Xativa
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways.
Pronounced "HAT-TI-VA" locally and in Alicante, but in the Valencia region it is known as Jàtiva and pronounced "SHAT-TI-VA".
Xativa is a historic and traditional Spanish town, just 40 minutes from Valencia and its Manises airport, and the sandy beaches of the Costa Blanca. The main street consists of a boulevard of lush trees providing a natural canopy for the numerous fashionable shops, cafes and bars. The town also boasts a magnificent medieval castle fringing the surrounding.
The countryside around these regions is breathtaking. Take a drive through the surrounding villages of Enguera, Chella and Anna, to name just three of this area’s wonderful little Spanish villages
Xativas cultural monuments include La Colegiata de Santa Maria (from the 14th century) in the Renaissance style, La Ermita de San Felix (13th Century), La Ermita de San Jose (18th century), La Ermita de Santa Ana (16th century), La Iglesia de San Pedro (17th century), Hospital Mayor de Pobres (15th to 16th centuries), the La Puerta Gótica de los Trinitarios (15th century), the church of San Francisco (14th century) and of course its castle with remains from various centuries, featuring 30 towers and 4 fortified gateways.
As befits its role as a regional centre, Xativas pedestrianised streets are lined with traditional, family run shops selling everything from hats, wedding dresses, and fans, to wonderful cakes, fresh bread, local vegetables, superb meat and fish. There is also a great selection of traditional and modern cafes and small restaurants, many offering superb value "menu del dias".
Xativa/Jativa has plenty to offer; history, modern cafés, bars and restaurants, commercial centres, theatres, cinemas and parks. The countryside that surrounds it is also something to be admired. Awash with fruit trees such as orange, mandarin and lemon along with numerous almond, cherry and apricot; springtime blossom in Xativa/Jativa (from February to May) is an incredible spectacle in itself.
Market day in Xativa is on a Tuesday (from 10.00am), a good place to pick up a gift or two, a smaller market is held on Fridays, there is also a food market held in nearby Genoves on Wednesdays.
Xativa of course has its share of festivals and these include the Fallas (March), Corpus Christi (June), Fira D'Agost or August Fair (August), not forgetting the numerous Christmas and Easter (Semana Santa) celebrations.
Xativa is linked by train to Valencia and can be accessed from the N-340, the A-7 and the AP-7.
If you fancy dining out then really it is best to go into Xativa at around 8pm and see which place takes your fancy, so many to choose from, usually dining begins from 8pm-8.30pm and ends around 10-11pm, later on the weekends. Most bars stay open until around 12pm weekdays and till the last person goes at the weekends
The market square in Xativa is a good place to go at the weekend as it has a number of bars, some playing music or there is an Irish bar selling Guinness, these open after 11pm and close around 4am, free entry to all and some serve foods, these generally open first at around 7-8pm, there is a great bar here that has a beer pump in the centre of each table and you help yourself, just pay for what you drink as a bottle or pint is around £1 it will never be much!
Nightclubs, there are a few, Caramelos in the industrial estate of Xativa and Apache, one of the biggest clubs in Valencia holding over 2000 in 4 rooms, to check out the club go to www.apachedisco.com it is open from around 11pm until 7am weekends, mix of Spanish pop music
Types of Restaurants in Xativa:
You can find the following types of restaurants and food outlets in and around Xativa:
Spanish (serving either tapas or full dinners)
Italian
Chinese
Kebab (take away)
Pizza (eat in and take away)
Burger restaurants
Steak house (Rincon in Xativa highly recommended)
Waffle/Chocolate House (Belgium Bar)
Shopping in Xativa:
There are 2 medium sized supermarkets (Mercadona) in Xativa itself with free parking, bus from Lloc Nou drops you outside one of them. There are a further 4 or 5 large supermarkets selling everything you could want just a few
minutes from the town centre of Xativa. You will find great fruit and vegetable shops scattered about selling local fresh produce along with butchers, great bakeries, cake shops, tobacco shops, ice cream parlours, banks, Chinese bazaars selling almost everything at a knock down price, look here for beach items and gifts. There are great fashion clothes and footwear
shops too selling large range of clothing and shoes, excellent quality and prices. Parking can be tricky as limited to best advise is to go early or catch the bus if you are not shopping otherwise park in the Mercadona car park for free! Tues and Fri are market days so pretty busy these days.
Recently opened is the Plaza Mayor shopping centre, approx 5 minutes drive from the Mcdonalds in Xativa and 10mins from the villa. It has a wide range of shops, with Burger King, Chinese buffet restaurant, American Diner,
Jamaican coffee shop, lots of designer and cheaper Spanish retail shops, sports shops, large supermarket, kids clothing and many other typical stores you would find in a large shopping centre! Open 7 days a week and well worth a visit.
