Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

, eastern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and north of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...

. Vehicles can access the city through road N-332. Gandia operated as an important cultural and commercial centre in the 15th and 16th centuries: in the 15th century it had a university. It was home to several important people, including the poet Ausiàs March (1400-1459) and the novelist Joanot Martorell (1410-1465). It is perhaps best known for the Borja or

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

, through their family

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

Duke of Gandia Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

(originally created in 1399). Gandia is one of the largest coastal towns in Spain, with a population over 200,000 during summer, and a centre of commerce and tourism in its region. There are two main zones, Gandia City, which has all the historical monuments, commercial activity, and shopping, and Gandia beach, which has apartments and summer residences used during the summer season. The bars and nightclubs are concentrated in the beach area. As is normal for Spain, nightlife does not begin until well after midnight. The beach and town are actually some apart, which succeeds in separating summer tourism from day-to-day living.

Main sights

Collegiate Basilica of Gandia The Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria of Gandia, also known as "La Seu", is the principal church of the city of Gandia, (Valencia). Construction commenced in the 14th century. The Collegiate Church of Santa María is a Valencian Gothic construct ...

Ducal Palace of Gandia The Ducal Palace of Gandia was, from the 14th century, the residence of the Royal Dukes of Gandía, and from 1485, the Borja family. It was the birthplace of Saint Francis Borja. The oldest part of the building dates from the 15th century in V ...

* Convent of Santa Clara of Gandia * Archaeological Museum of Gandia * Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba * Route of the Borgias *

Route of the Monasteries of Valencia The Route of the Monasteries of Valencia ( GR-236) is a religious and cultural route that connects five monasteries located in central region of the Province of Valencia, (Valencian Community), in Spain. The Route was inaugurated in the year ...

Route of the Valencian classics The Route of the Valencian classics, (in Valencian ''Ruta dels clàssics valencians'', in Spanish ''Ruta de los clásicos valencianos''), is a cultural route Source: Valencia Terra i Mar. Diputación de ValenciaLa Ruta dels Clàssics.. through ...

Tourism

With its long, wide, golden, sandy beaches Gandia is one of the major tourist destinations in Spain. Traditionally Gandia's tourism has a domestic base, with the majority coming from Madrid, although in recent years it has been an increasingly popular destination for international tourists, mainly French, German and British.Gandia.be
There are some popular Spanish restaurants around the beach. Gandia has a number of shopping facilities including shopping malls and chain supermarkets like

Carrefour Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, whic ...

, Carrefour Express, Lidl,

Mercadona Mercadona (, ) is a Spanish supermarket chain. Mercadona has 1,636 stores in all the 17 Spanish regions, Ceuta, Melilla and in Portugal. Mercadona was ranked the 9th most reputable company in the world in 2009, by the Reputation Institute as lis ...

and

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

.Gandia
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Culture

For culture, there are literary contests, the Summer University (Universitat d'Estiu), the International Festival of Classical Music and art exhibitions; sports include water, golf, tennis and hiking. Gandia hosts the annual Cortoons Gandia animation festival in April, which celebrates international animation and short films.

Geography

Gandia has an important regional wetland with an extension above in the outskirts of the city, called Marjal de La Safor.http://www.gandia.org/web/guest/marjal-de-gandia This natural area is home to several water plants such as

Lemna gibba ''Lemna gibba'', the gibbous duckweed, swollen duckweed, or fat duckweed, is a species of ''Lemna'' (duckweed). It has a simple plant body, known as a thallus, which floats on the surface of the water and measures in diameter. A single root hang ...

Lemna minor ''Lemna minor'', the common duckweed or lesser duckweed, is a species of aquatic freshwater plant in the subfamily Lemnoideae of the arum family Araceae. ''L. minor'' is used as animal fodder, bioremediator, for wastewater nutrient recovery, and ...

, and specially many species of water lily plants, such as

Nymphaea alba ''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir). Descript ...

, Utricularia australis and Potamogeton fluitans. Underwater plants also exist, such as Myriophyllum and Ceratophyllum. Native land plants are mostly formed of various

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

species,

Typha domingensis ''Typha domingensis'', known commonly as southern cattail or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus ''Typha''. Distribution and habitat It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is sometimes found as a s ...

, various

Scirpus ''Scirpus'' is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush (see also bulrush for other plant genera so-named). They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations. Taxo ...

and

Cladium ''Cladium'' (fen-sedge, sawgrass or twig-sedge) is a genus of large sedges, with a nearly worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated ( ...

species. Various species of palm trees are naturalised in the area, and they're also found widely in the marjal due to seed dispersion, either wind or animal dispersion. The most common naturalised palm trees in the area are

Phoenix dactylifera ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Ea ...

