The one thing Valencia has more of than church bells? Plazas! Every corner of the city is the Plaza de Somethingorother. Here are our favorite five, in no particular order:

Bounded by the city hall building, the post office and Valencia’s emblematic fountain, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento is the de facto gathering place for the citizenry, whether it’s to celebrate a mascletà or Spain’s World Cup victory.

Plaza del Ayuntamiento – Info & Pics
2010′s Final Fallas Masletà
Rodin in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento
World Cup Celebrations at the Ayuntamiento

Orange trees are the dominating feature of this lovely plaza next to the old University building, La Nau. It’s named for the adjacent Colegio de Patriarca, a church & museum. On Sundays, the plaza fills with kids and well-dressed families.

Colegio del Patriarca – Introduction & History
Colegio del Patriarca Video – Bell Tower in Action
Oko Sokolo: Modern Gymnastic Theater in the Pl. Patriarca

Valencia’s most famous, historic and heavily visited spot, the Plaza de la Virgen is the heart of the city. With the fountain of Neptune as a highlight, this plaza is adjacent to the Basilica and the Cathedral, and plays host to the famous Tribunal de las Aguas.

Plaza de la Virgin and Panoramic Views of Valencia
Traditional Dancing in Plaza de la Virgen
The Flower Offering to the Virgin

This cool little plaza is found right behind La Lonja, and is a favorite meeting spot for people. During Fallas, the commission always put up an interesting monument and rocks the neighbors with noisy concerts. A great place to grab a beer in the evening.

Plaza Dr. Collado – In the Heart of the City
Dr. Collado’s Café Lisboa – Meeting Spot Central

The central feature of this plaza is its large, glass-bottomed pool that shows off ruins from the beginning of Valencia’s history. From the ancient Iberians, through the Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Christians, the Almoina has always been at the center of Valencian civilization.

Museum of l’Almoina – Centuries of Ruins
Valencia’s Roman Origins

- Top 5 Day Trips from Valencia

If you’re meeting a group of friends in Valencia, there’s about a 73% chance you’ll be meeting in Plaza Dr. Collado (location). The reasons are many: the plaza is central, everyone knows it, there are plenty of places to sit for a drink, it’s relaxed and without major traffic.

On any length visit to Valencia, Dr. Collado (named after, I think, this guy) will be one of the plazas you find yourself in over and over again. Directly behind La Lonja, and within spitting distance of the Mercado Central and Plaza Redonda, it’s perfectly situated for a post-sightseeing caña.

Tourists mix with locals here, and the atmosphere is almost always festive. We enjoy watching street musicians fight for the right to play in the lucrative plaza.

One of the most striking things about this plaza is the number of abandoned buildings that surround it. Even while the plaza enjoys prominence as one of Valencia’s favorite areas to hang out, the city and landlords completely neglect its living conditions.

Back in the 70s, the Falla of Dr. Collado was one of the city’s most important — that decade’s Nou Campanar. Nowadays, it’s one of the most boisterous. During Fallas, this plaza rocks all night long, with live music and big crowds.

Location on our Valencia Map

There’s been talk of a city-wide bike rental scheme for a long time, and it’s finally here. Introducing Valenbisi.

We lived in Berlin, where the Deutsche Bahn (the railway company) operated a very popular bike rental service. You’d just type the bike’s serial number into your cell phone, hop on, then park it when done. Very practical, and we’ve been aching for Valencia for implement such a system.

So Valenbisi, run by the city government, is very welcome. Bikes are the best way to get around Valencia, bar none, and we think that the service is going to be extremely popular. The bikes look sturdy and strong. The prices are reasonable — €10 for a 7-day subscription — the first 30 minutes are always free, then it’s €0,50 for the next 30 mins and €3,00 for every additional hour.

There’s at least one major problem: the dispersal of the “rental stations”. They’re all in the same area of town! I’d like to say that this was just a roll-out problem, but … check out this map. The red arrows are the current rental stations, and the white ones are the “future” ones:

Not a single station anywhere in the historic center? Ruzafa? The train station? There must be a reason, but tourist friendly, it’s not. Great for students of the U of Valencia, and perhaps that’s the true target market. (Though if you’re targeting hip college students, this might not be the best image to put on your website).

Update: The consensus in the comments is that the bikes will be better distributed throughout the city in the future, and there’s a link for future locations can be found there. Valenbisi should put this information on its website.

