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[ HARBOUR LIFE ]

BACK TO VALENCIA! Located on the Spanish coast with an all-year-round mild, favourable climate. The city teems with projects and initiatives, and benefits from a constantly-developing tourism infrastructure. Named Design Capital and Intelligent Tourism Capital this year, the city has also been selected as a nautical hub to take stock of a Spanish market that is displaying some very positive signs by Désirée Sormani

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Veles e Vents, the building in minimalist style by David Chipperfield, with 10,000 square metres of horizontal platforms and shaded terraces, built for the 2007 America’s Cup

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[ HARBOUR LIFE ]

ention Valencia among yachting aficionados and talk will

all – we were invited for a three-day visit and were surprised to discover

immediately turn to the America’s Cup. In 2007 Valencia was

a city with a thousand faces, a rewarding stop for anyone cruising the

chosen as host city for the 32nd edition of the competition,

Mediterranean, especially if you’re in search of hospitality, courtesy,

the world’s oldest sporting trophy and the most fiercely-contested

culture and fine food. The year 2022 is a special time for the city, which

international sail event. The port of Valencia was redeveloped to create a

has been named the World’s Best City to Live In by expats of more than

more suitable setting for the race, and with its public and entertainment

a hundred nationalities. Mediterranean, authentic and rich in history,

spaces the Marina Real Juan Carlos I became a popular hub for cultural,

it’s one of Europe’s most sought-after destinations. With three hundred

sports and recreational activities. It lies in the heart of Valencia, north

days of sunshine a year (although it was unexpectedly rainy while we

of the commercial port and along the Malvarossa beach, home to a

were there) and an average temperature of 17º C, it’s a city to enjoy in

number of interesting restaurants, bars and clubs. It’s also the location

the open air, whatever the time of year. Over 160 km of cycle trails make

of Veles e Vents, a minimalist building designed by David Chipperfield,

it possible to disembark from a yacht, saddle up and discover the city

10,000 square metres of floor space comprising horizontal platforms

by bike, riding through the park that stretches through it, following the

and shaded terraces from which spectators and guests could watch the

old course of the river to arrive at the city’s beaches and its two nature

America’s Cup races unfold. The buildings constructed to support the

parks. Natural resources like the market gardens surrounding the city,

organisation of the event and provide the best possible hospitality for

the sea and the rice fields of Albufera mean that zero-kilometre food

the yacht crews still evoke those days of competition and hard-fought

can be brought direct to the tables of Valencia’s restaurants, which serve

sea battles. The Real Club Nautico De València sailing school holds

dishes that will delight the most demanding palates and please guests

sail races and runs successful sailing courses for all ages. Its members

seeking an emphasis on sustainability. This year Valencia was also named

can also enjoy a well-organised club house with swimming pool and

European Capital of Intelligent Tourism – it’s the first city in the world to

tennis courts. With its Mediterranean climate, topography and seaside

measure and certify tourism’s carbon footprint and water use. Tourists

location Valencia is an ideal setting for open-air sports. But that’s not

and citizens are strongly encouraged to limit their use of plastic, with

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CONGRESO NÁUTICO DI ANEN: OPTIMISM ON ALL FRONTS Our visit to Valencia this year also coincided with the Congreso Náutico di ANEN, a convention organised by the Asociacion Nacional de Empresas Nauticas, which represents the nautical sector in Spain and includes around 90% of its companies and operators, including yards like Astondoa. It was held in the Oceanografic, Valencia’s marine park. Various sector operators took the stage to speak about the Spanish and world markets and the country’s position in the nautical sector. This is an extremely positive moment for Spain’s yacht industry, a position made clear by the 95,000 patents taken out in 2021. Carlos Sanlorenzo, general secretary of the Association, told us that it is predicted that this will become a trend in 2022. But there are other signals that augur well for the future – the year 2021 was a good one for the entire industry. Registrations of craft over Valencia is a city of a thousand faces. Its 300 days of sunshine every year make it a city

8 metres long once again reached the number achieved

to enjoy in the open air. Over 160 kilometres of cycle trails make it possible to discover

in 2008, a rise of 17% over the figure achieved in 2019.

the city’s history, culture and fine food on two wheels

“Last January, which is theoretically in the low season, the charter sector saw an incredible 87% increase”, said José Luis Fayos, technical and export manager of ANEN. “We tried to extend the season and improve the offer of popular holiday destinations like our islands and Spain’s Mediterranean coast, and to support the development of nautical tourism on spectacular but less-frequented routes like Spain’s north coast”, Favos went on. “It’s a destination I’d advise all yachtspeople who love the Med to explore”.

ph: Désirée Sormani

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[ HARBOUR LIFE ]

ph: Désirée Sormani

Valencia possesses Roman remains and gothic, baroque and modernist buildings in stark contrast to the avant-garde architecture of buildings like the

ph: Désirée Sormani

City of Arts and Sciences. Top, the Cafè de las Horas, a wonderful spot for tasting a glass of Agua Brava

refill points for personal water bottles all around the city. Visitors to the

Europe’s largest aquarium, with seven marine zones hosting 45,000

city centre can relax in Valencia’s green oasis. The city centre is compact

examples drawn from 500 species, with dolphins, belugas, sea lions,

and easy to explore on foot. Culture vultures will be pleased to discover

seals, walruses, penguins and sharks, the Hemisfèric, a 3D digital

that Valencia’s history stretches back 2,000 years, creating a cultural

cinema with an enormous 900-metre concave screen that seems to wrap

heritage of music, buildings and monuments from various periods – an

around the viewers, the Science Museum and the Umbracle, a huge

art lovers’ paradise, as Valencia possesses Roman remains and gothic,

garden of over 17,000 square metres with typical Mediterranean plants

baroque and modernist edifices, standing in stark contrast to the avant-

and contemporary sculptures. On summer evenings the Mya terrace

garde architecture of buildings like the City of Arts and Sciences. The

opens its doors, enabling guests to enjoy a drink under the moonlight.

architect Santiago Calatrava’s genius is best expressed in his native city,

And speaking of life’s pleasures, remember that this is the year of the

where he has created structures in the form of huge whale skeletons,

Paella World Cup, held to celebrate World Paella Day. This is a special

evoking the natural shapes of the sea. One obligatory destination is the

year for the event, as it will see the participation of European chefs and

Oceanogràfic, a complex of scientific buildings on different themes –

the exclusive use of zero-kilometre ingredients. Save the date!

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