‘Travelling Jacks’ for the matchday programme
Valencia CF Thursday 19th September 2013 19:00 (CET)
Address: Camp de Mestalla, Aveniada de Suecia, Valencia, 46010
Tel: 00 34 902 01 19 19
Website: http://www.valenciacf.com/en/Home/
E-Mail: callcenter@valenciacf.es
What’s it Like
Estadio de Mestalla with a capacity of 52,600 is in a dense urban neighbourhood close to Valencia’s city centre. Of the Valencia club shops, the one at Pintor Sorolla 25 in Valencia’s city centre is most centrally located. There is also a club shop at the stadium. Others are Pintor Sorolla Shop. Pintor Sorolla 25, 46003 and El Saler Shopping Centre Shop, opposite the City of Arts and Sciences, Av. Profesor Lopez Piñero 16, 46013.
Stadium tours with an English speaking guide lasting 45 minutes costs €7 (€6 for groups of 5+) are available, including access to the dressing rooms, player’s tunnel, press room, VIP boxes, dugouts, and stadium chapel. Tours run Mon – Fri at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm. On weekends, tours only run in the morning at 10am, 11am, 12pm, and 1pm. Bookings can be made by phone 00 34 902 01 1919, or at any of the Valencia club shops. Walk-ups will be accepted only if there are places on the tour. Visit any of the Valencia club shops with your ticket the day of the visit, and get 10% off all purchases.
Pubs and Grub
There are plenty of cafés and restaurants in the area of the stadium, while more serious nightlife can be found a small walk away in the historic centre. There is, a pocket of nightlife around Plaza de Canovas at less than 10 minutes walking from the stadium, but there’s much more, further on in the historic centre, while there’s a club scene around the city’s beaches.
Things really heat from 11pm when the bars and clubs are in full swing. Barrio del Carmen is one of the best areas to for a great night out, but there are plenty of bars and clubs throughout the city.
Typical Valencian dishes are:
Paella – Many towns claim to be the birthplace of paella, it is usually considered native to county Ribera, just south of Valencia. It can be found in two varieties, with chicken and rabbit or seafood.
Arròs negre – Rice with squid and squid ink.
Arròs al forn – A rice dish baked in the oven with sausages and potato.
Fideuà – noodles and seafood, typical of the Valencian coast, originally from Gandia.
Arròs a banda – rice, fish, and sweet potato.
Embotits – Cured sausages.
Bollit – Vegetable stew.
Suquet de peix – Eel, potato, garlic and fish stew.
All i pebre – a signature dish for the area around Valencia city, containing peppers, garlic and potatoes with eels.
Esgarrat or Pericana – Mix of roasted peppers and strips of salted cod with garlic.
Espencat – Roasted vegetables.
Prices in Valencia; Meal at a cheap restaurant £7.25, Three-course meal for 2, Mid-range restaurant £32, regular cappuccino £1.28, can of Coke/Pepsi £1.40, pint of beer in a pub £2.10
Transport
Estadio de Mestalla is located just east of Valencia’s historic city centre.
Walking: from the cathedral or the main railway station (Estación del Norte) takes 20 minutes. Metro: Metro stop Aragón, on line 5, is next to the stadium. Line 5 will also take you to the airport. Car: from the north, the A7 motorway (connecting Valencia and Barcelona) brings you almost directly to the stadium. Get off the A7, taking the V-21 into town, and once the motorway turns into a normal road, drive straight on until you see the stadium on your right. If coming from Madrid, the A3, take the Avenida del Cid into town. Turn left after the hospital and right at where the old Tùria riverbed begins. Follow the riverbed park for several kilometres until you see the Calatrava bridge. Cross the bridge and you’ve reached the stadium.
By bus: Turia Subway Stop is in Avenida Pio XII number 5, which is adjacent to the mall (Nuevo Centro). Take the number 1 line towards Torrent, at the first stop (Angel Guimera), change to line number 5 towards Marina Reial Joan Carles I and get off at Aragon Station.
Travelling to Valencia
There is a wide variety of hotels in Valencia, and some very good options close to Mestalla. Hospes Palau de la Mar, Hotel Husa Dimar, and SH Valencia Palace are on the edge of the historic centre and less than 10 minutes walking from the stadium. Hotel Renasa, NH Villacarlos, and Hotel Kris Consul del Mar are equally close, somewhat cheaper, but a little further away from the centre. There are many more options in the historic centre at just 5 to 10 minutes more walking. Alternatively, you can choose a hotel closer to the beachfront.
There are no major concerns for travellers to Spain, although tourist season is easy pickings, so be careful with luggage and valuables. British citizens don’t need visas to enter Spain. Ensure that you have adequate travel insurance and you should take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The EHIC card will give you access to Romanian health care if you have an accident or become ill. You’ll receive the state-provided medical healthcare at a reduced cost.
Just in Case
The Consular office in Alicante has jurisdiction over the Valencia region.
British Consulate, Plaza de Calvo Sotelo, 1, 2º, Apdo. de Correos 564, 03001 Alicante
Tel: 00 34 96 521 61 90 or 00 34 96 521 60 22
Open: 08:30 – 13:30
If your passport is lost or stolen and you need an emergency passport, you’ll need to book an appointment with the Embassy and bring with you the following:
1 passport photograph
Police report
Travel itinerary or flight tickets
Photo ID
The fee (£95) in local currency (or Visa /MasterCard)
Useful information – Spain
Emergency Services Telephone: 112 (all call operators speak English)
You should report crime and obtain a copy of the “denuncia†(police report). For example, if you have had belongings stolen, you will need the police report for insurance purposes. If your passport is lost or stolen, keep the police report 1) for insurance purposes, 2) to apply for an emergency travel certificate and 3) to apply for a replacement passport when you return home.
Make sure that it is a “una denuncia†not a sworn declaration (una declaración judicial), as the latter may not be accepted as evidence of a crime for insurance purposes, or applying for a new passport.
Tourist Information http://www.spain.info/en_GB/ or http://www.valencia-cityguide.com/
Main Hospital in Valencia
Hospital Universitario de La Ribera
Carretera de Corbera km 1
46600, Alzira, Valencia
Phone 00 34 962 458 500
http://www.hospital-ribera.com/english/index.htm