Anyway — the addition of 2750 bikes to Valencia’s streets is extremely welcome. We need more bikers on the streets, which will lead to better bike paths and more respect from drivers.

We’d love some comments from anyone who’s used the service, in regards to the quality of the bikes and the ease of rental.

Valenbisi’s Web Site (with really bad English! Seriously, guys, hire a translator! There are a few native English speakers in the city)

- Holiday Rentals / Hostels / Hotels

The World Cup is coming up fast, which means approximately 89% of Europe’s children (and 78% of adults) are busy collecting and trading Panini stickers to complete their Official Panini World Cup albums.

I got hooked during the 2006 World Cup, when I lived in Berlin. With a mix of dogged determination, slight insanity and keen bartering sensibility, I managed to complete my album a couple days before the final between France & Italy. The sense of satisfaction and glee one feels while placing the last sticker is indescribable.

On Sunday mornings, in an alley off San Vicente Mártir near the Iglesia de San Martín, there is a mini-market for trading card fans. I found that the hectic, disorganized and generous way the Spanish trade is quite unlike the coldly equitable method employed in Germany. After 20 minutes, I left with a huge stack of new cards, having gotten rid of nearly all my doubles. Jürgen was waiting for me at a nearby café, and I ran over ecstatically to show him my new acquisitions. My wild-eyed enthusiasm was answered with a bewildered look, bordering on disgust. But I did not care.

Even if you’re not into trading stickers, the bustle and excitement of the impromptu Sunday morning markets is an interesting slice of Valencian life. And if you are… send me a note! Maybe we can make a deal.

- Panini World Cup Stickers

Juergen and I are stupid, drooling idiots; a sad fact confirmed by the length of time it’s taken us to finally purchase bicycles. 2 years! We’re so dumb… there’s no excuse. Valencia is an excellent city for biking. No hills to be found, and the big Turia park serving as a “bike highway”, complete with “exits” into various parts of the city. The weather here is great and the motorists aren’t too frightening (at least within the city, where they’re forced to go reasonably slow).

One of the best reasons to have a bike in Valencia is the massively improved accessibility to the beaches. Not just Malvarossa, but to the less crowded and more serene southern beaches — Pinedo, Dehesa, Saler. There’s an awesome bike route which leads to them, starting near the new Agora building (precisely here).

The long, popular path avoids traffic the entire way, reaching the Pinedo beach in about 20 minutes. The further south you travel, the more deserted (and nekkid!) the beaches.

Not only can you enjoy the sand and the sound of the waves, unencumbered by the massive crowds of Malvarossa, but you’re right on top of the Albufera national park. We took a little tour after sunning on the beach. Beautiful dune and swamp landscapes define the park, along with unfortunately ugly high-rise apartment complexes built before the Albufera was put under environmental protection.

But it’s best to ignore those buildings and focus on the natural beauty. I have a feeling that we’ll be back quite often this summer. If you’re in Valencia for an extended time, we strongly recommend getting a bike. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can get around.

We happened upon a Triathlon during our trip.

- Vacation Rental Valencia

For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers and Booking.com

We feel for everyone who can’t make it to this year’s Fallas, but hopefully the content we’ve posted so far helps soothe the pain!

• Color Mascletà 2010
• La Despertà 2010
• The midday Mascsletà for the Despertà
• Castillo for the La Cridà 2010
• La Primera Mascletà 2010

And we’re feeling for everyone who lives in Valencia and can’t wait to get the hell out of here and away from the noise!

Fallas has just begun, so there are a lot of events coming up… Here are some of them:

• Everyday at 2pm, the Grand Mascletà in Plaza del Ayuntamiento
• March 6th: Mascletà Napolitana at Las Arenas beach (highly recommended) starts at 6pm
• March 6th: Turning on the famous street lights of Calle Sueca at 9pm (we’re not sure of that time — can anyone confirm?)
• March 6th: Cabalgata del Ninot starts at 10:30pm, ending with a color Mascletà in the Ayuntamiento
• March 7th: Cant de l’Estoreta is a neat little kids parade at 11am which ends with a Mini Mascletà

We’ll let you know about more events after the weekend, otherwise it’s just too much. For last-minute event updates, keep your eye on our twitter account: @valenciablog

And if you have any information or tips about this Fallas, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re always looking for a good Fallas story. And if you’ve got a good spot to watch a Mascletà, fireworks or the Cremà, hook us up!

Anyone else in Fallas fever?