(African date palm), Washingtonia robusta (Mexican fan palm) and

Phoenix canariensis ''Phoenix canariensis'', the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. It is a relative of '' Phoenix dactylifera'', the tr ...

(Canary Island date palm). There are some specimens of the native palm tree

Chamaerops humilis ''Chamaerops'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is ''Chamaerops humilis'', variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy ...

(European palmetto), although very few compared to the naturalised species. This natural zone is also rich in fauna, with many species of birds, fish, amphibian and reptiles, with some mammal species. The most common species of birds are

Tachybaptus ruficollis The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Lati ...

Anas platyrhynchos The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

, Falco tinnunculus,

Fulica atra The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

and

Gallinula chloropus The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated mars ...

amongst many other species. The most common fish and amphibian species are Cobitis maroccana, Anguilla anguilla,

Syngnathus abaster The black-striped pipefish (''Syngnathus abaster'') is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the southern Gulf of Biscay to Gibraltar, also in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As the introdu ...

, Bufo bufo, Bufo calamita and Rana perezi. The most common reptiles are turtles, with a native species (

Emys orbicularis The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palea ...

) which is in critical condition due to the heavy expansion of the Trachemys scripta scripta and Trachemys scripta elegans, most known as

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

turtles, which are introduced species in

. Other species of reptiles are

Tarentola mauritanica ''Tarentola mauritanica'', known as the common wall gecko, is a species of gecko (Gekkota) native to the western Mediterranean area of North Africa and Europe. It has been introduced to Madeira and Balearic Islands, and the Americas (in Montevid ...

Podarcis hispanicus ''Podarcis hispanicus,'' also known as Iberian wall lizard, is a small wall lizard species of the genus ''Podarcis''. It is found in the Iberian peninsula, in northwestern Africa and in coastal districts in Languedoc-Roussillon in France. In Sp ...

and Natrix maura amongst others. The most common and native mammals are the

European rabbits The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It ...

(

Oryctolagus cuniculus The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

), the European hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus), the greater white-toothed shrew Musaranya comuna ( Crocidura russula), the European bat (

Pipistrellus pipistrellus The common pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus pipistrellus'') is a small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South Asia, and may extend into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the ...

) and the wild hog (

Sus scrofa The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is n ...

) amongst others.

Climate

The climate of Gandia is

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''Csa'') with mild winters, and hot summers. The annual average temperature is between 18-19 °C. Gandia receives about 600mm of rain per year, the majority falling from September to November.

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( ...

is the wettest season. - Canyís a l'ullal de l'Estany, Gandia

Sports

The local football team is

CF Gandía Club de Fútbol Gandía is a Spanish football team based in Gandia, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1947 it plays in Tercera Federación, holding home matches at '' Estadio Guillermo Olagüe'', with a capacity of 6,000 seat ...

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gandia is twinned with: * Laval in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Public transport

Regarding public transport, Gandia has an extensive bus network and two Renfe stations that connect the city with

(despite the fact that one of them only has three daily services). About buses, the Gandia area is operated by the company La Marina Gandiense and L'Urbanet. There are two La Marina Gandiense lines, line 1 that connects Gandia with the nearby municipality of

Real de Gandia El Real de Gandia (, es, Real de Gandía) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. Transport The only way to arrive Real de Gandía is with line 1 of La Marina Gandiense, which connects the village w ...

and sometimes with the University and line 2, which connects Gandia to the beach, which is 5 km (3,107 miles) away from the city. Referring to L’Urbanet, there are three lines, although one of them is divided, which would be counted as four. The following lines are: Line 3: Circular. Starts and ends at the Renfe station in Gandia city Line 4: Gandia train station - San Francisco de Borja hospital Line 5: This line has the peculiarity that despite being the same line it makes two totally different routes, which are: * Gandia train station - Marenys de Rafalcaid * Gandia train station - Marchuquera There are also bus lines that connect Gandia with nearby villages such as Daimuz,

Guardamar de la Safor Guardamar de la Safor () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Safor Safor () is a ''comarca'' within the province of Valencia, Spain. The capital is the city of Gandia, but also includes the towns of Oliva, Piles and Daimús, among oth ...

Oliva Oliva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of La Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea, and eight kilometres to the north is Gandia. The ''Passeig'' (promenade) ...

, etc. There are also some buses which connect Gandia with cities such as

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, Medina del Campo, Tordesillas,

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Andalucía Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. Referring to train services, Gandia has two train stations which connect Gandia with Valencia. Both of them are terminal of line C-1 from Cercanías Valencia. The following stations are: * Gandia * Platja i Grau de Gandia (this one gives service to Gandia’s beach, causing only three daily trains to reach this station)

Notes

References

External links

Town hall of Gandia

Official Tourism of GandiaGandia Information
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