The Mercat Central de València, with its rich and varied food offer, promotes local trade and healthy eating on a large scale, with products from the Valencian gardens (L'Horta de València). Today it has more than 250 stalls that are a great boost for local produce and for protecting our territory and our farmers, stockbreeders and fishermen. The building is also one of the icons of the city with its innovative modernist architecture.

The Valencian orange industry, due to its export needs, was a pioneer in the design of commercial brands. Graphic designers, illustrators and artists designed over 5,000 labels that marked the emergence of the graphic industry and the innovative character of Valencian design. A discipline that continued to grow until Valencia was made the World Design Capital in 2022.

The Universitat Politècnica de València was born with the inauguration of the first phase of the Vera campus. The first stone of a large complex of 620,000 square metres where the city’s different scientific-technological and artistic careers coexist. In 2022 it has been recognised as the best technological university in Spain according to the prestigious Shanghai ranking.

The first “cycle lane” in Spain was built in Valencia, at a time when Spanish society did not see the bicycle as a real alternative to the car. The lane is still in use, parallel to Avenida de Aragón and Blasco Ibáñez, forming part of the more than 160 kilometres of cycle lanes that over 8,500 people enjoy every day.

After the devastating flood of 1957 that inundated the city, the people of Valencia decided to divert the course of the Turia and transform the river into the longest urban park in Europe. Thus, a unique space for people’s recreation and enjoyment was born. A great achievement of citizen mobilisation that is a symbol of Valencian identity today.

The ‘Jaume I Awards’ promote research, scientific development and entrepreneurship. These awards, of great national and international prestige, bring together in their juries up to twenty Nobel Prize winners, and the winners are invited to join the High Advisory Council on R&D+i of the Valencian Government’s Presidency Department.

The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències is one of the largest science dissemination centres in Europe and one of the great icons of the city of Valencia. From the opening of the Hemisfèric to the inauguration of the CaixaForum, a project has been built that thousands of people enjoy today. An innovative space with a unique architecture that is internationally recognised, where science, culture and sustainability are the main protagonists.

The Port of Valencia has the only lighthouse built with compostable materials, which offer greater resistance to the marine environment, reduce maintenance work and minimise environmental impact. The city’s new lighthouse, 32 metres high, is also innovative for its energy self-sufficiency: it has ten solar panels, a wind turbine and LED technology.

The Val Space Consortium has the world’s best laboratory for high-power space radio frequency and assists the European aerospace industry in the supervision of telecommunication components incorporated in satellites. This space oasis, located in the Ciutat Politècnica de la Innovació and run by eight researchers, has no similar institution in Spain.

The Valencia Marina, with the private initiative of Lanzadera, has become a new hub of creativity and entrepreneurship. This is the Maritime District, which also includes the Ciutat Politècnica de la Innovació and dozens of public and private business initiatives. Valencia Digital Summit will host ten thousand people in 2022, proof of the importance of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, being the third most important in Spain.

The VLCi platform was the first smart city platform deployed in Spain, gathering all kinds of information from the City Council and the systems and devices deployed in the city. An innovation that uses Big Data to help municipal managers make decisions and improve life in Valencia.

Valencia is designing the sustainable mobility of the future with Valencian technology company Zeleros, which is leading the development of the Hyperloop vehicle in Europe (tubes through which to travel by levitation and without air resistance). This innovation will make it possible to travel from Paris to Berlin without emissions and in one hour, among other advantages.

In Valencia, we promote a sustainable and smart tourism model. We guarantee a great accessible and inclusive experience, offer a digital Smart City tourist information system, preserve cultural heritage and protect local ecosystems. We are also the first city in the world to measure and certify the carbon and water footprint of tourism.