- Best Youth Hostel for Fallas / What is Fallas?

Fallas T-Shirt 2010 by valenciashirt
design your own shirt on zazzle.com

Looking to pick up some junk fished out of garbage containers? Then head on down to the Mestalla this Sunday and marvel at the wonders of the Flea Market!!

The Sunday morning flea market in Plaza Lluis Casanovas, adjacent to the Mestalla, is probably the best known & biggest in the city. We went a few weeks ago, and were amazed at how crowded and popular it was.

I was skeptical before arriving, but this actually wasn’t so bad. Yes, there were some blankets spread out where the trash for sale was literally trash. But there were also a lot of acceptably decent items as well. If you’re in the market for things like picture frames, used books, ornamental figures or second-hand toys and trinkets of all sorts, you’ll be in heaven here.

We loved the flea markets of Berlin during our time there, particularly in Friedrichshain, and while the Sunday Mestalla market doesn’t quite rise to the same level of quality, it comes decently close.

- Spanish Bargain Site

Luckily, it’s a rather easy decision. Ono is far better. If you’re new to Spain and have a choice, go with them.

We’ve experienced both services — with Ono, we had speedy internet, friendly customer service and a fair price. With Telefónica… no, nope, and nurp.

Telefónica ordeals have become the stuff of legend in our household. When we moved into our new apartment, we simply wanted our existing service transferred. It took them over 6 weeks. I called them about 15 times to complain, and each time was a joy. Apparently, their customer service representatives take master’s courses in Misinformation and Bitchiness. They were really good at both!

This is impossible over the phone, I thought, so I’ll just go down to the gigantic Telefónica store at the Ayuntamiento. Ha, as though it would be so easy!!! Oh no, no no, the lady explained. Nurp. Because we had signed up online, everything had to be handled over the phone. She had no way to help us. Red-faced, I nearly screamed, “My service is Telefónica. You’re Telefónica. NOW HELP ME!”

Nurp. She shrugged, and a little smirk crept across the corner of her mouth. Nothing she can do. Separate division. Bye-bye now, thanks for choosing Telefónica.

Our 12-month contract has nearly run its course and we are switching back to Ono. We’ll be paying less and getting television, free national land-line calls and faster Internet. They’re handling the Telefónica cancellation for us, and I can’t tell you what a weight off my shoulders that is.

Has anyone else had Telefónica horror stories that they’d like to share? Were we just unlucky? What telephone/Internet service do you use, and how has your experience been?

- Rent a car in Valencia

Hoping to drum up some post-summer business, the Valencia Bioparc is selling all tickets at their children’s price. Curiously, in their ads which trumpet this (“In September, we’re all children!”) they don’t bother to mention what exactly the children’s price is.

It’s €15,50. That’s still expensive, but a €5,50 discount on the normal adult tariff of €21. So if you’ve been meaning to check out this awesome zoo, September might be the right month to do it.

- ABC B&B Valencia

*Update: Schumi will be NOT racing in Valencia

For our German speaking readers: Tipps zum Michael Schumacher Rennen in Valencia

Photo: Christian Janke

Finally a bit of great news for Valencia! The legendary Michael Schumacher is stepping in for Ferrari and will be racing in the city’s Formula 1 race, held on August 23rd.

Just like that, Valencia will be hosting the most anticipated F1 race in years. Even I, who could care less about racing, am excited about it! Ticket sales for the race, which had been stagnating, are now sure to get a boost. Who needs stinking Alonso?!

Information on tickets is available on the official webpage fo the Fomula 1 in Valencia, via Corte Ingles or Bancaja. When everything is already sold out (which will happen quickly, if it hasn’t already), then Ebay might be able to help! Valencia Formula 1 Tickets.

Alright, so you’ve got your tickets, your Schumacher t-shirts and Ferrari ballcap… but how do you get to Valencia? You can try and find plane tickets to Valencia with our favorite price comparison egines:

Finally, the problem of finding accommodation. You can check out our list of hotels and hostels, but again — act quick or you might be out of luck. If you’re stumped, don’t hesitate in contacting us directly — we might be able to help out.

Here some budget handpicked budget places:

• Hostal El Cid
• Rooms Deluxe
• Beach Home (near the racetrack)
• Petit Palace Bristol

This is exciting! Schumacher is one of the most famousus sportsmen in the world, and Valencia has really been blessed with a stroke of luck.

- Photographer Valencia