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For the third day, I decided to visit the famous “Lonja de Seda”, and after the visit, I was planning to visit the 🏖️ (I heard amazing reviews about it) and L’albufera.

Lonja de la Seda

Or how they called it Valencian dialect:  Llotja de la Seda. It was built, for the most part, between 1482 and 1492, under the direction of the master stonemason Pere Compte (disciple of Francesc Baldomar, the author of the original project). The completion of the work by one of his disciples, after his death, explains the presence of Renaissance elements.

It was named a National Monument in 1931,8. UNESCO declared the Silk Exchange a World Heritage Site on December 5, 1996,910 as a “totally exceptional example of a secular building in late Gothic style, which “Splendidly illustrates the power and wealth of one of the great mercantile cities of the Mediterranean”, being considered one of the most brilliant examples of European civil Gothic. The rectangular facades of crushed stone, the sumptuous Renaissance medallions, the artistic sculptures and gargoyles, the perfect proportions of the doors and windows, the shields and the merlons, recall the splendour of Valencian late Gothic.

The Lonja de la Seda is located in the very centre of the city (Market neighbourhood), in front of the Market Square, described by numerous chroniclers as a colourful and noisy scene endowed with an extraordinary sensuality.

The Lonja is made up of four parts: the Tower, where there is a dungeon in which silk thieves and dishonest merchants and merchants were placed until the relevant authorities came to take charge of them, the Consulate Room of the Mar, formerly the city house, the Patio de los Naranjos and the Sala de Contratación or Salón Columnario. The monument’s surface exceeds 2000 square meters between built and non-built areas. The building adapts to a rectangular plot, the south faces the Market Square, the west towards Cordellats Street, the north towards La Lonja Street and the east towards Pere Compte Street.

You can get more information about tickets and locations by clicking here.

I was trying to find a decent website with the history of La Lonja, for the lovers of history. In my opinion is well-redacted here.

After sitting down for a bit inside of the tower I headed to the beach, the water was quite fresh and salty, I didn’t spend much in there as it was going to rain, well, it was cloudy and I still needed to visit L’Albufera.

L’Albufera

La Albufera (from the Arabic البحيرة al-Buḥayra, “the lake”) is a Spanish protected natural area located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It was also known by the Romans as Nacarum Stagnum and in some Arabic poems, it is called Mirror of the Sun.

The Valencia Lagoon is a shallow coastal lagoon (average depth 1 m) located on the Mediterranean coast south of the city of Valencia. It occupies an area of 23.94 km² and is surrounded by 223 km² of rice fields.7​ Its hydrographic basin extends over 917.1 km², from sea level to an altitude of about 1000 m above sea level. n. m. It is separated from the sea by a narrow sandy coastal bar (restinga) with dunes stabilized by a pine forest (Dehesa del Saler). La Albufera is a transit area for many species of migratory birds.

Its ecological value is very great since species of great ecological value in danger of extinction are found here, such as the fartet or the Camargo. It is also one of the few lagoons that are preserved in good condition in the Valencian Community, whose coast was formerly formed by a succession of lagoons and marshes. Today you can still see the succession of marshes along the entire Valencian coast, although smaller than the Albufera of Valencia, from the Pego-Oliva marsh, the Jaraco marsh, the Rafalell marsh and Vistabella in the Valencian district. of Rafalell and Vistabella, the Marjal del Moro in Puzol-Sagunto, or the Almenara marsh, among others.

I forgot to mention, It’s one of the places to visit for free, you can get on a boat and explore the Albufera deeply if you go around 10-12 am (If I recall correctly it’s 5 euros for the trip).