The Misteri d’Elx or Elche Mystery Plays welcome visitors in the month of August. Together with the city’s Palm Grove (the biggest in Europe), they are one of the two World Heritage examples to be found in Elche. There are not many places in the world that can boast this gift. But the city does not rest on its laurels; it prefers to be in constant effervescence.

The land of Elche looks to share its heritage and breathe life into it. Proof of that is the Ciutat d’Elx Guitar Festival taking place from 26th to 31st July in the San José Cloisters, La Llotja (former fish market) and the Grand Theatre. An event where great guitarists will be enchanting the evening with their melodies, creating the soundtrack for this legendary city.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

For sixty minutes, a narrator reads out the moves made by two chess players (a guest of honour and the winner of the Torneig Fogueres school chess tournament) whilst very special pieces take their places and move around the board. All the players are aged between 6 and 14 years of age, dressed in costumes inspired by a game played in the History of Chess.

Such is the originality of this theatrical performance that even the author J.K. Rowling gave her express permission four years ago to adapt her first Harry Potter novel for the human chess theatre.

An event that offers you the possibility of discovering Xàbia, taking a refreshing dip in the transparent waters of its beaches and – why not? – sample one of its delicious rice, fish or seafood dishes.

via XV Human Chess in Xàbia – new – Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

From 24th to 31st July, the good-natured inhabitants of this beautiful town in Alicante province swap their swimming costume for the unique attire of the Moors and Christians, walks along the beach for the parades of the two armies, and sun cream for the harquebus. Colour and fun brimming over everywhere you look at this festival, deemed to be of International Tourist Interest.

Music bands provide the soundtrack to a celebration where people come to dance, enjoy the parties at night and sample typical dishes from both sides at the gastronomic competitions. So much for the rivalry.

The high point of the Moors and Christians Festival in La Vila Joiosa will come in the early hours of 28th July with the Moorish ‘Desembarco’ or Landing, an impressive act that takes place right on the beach, where the Christian army awaits in its camp with all its artillery. Drums, lights, pyrotechnics and crossfire. This representation is unique.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

The festival, which was first launched in 1955 as a tribute to sailors who traded with Cuba, the home of the Habanera, offers outstanding artistic quality and is now renowned throughout the world, especially since it was deemed to be of International Tourist Interest in 1994.

An exceptional spectacle that will attract a learned audience, traditionally respectful of the ensembles taking part in the competition. The main new feature this year is a Soloist Gala on the opening day, in which eight Spanish singers will be competing. Six choral ensembles from Torrevieja will be putting the finishing touches to a top-level choral week.

via Habaneras are returning to Torrevieja – new – Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

Calm waters, steady wind and beautiful landscapes are the most appealing features for those who love all kinds of sailing. And the Region of Valencia not only checks all these boxes, but also offers the most advanced facilities all along its coastline, essential to guaranteeing the safety, comfort and quality of water sports.

One of the places that best represents this commitment to nautical tourism is the Alicante Royal Sailing Club which, having successfully hosted the departure of the last two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race, is at the fore of maritime competitions held in Mediterranean waters.

Over the course of one week, Alicante will once again become the focus of attention in the world of sailing. Over 125 craft and 600 sailors will be battling it out in a championship of monotype boats, 7.5 m in length and 2.5 m beam, crewed by five people.

El Mexillón de Galicia-Vilagarcia, crewed by the brothers Carlos and Antón Paz, current World Champions, will be looking to defend their title at this new and exciting edition. But to do that they will have to beat the best sailors on the planet in this speciality, including a strong representation from the Valencian fleet and reputed names such as Modus Vivendi (Greece), Flexi and Farr Bar (Germany), Goffy (France) or Lutfisk (England).

And to counter the intensity of the championship, members of the public can relax in the Shopping Village, where they will find clothes shops, opticians and sports footwear.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

There are some opportunities that are simply unmissable, especially if we’re talking about summer, Benidorm and the most surprising music festival around. It’s called the Low Cost Festival, taking place on 23rd and 24th July in Benidorm’s L’Aigüera Park, bringing together the crème de la crème from the national and international indie scene.

Following a brilliant first edition held in Alicante, the Low Cost Festival 2010 is moving to Benidorm to offer audiences on the Costa Blanca a first-class line-up. The British groups Editors and Placebo, undoubtedly two of the biggest exponents of alternative rock around today, are just two of the acts lined up to play at the festival, which will also feature performances by other high voltage international bands such as These New Puritans, The Raveonettes, Adam Green, Tokyo Sex Destruction and Vive La Fête.

