Valencia's Christmas runs from the lights switch-on in late November to the Three Kings on January 6. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento gets a giant tree, a nativity scene and an ice rink, craft and Three Kings markets fill the streets around the Mercat Central, and theaters put on December shows for small kids. Here's what we checked, from the ice rink to a first theater show for toddlers.
About 35 artisans, many from Valencia and others from across Spain, sell handmade jewelry, ceramics, leather, textiles, glass and wooden toys from wooden booths. Live craft demonstrations and participatory workshops run alongside, organized by Arteval with the city government and the regional crafts center.
Every Christmas the Old Town shopkeepers' association turns Plaza del Ayuntamiento into an open-air ice rink, set under the City Hall clock tower beside the city's Christmas tree. Kids skate in short sessions with skates included, which suits first-timers who tire or get cold fast, and a parent can watch from the barrier with the plaza's lights all around.
A 1916 modernista market hall by architect Francisco Mora: three naves under iron trusses, closed at each end by richly decorated brick-and-stone gateways. A restoration that won a Europa Nostra award in 2003 turned it into a food hall. Glass-cube cafes and horchata bars fill the main floor; below, an escalator leads to produce and meat stalls, a restaurant and a waterfall with trees rising through the opening.
A covered market from 1928, built of iron, glass and painted tile, with about 260 stalls of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and bread. The central dome rises 30 meters, and weathervanes shaped like a parrot and a fish crown the domes.
Kids can point out unfamiliar fruit, watch the fishmongers at work and pick a snack from one of the dozen stalls selling ready-to-eat food.
Two siblings have a magic stuffed bear who travels through dreams and turns them into adventures among clouds, stars and rainbows. Made as a first theater trip for the youngest children, it plays with shapes, textures, games and original songs. The story also speaks to kids who are afraid of the dark.
Ad Libitum is a circus show by Lapso Producciones that asks what music is. Three performers play classical pieces on unconventional instruments, squeeze the history of classical music into five minutes on a single instrument, and explain ostinato through a letter Ravel wrote about his Bolero.
Valencia's Christmas runs from the lights switch-on in late November to the Three Kings on January 6. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento gets a giant tree, a nativity scene and an ice rink, craft and Three Kings markets fill the streets around the Mercat Central, and theaters put on December shows for small kids. Here's what we checked, from the ice rink to a first theater show for toddlers.
About 35 artisans, many from Valencia and others from across Spain, sell handmade jewelry, ceramics, leather, textiles, glass and wooden toys from wooden booths. Live craft demonstrations and participatory workshops run alongside, organized by Arteval with the city government and the regional crafts center.
Every Christmas the Old Town shopkeepers' association turns Plaza del Ayuntamiento into an open-air ice rink, set under the City Hall clock tower beside the city's Christmas tree. Kids skate in short sessions with skates included, which suits first-timers who tire or get cold fast, and a parent can watch from the barrier with the plaza's lights all around.
A 1916 modernista market hall by architect Francisco Mora: three naves under iron trusses, closed at each end by richly decorated brick-and-stone gateways. A restoration that won a Europa Nostra award in 2003 turned it into a food hall. Glass-cube cafes and horchata bars fill the main floor; below, an escalator leads to produce and meat stalls, a restaurant and a waterfall with trees rising through the opening.
A covered market from 1928, built of iron, glass and painted tile, with about 260 stalls of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and bread. The central dome rises 30 meters, and weathervanes shaped like a parrot and a fish crown the domes.
Kids can point out unfamiliar fruit, watch the fishmongers at work and pick a snack from one of the dozen stalls selling ready-to-eat food.
Two siblings have a magic stuffed bear who travels through dreams and turns them into adventures among clouds, stars and rainbows. Made as a first theater trip for the youngest children, it plays with shapes, textures, games and original songs. The story also speaks to kids who are afraid of the dark.
Ad Libitum is a circus show by Lapso Producciones that asks what music is. Three performers play classical pieces on unconventional instruments, squeeze the history of classical music into five minutes on a single instrument, and explain ostinato through a letter Ravel wrote about his Bolero.
