The gandia beaches, due to the quality of its waters and its services, have made it one of the quintessential summer tourist destinations on the Valencian Community coast. But the town is also synonymous with history, tradition, culture, gastronomy, leisure and commerce, natural and mountain areas. Some attractions that invite you to visit this municipality located in the south of the province of Valencia in all seasons of the year.
From touring the Marjal area, where you can find l’Alqueria del Duc, a 16th century fortified building, l’Ullal Gran, a lagoon formed by underground springs of water, and the Aula Natura, an interpretation center for the area, to enjoy a play or a concert at the Teatro Serrano. but between all the offer of plans and activities that the town offers, highlights the Fallas festival, held on March 16, 17, 18 and 19.
tradition and history
The Gandia faultsDue to their tradition and history, they were declared in 2015, through a decree, Assets of Intangible Cultural Interest by the plenary session of the Generalitat Council. This Valencian town is the third in which the monuments began to appear in the streets, in 1876, after Valencia and Xàtiva, although it was not until 1927-28 when the festival was fully consolidated in the city.
Currently, there are a total of 23 Fallas commissions that participate in emblematic acts such as the plantà, the awards ceremony, the offering of flowers to the Virgen de los Desamparados or the mascletà. The festival ends with the Nit de la Cremà, when all the fallas are burned. The starting signal for the Fallas is the baptism, in which the Federació de Falles chooses a baby with Fallas roots to be baptized.
During the rest of the year, you can visit the Museu Faller, where the tradition of the festival goes hand in hand with the latest technologies. In this way, with the help of modern multimedia technologies, the most special moments of the Fallas de Gandia are reproduced and all the crafts linked to the celebration can be discovered.
an excellent kitchen
At a gastronomic level, Gandia is one of the great exponents of Mediterranean food. The garden offers natural ingredients for the preparation of an excellent cuisine, to which are also added the fish and shellfish that comes directly from the local market and rice. The Fideuà de Gandia is the hallmark of the city’s gastronomy, a dish that tastes of the sea, but also of trades and the fishing tradition of Grao.
La Fideuà already has more than 100 years of history. It was created by fishermen who worked on the Santa Isabel boat. While preparing a seafood paella, the cook realized that there was no rice left and replaced it with noodles, thus discovering a new dish. Little by little it was introduced into all the homes of the city, giving rise to its most typical dish.
The town is, therefore, an essential place for lovers of good food. Rice, which is cooked in different ways, such as broth, baked or in paella, is the king of the table, but there are also other exquisite dishes that can be tasted from the region’s gastronomy, such as “figatells”, “les coques de dacsa”, the “gamba amb bleda”, the “pebres farcits” or the “all i pebre”.
An important cultural heritage
Gandia’s cultural legacy is undoubtedly another of its main attractions. Discover to The Borgias It is a unique experience that shows the mark left in the territory by the most powerful Valencian family in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Visiting the Borgia Territory is walking through a spectacle of history, culture and art.
The Borgia route takes you to visit the Ducal Palace, immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Plaza Mayor and discover the Collegiate Church of Santa María, stroll through the historic center to the Church of the Convent of Santa Clara, admire the works exhibited in the Museum from Santa Clara.
Also contemplate a panoramic view of the city at the Mirador del Serpis, stroll through the Plaza de la Antigua Universidad and stop before the imposing Borgia sculptures by Manolo Boix, or delve into the spirituality of the Church of Blessed Andrés Hibernón and the Convent of San Roque .
In addition, the historic center of the city hides corners such as the Torreón del Pino, the Casa de la Marquesa, where you are greeted at the entrance by a sculpture of El Tio de la Porra, a much-loved character in the town, the Plaza del Prado, which has a space for children’s games and a wide range of entertainment venues and restaurants, the Teatro Serrano, where an extensive program is offered, the Iglesia del Beato, or the Archaeological Museum of Gandia (MAGa).
Gandia, the ideal destination for the whole year: from its beaches and natural spaces to the Fallas