the City of Arts and Sciences

Spain / Spring in Valencia and the Albufera

Bikes and paellas

Everyone can find his corner of the world in Valencia. The capital of the homonymous "comunitat" will give our eyes medieval views with the famous Cathedral; Renaissance with the Lonja de la Seda; futuristic with the City of Arts and Sciences. If, on the other hand, your environment is more natural, you will have the Albufera Natural Park, full of lagoons and beaches.

Itinerary

25.04.18 Wednesday
Valencia
Meeting of the participants at the hotel at about 3:00 pm (time to be reconfirmed), meeting with our guide and first exit to know the "Capital of the Paella" with its animated "calles de la Ciutat Vella ".
Overnight: hotel

26.04.18 Thursday
Valencia (20 km)
Let's start today for a detailed visit to Valencia, the "Capital of Paella". Among the animated "calles de la Ciutat Vella" we will visit the Cathedral, which in its combination of Baroque and Gothic style contains a golden goblet that is said to be the Holy Grail. We can also climb to the top of the belfry, El Miguelete, to admire Valencia from above and see the sea. Then we continue with the Lonja del Seda, the silk market: we'll just have a look at the entrance and the central atrium to understand why it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not far away we find the "Mercado Central" built in the early '900 in modernist style. We then go from the historic center to walk in the Jardì de Turia, a beautiful park located in the ancient bed of the river Turia.

27.04.18 Friday
Valencia - Santa Maria del Puig - Valencia (40 km)
We take the bicycles for a trip to the north of the city along the coast. We head first towards the picturesque port of the seaside resort of Port Saplayas and from there we continue north to Santa Maria del Puig. Here you can visit the beautiful "Real Monasterio de Santa Maria del Puig", a medieval building that takes its name from the famous battle in which James I conquered Valencia in 1237. After this leap into the past and a succulent lunch, we return to the saddle and cross orchards, vegetable gardens and white beaches that surround this area. You can also try the traditional "Orzata Valenciana" (horchata valenciana) a typical drink, made with a fruit similar to hazelnut, the "chufa", which was probably used already in ancient Egypt and that spread here thanks to the Arabs.

28.04.18 Saturday
Valencia - El Palmar - Valencia (45 km)
After seeing the northern part, the area south of the city awaits us today. Cycling through the sleepy beaches of early spring and the sand dunes we cross the Albufera Natural Park, the largest lake in Spain and one of the most important wetlands of the Iberian Peninsula, where many species of birds spend the winter. For lunch we stop at "El Palmar" where tradition has it that paella was born and where, according to many, you can taste the best of all Spain. Before sitting down in one of the renowned restaurants, however, a boat excursion awaits us together with the local fishermen that will allow us to enjoy the park from a different perspective, thanks to the stops in the "Barracas", typical Valencian houses made of wood , rushes and mud. In the late afternoon we return to Valencia.

29.04.18 Sunday
Valencia
After breakfast, we still have some time to walk downtown, along the Turia Gardens or visit the City of Science and the Arts, before ritual greetings and individual departure to the airport.

For organizational, climatic reasons or related to provisions of local authorities independent of our will, the itinerary could undergo more or less considerable changes before and / or during the holiday. Along the way there could be temporary detours impossible to predict: each rider is required to decide independently if and how to deal with these traits.

Features

Easy Itinerary. We will cycle along cycle paths, secondary roads and country roads. Sometimes we will ride on short dirt roads. The route is flat. The days can be mild and generally windy, but not cold; crossing the Albufera park we could meet some gust of wind. You do not need a particular physical training but just a bit of a bike habit.

How to get
By airplane Valencia
airport is about 8 km from the city center. Flights from the main Italian airports:

• Ryanair from Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Milan Malpensa, Rome Ciampino, Pisa, Naples and Treviso
• Vueling from Rome Fiumicino
• Iberia from the main Italian cities, with a stopover in Madrid
• AirEuropa from the main Italian cities, with a stopover in Madrid
• Swiss Air from the main Italian cities, with a stopover in Zurich
• Lufthansa from the main Italian cities, with stopover in Frankfurt or Munich.

How to get to the hotel from Valencia airport to city center:

Metro
Two metro lines connect the airport to the city center in about 25 minutes: line 3 (red) and 5 (green). Regardless of which you get off at the stop "Àngel Guimerà" and take the line 1 (yellow) in the direction of "Bétera" or "Seminari-CEU" or the 2 (violet) in the direction "Llíria" and get off after a stop in "Turía ". The hotel is 400m walk from the bus stop.
Information at the link: www.metrovalencia.es . The ticket from the airport costs € 3.90, while the single ticket costs € 1.50

Taxi
In front of the exit terminals there are taxis that in 15 minutes and for about € 20 will take you to the center of Valencia. The companies that manage the service are:
Radio Taxi Valencia: 0034 963703333
Taxis de Valencia: 0034 961119977
Taxi Valencia: 0034 644015655

Overnight and meals
3 * hotel in double rooms with services. All breakfasts are included.

ATTENTION: in the rare cases in which the conditions for a match do not occur, a single flat rate of 50% of the single supplement will be applied to those traveling alone. This supplement will be reimbursed if the actual combination materializes.

Bikes and accessories

Sturdy and reliable Citybikes with 24-speed gearbox and lever controls on the handlebars, equipped with a tool holder.

Each bike is equipped with:

• side bag
• padlock

The helmet will also be provided. In Spain it is mandatory on extra-urban roads, but not on urban roads. We advise you to always wear it!

Information material

A few days before departure, if you have paid the balance, we will send you the final document with:

• confirmation of the time and place of meeting;
• useful addresses and phone numbers;
• name and number of the companion;
• any personalized info.

By your side

Girolibero escort for the duration of the trip. We remind you that our escorts are not tourist-cultural guides or village animators, but have the function of coordinating the group and guiding it along the way. Some are professionals, others do it simply out of passion, but in both cases the common denominator is the good knowledge of a language and knowing how to make "almost" every situation.

Throughout the holiday you will have two emergency numbers available:

the number of Girolbero in Italy, active every day from 8:00 to 20:00
the number of the companion.