VALENCIA SWITCHES TO ON MODE
Valencia | 19.05.2020 | 11:55
The terraces under the Mediterranean sun, the museums with the best works of Valencian art and sport in all its varieties return to a city that is a lifestyle
#ValenciaMoodOn #GetInValenciasMood
With the gradual lifting of the curfew, València has now switched to the "ON MODE" to boost the local economy, but also to look after and prepare a city that cares about the well-being of its visitors. With the "ValenciaMoodOn" campaign, the city now invites its inhabitants to activate the sun mode, the light mode, the feel-good mode. To get excited again and reconnect with their city. And in this sense, Valencia presses the button that triggers the start of the tourist recovery.
Valencia adds 12,000 m2 of traffic-free space to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento pedestrian area
One of the most emblematic places in Valencia is already a square of 12,000 m2, which invites you to walk or cycle. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento has new street furniture with Mediterranean vegetation with 30 different plant species and a single lane for public transport, residents and commercial suppliers. The square will be completed in June with new playgrounds, furniture shading elements and new paving that will give more visibility to the pedestrian areas gained. This pedestrian area is part of a change in the urban model to achieve a more sustainable and healthier València.
Admission to IVAM will be free all year round
At the same time of the International Museum Day, the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Centre del Carme and the IVAM opened their doors again. In the latter, admission will be free of charge until the end of 2020. The three exhibition centers will reopen with the exhibitions they already had on their premises when the alarm began. And so works by Sorolla and his contemporaries will be on display during the visit to the Museo de Bellas Artes, Arts, the second most important art gallery in Spain after the Prado. The work of Escif, one of the most famous urban Spanish artists, can be seen in the Centre del Carme, among others. The Museum of Modern Art, the IVAM, reopens with the exhibition of the Valencian artist Jorge Peris; a walk through an original montage consisting of works with furniture from the last years of the 19th century.
The Fallas will go on in 2021
Our most international festival, Intangible Cultural Heritage and suspended because of the coronavirus health crisis, will continue in 2021. The Falleras Mayores (festival queens) will continue their mandate in the next edition of the Fallas; the Fallas constructions will be kept in the workshops and the pyrotechnic performances that have not been celebrated will seek their opportunity as soon as the health situation allows. València thus accepts the transience of his festival and confirms that the spirit of the Fallas will rise again next year stronger than ever. Surely many of our Fallas artists will add some ninots (satirical figures) inspired by the crisis caused by the coronavirus, proving once again that the Fallas satire is the best way to smile in bad times.
Return of the Mediterranean terraces
The phase of partial lifting of the curfew, which began yesterday in Valencia, will allow 50% of the terraces of bars and restaurants to be opened. In order to guarantee the social safety distance between tables, the City Council will allow the occupation of areas in the streets, gardens or squares and will reduce the time needed to obtain permission to open new terraces. The good spring weather, characteristic of these months, did the rest, and the pictures did not take long to show up: friends enjoying an aperitif, family reunions over a paella or drinks among colleagues to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries suspended with the curfew.
Resumption of sport activities
Being one of the world´s fastest marathons could not go unnoticed and València wanted to resume training. The runners filled the streets and discovered new running routes. In addition to the popular 5K circuit in the old Turia riverbed, the newly chosen routes to avoid the risk of infection have become more popular, such as running along the paths of the Huerta (kitchen gardens and fields) or the circuits of the beltring roads in the north and south of the city.
Being a coastal town has favoured the return of some individual water sports. In the Marina de València, the most seafaring side of the city, it is now possible to surf, paddle or canoe in the time slot set aside for sports. Many of the companies located in the port basin have re-opened to offer the service of all the necessary equipment, such as boat or surfboard rental.