I fell in Love with Valencia in 2000 and return there about every 3 months. I would like some feedback from other people who ahve been to valencia and who appreciate it.

I studied at the Universitat de València in the fall of 1987 (through the University of Virginia’s program there). It was my first experience in Spain and I loved it too. I returned in 2000 found that the 1990s had been good to the city. It was in much better shape and there had been loads of new construction. For example, in 1987, only portions of the park in the Turia River bed were finished and the IVAM had not been built. Thankfully, it appears that the historic areas of the city were preserved. One of my classes was art history. I was pretty cool to be living in the midst of what I was studying.

I lived with a Spanish family that treated me like a son even though I was merely a boarder. We lived on Calle Jativa (Xativa) across the street from the Estacio del Nord and the bull ring. From the building's rooftop terrace we had an absolutely stunning view of the city. In the evenings, my classmates & I would generally hang out in the Canovas area, drink cheap beer and enjoy tapas. Nightlife was a big departure from home. I did my best, but I never had the stamina to party until sunrise. I remember dancing in a club situated in an old gothic building -- it must have been around 600-700 years old -- the music and interior decor were much more modern though.

I was impressed Spanish college students my age. They were mature and engaging, were up on current world events and were able to break into English when my Castellano faltered (I can't drink and speak Spanish). Spain's current form of government was only about 11 or 12 years old then and people were energized by political debate and activism. No one was shy or concerned about sharing their opinion or showing their political stripes. I even saw my first Communist demonstration -- a shocking event to a kid from the US during the Reagan era.

By far it was the best semester of my undergraduate career. I found the food was great, the people hospitable and the weather awesome -- it was hard coming home. Even so, I was a fool and didn’t stay through the spring semester, so I never experienced las Fallas.

I have been there few times and the last time I spent 3 months. Wonderful. Just worried that it will become like Barcelona in 5-7 years...

Yo!

Me too - unlike Vedouze, I can foresee more problems if the growth continues without regard to common sense - as in some of the costal areas of Andalusia ....

I feel in love with Valencia in March years ago -beautiful, clean, empty, but for the fishing boats, beaches .... Not something that would appeal to everyone, but I grew up on beaches ....

I absolutely love Valencia!
I had some friends living there and I used to visit quite often. I was there during Fallas 3 years ago and it was amazing! I didn't think I could like so much something as the Mascletà (it's like fireworks, but during the day, that is: pure noise!). The Cremà was just one of the most incredible things I've ever seen (it's the burning of the huge sculptures, fallas, that are built for this feast). I was on the roof of a friend's house, just 200 metres from the huge thing being burnt down (it was about 4 floors high!).
LOVE IT!