Valencia dresses up for Christmas. Its exuberant decoration is the announcement of a few weeks always special, with entertainment proposals that only occur at this time of year. And some hallmarks of this festivity in the Valencian Community have become essential Christmas traditions throughout Spain, such as lucky grapes or nougat. We talk about all of this in this post, in which we tell you what to do at Christmas in Valencia, whatever the context in which they are presented.
What to do during Christmas in Valencia?
If you are lucky enough to spend these dates in the capital of Turia, especially in a central place such as the Marina Real student residence in Valencia, there are a series of experiences that you must live in the first person: they are proposals that never fail, whatever the current situation, and very characteristic of the entire region. These are some of the things to do at Christmas in Valencia:
1. Christmas lighting, increasingly spectacular
The city of Valencia is one of those that has been betting the strongest on the Christmas decorations of its streets. And especially, the night lighting, which is distributed throughout the center and, specifically, around the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and Ciutat Vella. Millions of bulbs of all colors that invite you to a pleasant walk.
2. A time to go shopping
Like it or not, Christmas invites you to go shopping. And if you enjoy going from store to store or from stall to stall, Valencia is a favorable city. You will discover its enormous variety of proposals in places such as Calle del Poeta Querol, the Ruzafa neighborhood, Plaza Redonda, Calle de las Cestas or the Mercado de Colón. In them you will find from haute couture firms to traditional artisans, who at this time bring out all their creativity.
3. A Christmas with a lot of flavor
Without a doubt, satisfying your palate is one of the best things you have to do at Christmas in Valencia. We are not exaggerating if we say that this is the city with the greatest Christmas flavor, since the capital of Turia is the meeting point for all the gastronomic delicacies that are made in the Valencian Community at this time… And there are many!
The most universal is nougat, a hallmark of the Alicante city of Xixona. Authentic passion awakens the sugarcane chips of Casinos, a town in the province of Valencia: grungy with strawberries, chocolate, caramelised, almonds… Furthermore, the chocolate sellers in Sweden live their particular ‘August’ at this time. The bakeries and stalls throughout the city are fed from all this, so any walk through the center will become a route of the most sweet tooth. But for a sweet, natural and typical flavor of these dates, that of the grapes from Vinalopó, the Alicante region that nourishes Valencia and all of Spain with this fruit for its New Year’s Eve Chimes.
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4. Other plans for winter in Valencia
Unfortunately, the Christmas holidays last only a few weeks. But instead, there are many other things to do after Christmas in Valencia. During the winter, you can take the opportunity to discover the lesser-known side of this city, when the university exam season ends.
For example, you can witness the exhibitions of regional dances that are organized outdoors in the city center, often in the Plaza de la Virgen or even in the Royal Marina: with the Balls al Carrer program, falleros and falleras are thrown to the streets to do these demonstrations, in which rounds of Cant d’Estil often also participate.
No less original and folkloric is the representation of the Tribunal de las Aguas, which takes place on Thursdays at the Puerta de los Apóstoles of the Cathedral of València. It is a recreation of the deliberations of this medieval judicial institution, one of the oldest in Europe, in order to settle disputes between irrigators from the Valencian garden.
And taking advantage of the great interest that is arousing in society in recent times, you can go, of course, to the City of Arts and Sciences. And in particular, to one of its most emblematic buildings: the Hemisferic. During the winter, it maintains a rich program of 3D projections, with themes as varied as space or wild nature.
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Christmas is a magical time of year, especially in the city of Valencia. Go ahead and live the plans that we have proposed, and you can see for yourself! 🙂