The line-up of national groups performing at the Low Cost Festival 2010 is also unbeatable. Love of Lesbian, Los Planetas, Lori Meyers and Arizona Baby have seduced a whole army of follows with their lyrics and chords, both in Spain and abroad. Together with them, Benidorm and its beaches will offer audiences an idyllic setting, which is why it is already considered the ultimate music event of this summer.

The green areas and central boulevards make L’Aigüera Park the city’s green lung and a wonderful setting to enjoy concerts. The Low Cost Festival enclosure is divided into three stages: there are two tiered open-air spaces, the Oscar Esplá amphitheatre and the Julio Iglesias auditorium, and the bullring.

As well as music, the festival presents an attractive programme of leisure and entertainment and Benidorm’s tourist offer and nightlife. For starters, festival-goers will get special prices at shops, restaurants and bars around the city. And, throughout the entire week from 19th to 25th July, there will be free concerts at midday, low cost gastronomic routes, the record and alternative fashion fair, and even a documentary film festival, along with many other surprises.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

The Moorish and Christian groups will parade through the streets in their striking costumes, on 16th July, known as ‘Día de la Entrada’ or the Day of the Arrival. A tremendous spectacle of music, dance and horses, the prelude to the famous Desembarco (Landing).

As day breaks on 17th July, locals and visitors will go down to the beach to witness the most striking harquebus battle of the festivities, the Desembarco (Landing), an act that leads into the Reconquista (Reconquering) on 18th July. The armies will fire their harquebuses until the Christian captain occupies the castle. The festival will come to a close with a spectacular firework display.

Having enjoyed the intense programme of the Moors and Christians Festival, you should take a trip down to its wonderful coast and relax on any of its beaches. You have quite a few to choose from, including the Playa Terranova, which is surrounded by a string of sand dunes, offering visitors peace and tranquillity, attributes it shares with the Playa Aigua Blanca.

The Playa Pau-Pi on the other hand is characterised by its fantastic sports facilities; in fact it has a sailing school, a fun area for children, and infrastructures for people with physical disabilities.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

A fusion between two worlds, that of humans and of nature, told through music, light, sound and the exercises performed by the dolphins. A night that, among other things, aims to raise awareness among audience members and convey respect for the environment.

Open from 8 p.m. until midnight, visitors can walk around l’Oceanogràfic ‘out of hours’ and visit the facilities to see species such as sharks, seals, walruses or whales, among many others.

L’Oceanogràfic at the City of Arts and Sciences is the biggest aquarium in Europe and represents the main marine ecosystems on the planet. In fact, the different buildings are identified with the Mediterranean, the Wetlands, Warm and Tropical Seas, the Antarctic, the Arctic, the Islands, and the Red Sea. There is also a dolphin enclosure, with 24 million litres of water and a depth of 10.5 metres.

Don’t miss the Nights at l’Oceanogràfic

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

With the arrival of the summer, many are deciding to spend a few days in Castellón Costa Azahar and enjoy unrepeatable experiences thanks to the music, the beaches, the idyllic setting of Benicàssim and the cultural activities taking place over four days.

Modern art, short films, theatre, fashion, dance and summer courses provide the extramusical proposals that make FIB one of the most important and complete cultural offers in the world.

The concert area, spread over 130,000 square metres, is the nerve centre of an event that runs from Thursday to Sunday, bringing together a total of one hundred musical performances. Furthermore fibers will have two free camping areas, CampFIB and BeniCamp, and one paying campsite: VillaCamp.

As for the other activities, the XI FIB Short Film programme has taken a new direction this year, seeking the definitive communion with the music, and there will also be new and more suitable exhibition spaces for the programme that runs parallel to the festival of short films and music videos. Furthermore, FIB Art, FIB Act, Dance, Fashion and Summer courses will complete the offer.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

Last May, the city of Benidorm had the highest level of hotel occupancy among residents and foreign tourists of any tourist destination in Spain, with 82.7% occupancy, according to the latest Hotel Tourism Survey published by the National Institute of Statistics. Furthermore, Benidorm was the destination with the highest number of overnight stays among Spanish residents, with 427,534 overnight stays.

These results are also true for the rest of the Region of Valencia where the number of hotel places offered also grew by 1.38%. In this respect, hotels in the Region of Valencia received a total of 634,141 travellers and registered over two million overnight stays. This represents a year-on-year growth of 4.98% and 0.51% in the number of travellers and overnight stays, respectively.

There has been an important increase in the number of foreign travellers arriving (10.4%) and in terms of overnight stays (9.6%), in both cases higher than the Spanish average. The highest growth figures were registered for tourists from Germany (30.89%), Holland (13.44%), France (11.5%), Italy (11.01%) and the UK (6.64%).

via Travelturisme. Region of Valencia tourism news.