Valencia – a land of flowers and festive lights – is the third largest city in Spain and one of the busiest. The city stands on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and has very comfortable, soft, climate.

The city was founded by the Greeks and then was under the power of Romans and Arabs. During the so-called Reconquista Spanish national hero Sid struggled against Moors here and succeeded in 1094, however not for long – three years later they returned to the city and full release for Moors' yoke came only in 1238. The gloomiest pages of Valencia history are connected with Civil War of 1936-39. The present bloom of Valencia began in 1960s with the development of industry.

Valencia is a good place for summer vacations. It attracts a lot of those who are fond of water sports. The city also offers a numerous amount of other sport activities – tennis, golf and much more

Valencia is the homeland of the most famous Spanish dish – paella. It consists of rice, meat and vegetables. Seems rather plain but only in Valencia they mix all these ingredients in a right way.

In Valencia they like holidays very much – the most renowned one is San Jose in March. Every year, during 5 festive days, the city is full of pasteboard monuments, blinding lights of fireworks and sounds of music.

The center of the city is a square Placa de la Reina in front of Santa Maria Cathedral. This cathedral is a brilliant example of the fusion of architectural styles. It looks like Gothic structure, but its entrance is made in Roman style, cells are in baroque style and chapels are in Renaissance. From the top of the bell tower opens a picturesque view of Valencia.

Basilica Nuestra-Senora-de-los-Desamparados of the XVIII century is one of the most interesting places of the city. It houses a statue of Madonna (XIV century) - a favorite place for prayers. The interior is decorated with frescos by Palomino.

To those who can't imagine a visit to a city without excursions to a couple of museums, Valencia offers some choice. IVAM – Valencia Institute of Modern Art - exhibits works of Julio Gonsales, Ignasio Pinazo and Antoni Tapies.

Modern Art museum shows masterpieces of Rivera, Velasquez, Van Dake, Murillo, El Greco and Goya. Valencia Museum of Fine Arts is considered among the best art galleries of Spain.

One of the most remarkable structures in Valencia is Palau de la Generalidad. Here the city government sits. It's a very beautiful gothic building of XV century surrounded by two towers of XVII and XX century.











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