Erasmus experience in Valencia

I originally chose Valencia mainly because I knew there was a beach and I knew a few people from there. But little did I know there was so much more to the town. Starting with the culture and history. The old town is full of beautiful old buildings, raging from the Gothic building La Lonja to the Art Deco Covered market and the beautiful 13th century cathedral. The remaining gates that used to allow entry to the centre are still covered in craters caused by bombs in the past when Valencia was under attack, and when you go up them, you have a beautiful view on the centre on one side and the outskirts on the other.

Not only is it a town full of history, but also a modern and dynamic town, with new buildings which show architectural genius such as the arts and science centre, a very futuristic appeasing place where you can wonder in and out and soak in scientific information, admire pieces of art and it very regularly hosts great events.

The gardens, Las Turias, used to be a man-made canal but now that it has dried out, it has been filled with trees, flowers, ponds, orange trees, palm trees, play areas such as the gulliver park, where children (or immature erasmus students such as myself) can go up and down slides going from a giant man lying down. You can also rent a 2 to 4 seater pedal cart to ride round the gardens.

Concerning food, there are many restaurants, tapas places, fast food sandwich chains such as Cerveceria 100 Montaditos where you order a selection of mini sandwiches (montaditos). The best tapas place I have ever been to is called Las Cuevas, it's a bit tucked away in the area of Carmen and it serves great food, with a selection of over 50 tapas. The paella Valenciana is typical for the area, made with white beans, chicken, lamb and other beans, and the Agua de Valencia is an almost lethal concoction of orange juice, champagne, vodka and gin. (very bad as you can hardly taste the alcohol in it so a jar of that and you're gone)

Shopping in Valencia is amazing, it's so cheap if you compare to other European countries and same goes for food.

As for the night life, the clubs here are amazing. Mya, inside the arts and science centre, and Umbracle, outdoors in the same place, are just great. The setting is incredible and you always have a great night there. Then by the port, Las animas is wonderful. It's also outdoors so is only open in the summer, but the music is great, you have a view on the port and it's huge. Other big weekend clubs are Mirror, Pacha, Indiana, etc. There are plenty of other good places to go to in Carmen like Bolseria, Fox Congo, Music Box, or around Blasco Ibañez, Carribeans, Polo 55, Rumbo, of course a lot smaller but nonetheless provide you with a fun weekly option for going out. Drinks are quite expensive on nights out, so it's better to pre drink. In the centre during the week, the plaza de la virgen near the cathedral is always bustling and lively.

There are many places to go see around Valencia with nice castles, gorges, mountains, etc which makes a change from always going to the beach, although that is of course one of the main attractions of Valencia and a lot of time can be spent there playing bat and ball, making sand sculptures and swimming in the sea!

All this to say that I had an amazing time here, I met some amazing people and my Erasmus semester has been eventful, fun, culturally rich and unforgettable.