(La Noche - Marcella Escandell) reproduced using Creative Commons licence

Dates:	5-7 April 2017
Duration:	2 nights and 3 days
Cost:	£270.00 Includes: guided tour of Valencia, mini bus for Thursday 6th April, hotel room and breakfast for 2 nights. Excludes: Flights and transfers, Valencia travel cards, entrance to City of Arts & Sciences, lunch and evening meals

The city of Valencia is located on the south-eastern coast of Spain, where the Turia River and the Mediterranean Sea meet. Valencia has a host of tourist attractions including the City of Arts and Sciences (designed by the flamboyant Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava) and of course the fertile countryside around Valencia is perfect for the production of oranges.  It is also the “birthplace” of paella – courtesy of the Moorish invaders and their liking of spices in particular saffron which gives paella its unique colouring.

Trip highlight: Since Moorish times a “Water Court” has been held every Thursday at midday at el Plaza del Virgen. Originally introduced by the Moorish farmers to regulate the irrigation infrastructure in Valencia’s farming fields it is made up of a group of elected judges from the country who resolve any irrigation disputes once a week. The court is egalitarian in nature with all members being equal to each other and sitting in a circle. Nothing is written down the proceedings of the court are purely oral. This fascinating court has gone unchanged for a thousand years however in 21^st century Valencia there simply aren’t many irrigation disputes so the whole process can be over in a matter of minutes. We will be visiting the Water Court (Tribunal de las Aguas) to watch proceedings during our field trip.

Programme of events*

Wednesday 5 April 2017:

Please aim to check into hotel by 15.00 hours. At 16.00 hours we will meet in the hotel lobby and take the hop-on hop-off tourist bus around old Valencia; at 19.30 hours we will meet in the hotel lobby and go to dinner at a nearby authentic Valencian restaurant.

Thursday 6 April 2017:
08.30 hours meet in the hotel lobby.  Board mini bus and travel to Aguas Valencias.  There will be presentations on water saving methods and we will also find out about new smart water meter technology.  At midday we will return to the centre of Valencia to join the weekly Tribunal de las Aguas.   We will then visit colleagues at the Technical University of Valencia ending with lunch at a famous paella restaurant El Famos.  After lunch, we will board our minibus to Picassent where we will have an opportunity to visit the network of irrigation canal.   Our mini bus will return us to the hotel around 18.00 hours. We will later meet around 20.00 hours in the hotel lobby to go to dinner at an authentic Valencian restaurant.

Friday 7 April 2017:
08.30 hours meet in the hotel lobby. Take bus or walk to  Valencia City Council offices where there will be a presentation given to us by on the Valencia Smart City project.

11.00 hours we will visit the City of Arts & Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i Ciencies Valencia) and take our time to walk around its' different areas, we then meet again for a late lunch.

The remainder of the day is free to do as you please. 

Delegate advice:

Delegates must advise us if they have any health or special issues before booking the trip as there may be a lot of physical activities involved (i.e. walking).  Delegates are also responsible for their own travel insurance.  We suggest that you bring sensible walking shoes.

Travel information

There are many direct flights to Valencia from many airports within the UK. We advise that you consider purchasing a Valencia Tourist card as this will allow you free travel on public transport within the Valencia area (including from the airport), free admission to various tourist attractions or discounted admission prices to museums. 

See here for more information. You could also travel from the UK by train  but allow sufficient time for this mode of transport.

   Accommodation 

Expo Hotel, Valencia   Avda. Pio XII, 4 - Valencia [Map] The hotel is located close to the Turia undergound and public bus services. Its location close to the old town of Valencia with its winding cobbled streets and the green open space of the old Turia riverbed make it a perfect headquarters for our field trip.

*Draft programme, subject to change       **Note: The network cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites.