot de Chera, Xátiva, Sagunto, among others.

On the last Wednesday of August nearby Buñol hosts La Tomatina, a festival that involves thousands of participants throwing ripe tomatoes at each other. Make sure you wear clothes that you can throw out afterwards, as it gets very messy.

European Grand Prix. Street circuit of August

When to come

• Summer – Like most European countries, August is a slow month as many of the residents are on vacation. At this time of year Valencia is extremely hot and humid with temperatures averaging between 30º-40º Celsius.
• Fall – September and October are more active months and the weather permits beach outings. Sidewalk cafes are still open until around the end of October.
• Winter – Though temperatures are still relatively mild, it´s too cold to sunbathe at the beach.
• Spring – a lovely time to visit. The annual Fallas de San José unofficially mark the beginning of spring. Cafes and restaurants open their terraces and life spills out onto the street once again.

Read the rest of this entry »

By plane

Valencia Airport (VLC) is 9 km from the city center. The bus to Tùria station departs every 11 minutes and takes about 30-40 minutes. Additionally there is the Aerobus which goes directly to the city center, but costs a bit more. Local trains run every 20 minutes. Subway goes directly to the town centre from the Airport.

Valencia is served by Iberia, Spanair, Clickair, AirBerlin, TuiFly, Lagunair, Ryanair, Vueling and several other airlines.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sculpture in San Jose

The busiest day of all the Fallas week.

San José or Saint Joseph is Father’s Day in Spain.

It is also the day of the Cremà.

San José starts with an ofrenda of flowers on the Puente San Jose attended Falleras Mayores and features a mascletà.

This is followed by a¨misa¨or service with all the main Falleras and the Carpenter’s Guild in the Cathedral in honour of San jose

This is a lovely day to wander around the city and take in the atmosphere of this last day, all over the city every ´casal´ has its closing party, many of them celebrating by making paellas in the street, and many having their own mini-Mascletàs which follow the Main (and last) Mascletà in the Ayuntamiento. A very noisy and emotional day.

Pasacalle

Pasacalle – Pasacalles

(“walk the streets”). The falleros love dressing up in full colours and parade the streets with their music bands. During Las Fallas you will see them randomly in many places, led by their own Queens of the Falla.

A parade of falleros through the streets in full colours and with music

Batalla de las Flores (Battle of the Flowers 2007

Batalla de las Flores (Battle of the Flowers).

There are several things Valencia is passionate about so much that they become an art form here. Spanish music, fireworks, ceramics, rice dishes… Flowers are definitely one of those. Locals sometimes call Valencia the city of music, light and flowers. Valencians decorate their city with flowers on every possible occasion, and they do amazing things with them. Flowers are offered to every patron saint on his day. But the Battle of the Flowers (Batalla de Las Flores) is the ultimate display of what the Valencians can do.

Read the rest of this entry »

Preselection of the Court of Honour

Preselection of the Court of Honour

This is a preliminary stage for the selection of Fallera Mayor (the Queen of the Fallas). The election itself will take place in Valencia in September. This is the most prestigious title for any Valencian woman (those who still live in tradition, that is). Those who did not make it to Fallera Mayor become her Court of Honour.

It is realized in the month of Julio, in zones and park enabled for the event.

Those will be pompous, ritualised events with traditional Valencian costumes and music.

Experimental falla. Mosen Sorell Corona 2009 photo: Lázaro de la Peña

Innovative and Experimental fallas. (Fallas Innovadoras y Experimentales)

Monuments “falleros” who as his elements and treatment of topics and materials have an innovative and experimental concept.

The design and the creativity is valued.

Constructed with combustible material, there being valued positively not utilization of pollutant materials not harmful to the environment