CASA ROSAS

Self Catering Accommodation in Valencia, Spain

Valencia & Our Area

Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain and although relatively un spoilt tourism-wise, compared to it's 2 bigger brothers, has a fantastic history, love for fiestas and an unrivalled nightlife.
Located on the Med., Valencia is easily accessible both by plane and road and is 3 hours south of Barcelona, and 3 hours east of Madrid.
Famous for it's Paella dishes, it's orange production (2 crops per year), marble & tile manufacturing - there's loads to do and see, or you can just chill by one of Valencia City's own beaches and watch the world go by!
Read on........

Activities overview

What ever your reasons for visiting Valencia, there really is something for everyone to do, see and enjoy!
For Sport Fans - Motorsports, Golf, Sailing, Football, Basketball, Surfing, Adventure Sports and more, all available.
For Outdoors - Hiking and walking trails, cycling and mountain biking, national nature reserves, mountain villages, archaeological sites (Roman, Moorish), castles & ruins...you name it, we'll find it!
For Relaxers - If you can wrench yourself away from Casa Rosas, try some of the local beaches in Valencia, fantastic for chilling out and watching the world go by - with some great bars and restaurants which are surprisingly cheap.
For Shoppers - Valencia is a mecca of designer shops, and all day Shopping Centres. In fact, Valencia has 6 'El Corte Inglés' centres !!
Plus, being typical Spain, you'll find Street Markets everywhere, every day!
For Eaters & Drinkers - From local village bars serving tapas and menus of the day, to the flash restaurants in Valencia city, you are guaranteed to have great quality food, at good prices. Try a bottle of vino too, from one of the local vineyards.
Water / Theme Parks - Catered for too, with Terra Mitica on the outskirts of Benidorm.
Read more.....

More on Sport

Motorsport

The Circuit of Valencia is based in Cheste, 20 minutes from Casa Rosas. It holds the Moto GP of Valencia every November, where you'll see Valentino Rossi battling with Pedrosa, Stoner and the rest. Over 200,000 fans make it to Cheste for that weekend alone. Also through the year you'll see the Formula 1 boys limbering up before their season starts, usually in January. Other yearly famous races include the World Superbike championship and the World Touring Car Championship, amongst others.

But HOLD ON A SECOND, what's this?? Yes, Valencia City will be holding the all new European Grand Prix from 2008, it's going to be huge, and brilliant. A street circuit around Valencia's new port and arts & sciences complex. Great!!.

Golf

There are 3 major Golf Courses on our doorstep, all professionally designed.
El Bosque Golf Club is in Chiva and is an 18 hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.
El Saler, on the coast, is just south of Valencia, in El Saler. It's a 18 hole course which was designed by Javier Arana.
You will find Club Escorpion north-west of Valencia in Betera. It has 27 holes and was designed by Ron Kirby.
These 3 courses are available week days - weekends are member only.
There are more courses dotted around the region, with more in construction, including courses in Torrent and Lliria.

Sailing

With the resounding success of the 32nd Americas Cup, it was great news for the city of Valencia when Team Alinghi retained their crown, and announced that the 33rd Americas Cup would also be held in Valencia, in 2009/10. The facilities are now in place, the port area transformed and the locals are still wondering what it's all about.......

Sailing and yachting is huge in this part of Spain, there are many local clubs and marinas, from Valencia itself to towns right up and down the coast, most of which are open to the public, for a wander around and a cool drink or bite to eat.

Other Sports

Football - Valencia's Mestalla Stadium is right in the centre of Valencia and is easily accessible via car, metro and bus. At 55,000 capacity, it's easy enough to get tickets for matches, although expect to pay over the odds if you want to see one of the big guns. If you prefer to cheer on the underdogs, Levante FC are on the outskirts of town and are languishing at the foot of the premier league. Just up the coast are the yellow submarines, aka Villareal, if you fancy a day trip at the same time. Locally, all the towns have their own league club, with surprisingly well equipped stadia.

Basketball - This sport is huge in Spain, believe it or not. All the usual suspects are involved, Valencia's own Pamesa regularly slugging it out with Barcelona and Real. If you're unsure of the credentials, Spain are the current FIBA World Champions.

Other Sports - Surfing is popular all along the coast, along with wind and kite surfing. Adventure Sports are available too, river rafting, rock climbing, quad biking etc.

The Outdoors

Valencia is flanked by mountain ranges. For walking and hiking enthusiasts, Valencia Tourism supplies maps and details of recognized trails throughout the regions' ranges, all colour coded for ease of use. Same goes for mountain biking, and cycling. Some of the Spanish cycling tour goes through the lower part of the Valencia Region, roads are good and it's already a popular sport here, so other road users are a bit more aware.

The National Parks throughout Valencia offer fantastic areas of natural beauty, perfect for a more relaxed day out. Take a drive into the mountains with a packed lunch and you will discover totally un spoilt vistas, tiny cobbled villages, castles, Roman aqueducts and much much more. Oh, don't forget your map! Or you could venture down to the coast and visit La Albufera'. This is Valencia's natural lake where most of the rice production comes from. You will see acres of paddy fields in what most be the only real flat expanse anywhere near the city.

It is also a nature reserve, and you can take guided boat trips around it. You will find the car park on the CV-500 south out of Valencia.

For Relaxers

For Shoppers

Valencia has shops. Lots of 'em. Just remember one thing - this is real Spain, most of Valencia shuts for lunch mon-sat from 1-4pm (or there abouts). That includes all the shops, except for the commercial centres, which stay open all day. So, get into town early in the morning, or relax in the morning, and mosey on down mid-late afternoon.
The best option is to get a map from the tourist information offices in Valencia, and aim to centralise yourself around Calle Colon, where the Bull ring and Train Stations are. This is the main shopping area. There's also the old Mercat Central (main market) where you can see real Valencia shopping, for meat, fish and vegetables. Get there early.

In the towns and villages, you will find weekly markets selling all kinds of items: clothes, fruit & veg, meats, churros, shoes, crafts etc. You can check out where the markets are each day on the Valencia Tourism website.

There are a lot of commercial centres opening around the city, most can warrant a full day out, with shops galore and plenty of cafés, restaurants and bars to grab a pick me up. The El Corte Inglés centres are a Spanish institution - a large department store, they are well worth at least one visit.

For Eaters & Drinkers

If you are unsure of what to ask for, just go to the counter and point! Tapas varies from place to place, usually depending on what the owners like to cook or are good at cooking, but most importantly, enjoy it!

For Water & Theme Parkers

There are water parks up and down the coast, but only one Theme Park - Terra Mitica. (It is worth noting that some parks are intended more for older children).
Generally, the waterparks are good value and not overly crowded. You can even bring your own food and drinks in with you (a Spanish tradition). There is a good park in Cullera, about 30 minutes south of Valencia, well laid out and not overcrowded. There are also a number in Benidorm worth looking into.
The biggest, though, is Terra Mitica - now not just a theme park, because there is also
Aqua Natura, their water park, and Terra Natura, their nature park.
Terra Mitica is fantastic, just as good as Port Aventura, with new attractions added yearly.

Terra Natura is also fantastic, a nature park with different sections, including the poisonous creatures area! Thoroughly recommended. Aqua Natura, their newest park is full of chill out zones, slides and pools. Great stuff. You can see more at their official websites.