Valencia
Holidays - Alicante, Benidorm & Valencia Holiday Attractions
by Steve Greenwood
Valencia can be found on the
eastern coast of Spain and is bordered by the regions of Catalonia,
Aragon,
Castilla
la Mancha and Murcia. The official
languages of the region are Castilian Spanish, which everyone is required
to know by law throughout Spain under the Spanish Constitution of 1978,
and also Valencia, which is similar to Catalan but under a different name.
 Costa
Blanca
Costa Blanca is known as
the 'White Coast' as it offers miles of fine sandy beaches and a brilliant
light, dry, hot climate. The main tourist resorts here are Benidorm
and Alicante, although other
popular holiday destinations include Gandia with a wonderful 14th century
palace, and Altea offering traditional Spanish houses and a thriving artistic
community.
Costa del Azahar
Costa del Azahar begins at
the Tarragona provincial border and travels south for 112km covering some
beautiful beaches overlooked by orchards of olives and oranges. For this
reason, it is also known as the Orange Blossom Coast. Popular coastal resorts
include Peñíscola
with its medieval castle that was featured in the film 'El Cid', and Sagunto
offering many Roman artefacts and sites including a 2nd century Roman Amphitheatre.
 Alicante
Holiday Attractions
Alicante
is well known on the tourism trail and a great destination for those wanting
a traditional beach holiday. The weather is fantastic with hot summers
and mild winters and the city offers an abundance of gardens, parks and
squares from which to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There are many wide
palm-lined avenues providing an unlimited shopping experience from the
large department stores like Corte Inglés, to fashionable boutiques
and souvenir shops. Every street corner in Alicante bustles with holiday
activity with holidaymakers perusing the many shops selling local ceramic,
marble, leather and wooden produce.
Benidorm Holiday Attractions
Despite the worst excesses
brought upon the city by package tourism, Benidorm
delivers very well for the package holidaymaker. The two main beaches Playa
de Poniente and the Playa de Levante are over 5km long in total and offer
enough space for everyone. The bars and restaurants are in sufficient supply
and with over 30 discos on offer; nightlife in Benidorm is lively to suit
all tastes. The attractive Balcon del Mediterranean set in the middle of
the two beaches, has spectacular views of both beaches and also its island
lying just offshore.
Benidorm is surrounded by
mountains as high as over 1,500 metres and these keep the cooler north
winds at bay to give the city warm temperatures even during the Winter
months when temperatures stay mild. Just 7 kilometres down the coast lies
the small town of Altea. A change from bustling
Benidorm, Altea offers a traditional community with a preserved old quarter
that attracts many artists because of its wonderful light.
 Valencia
Holiday Attractions
Valencia
lies on the Costa del Azahar and is the third largest city in Spain. It
is an industrial city with a medium-sized port, but the local government
is working hard to improve the city's image to tourism. One example of
this is the recent completion of the new City of Arts and Sciences Complex.
Surrounding the city is the
fertile plain called the Huerta where orange trees grow in abundance as
does rice, which is, used for Valencia's legendary dish the paella. Most
of the produce of the Huerta comes to the 1,000 colourful stalls of the
modernist Mercado Central. Built in the early 20th century, it is an eight-sided
iron girder and glass building which contains one of the largest markets
in Europe. Well worth a visit even if you're not planning on buying anything.
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