# Valencia to Barcelona region



## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Looking for suggestions please for attractive, upmarket urban areas (villas not tower blocks) in 1.5 hours reach of a major town or city with the same characteristics.  Within half an hour of the sea. This is for a permanent, full time relocation.

We've seen loads suggested for south of Valencia but practically nothing north short of Barcelona.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

We are south of Valencia, it works quite well for travel , half way between Valencia and Alicante airports and half an hour train ride to fast trains for the rest of Spain , the coast is around 45mins away and a few local towns within 20 mins drive that remind us the world is still out there outside of village. It works for us as we enjoy village life but know we are not too far away from other things we enjoy in life. Funnily enough my OH is off to Barcelona today so I will ask him thoughts on his return.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Kikie said:


> Looking for suggestions please for attractive, upmarket urban areas (villas not tower blocks) in 1.5 hours reach of a major town or city with the same characteristics.  Within half an hour of the sea. This is for a permanent, full time relocation.
> 
> We've seen loads suggested for south of Valencia but practically nothing north short of Barcelona.


I've never been there myself but I have a friend who lives near Cambrils and from what she has told me it sounds like the sort of area you may be looking for. It certainly looks nice in the photos she posts on her Facebook page. You'll find photos and information via Google.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Sitges?


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Chopera said:


> Sitges?


If you like the gay scene. Just saying.


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## Evilbungle (Jul 8, 2016)

EverHopeful said:


> If you like the gay scene. Just saying.


I'm not that into the gay scene myself but living in Sitges is definitely fabulous.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*winter in sitges*



Chopera said:


> Sitges?


What is winter like in Sitges? Cold is ok as long as its a dry, sunny cold, not grey and damp.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Kikie said:


> What is winter like in Sitges? Cold is ok as long as its a dry, sunny cold, not grey and damp.


I've only passed through there many years ago, so I couldn't really say. I've heard good things about it from an ex-work colleague whose parents lived there, and it is meant o be nice. Yes it is known as a gay resort, whether that's an issue or not is up to you.

Generally the med coast from the Valencian region northwards suffers from the "gota fria" in winter, but I couldn't tell you much more about that than what you can find with Google I'm afraid.

If you are looking for somewhere to spend winter then making sure the place doesn't turn into a seaside ghost town is probably as important as the weather.

Peniscola might be another option, although the area to the north is over-developed for tourism.


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## Evilbungle (Jul 8, 2016)

Kikie said:


> What is winter like in Sitges? Cold is ok as long as its a dry, sunny cold, not grey and damp.


I'd be happy to let you know in March but I've only been here a few months. I have heard that it is drier than the surrounding towns and that you can wear a t-shirt all the way to christmas without worry. However this was by the estate agent trying to make me take a flat so not sure how much credit to give it. 

We have been having lots of rain just lately but it has still been very warm. 

I have also heard that many of the restaurants etc... close down over the Winter but again I am not sure how many that is - but it may not be the worst thing as there are far too many at the moment so it makes deciding on where to go very difficult! I can confirm though that the crazy golf packs up for the Winter as I went down there yesterday (Not to play just going past) and it was gone - but unfortunatley that is the current limit to my insider knowledge.


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

Hi,
I live north of Valencia, in Sagunto. Here there are nice urbanisations in the hills above the sea, in Gilet and Pucol. Nice houses. Views. Half an hour from Valencia and Sagunt itself is a nice town with a working Roman amphitheater and huge moorish castle. The area is pretty vibrant. Lots of work. People have money.
I recommend it.
Don't worry about the weather, it's lovely. Yes it rains hard in late October but other than that it's sunny all the time - warm in winter, cool in summer (if you stay near the coast).


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Thanks! Any more suggestions?*

Thanks guys. We've had a drive around but loads more to look at. Trapped by flu this last week. :-(


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*More on Sagunt and Pucol?*



Roland_O said:


> Hi,
> I live north of Valencia, in Sagunto. Here there are nice urbanisations in the hills above the sea, in Gilet and Pucol. Nice houses. Views. Half an hour from Valencia and Sagunt itself is a nice town with a working Roman amphitheater and huge moorish castle. The area is pretty vibrant. Lots of work. People have money.
> I recommend it.
> Don't worry about the weather, it's lovely. Yes it rains hard in late October but other than that it's sunny all the time - warm in winter, cool in summer (if you stay near the coast).
> ...


Thanks Roland. Someone else suggested Gilet, so we'll go have a drive over there when we throw off current flu.  What are Pucol and Sagunt like for good shopping (food and everything else), restaurants, clinics? What are the prettier/smarter areas for strolling through? We drove through some areas which weren't great so would like to get a balanced view by seeing the best bits too.


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

Kikie said:


> Thanks Roland. Someone else suggested Gilet, so we'll go have a drive over there when we throw off current flu.  What are Pucol and Sagunt like for good shopping (food and everything else), restaurants, clinics? What are the prettier/smarter areas for strolling through? We drove through some areas which weren't great so would like to get a balanced view by seeing the best bits too.


Hi

Gilet is a little village a couple of minutes inland from Sagunto. The A23 runs up the valley to Teruel and on to Zaragosa. It has a station. Its a small place: one modern Consum supermarket, 4 or 5 restaurants / bars. A couple of churches. The main urbanisation, which rises above the village is La Paz. La Paz is on a high / steep hill, all sorts of houses. The odd millionaire's place but mainly family homes. Its not dead. About 10% of places are for sale. You can walk round during the day, but at night you might get stopped by security. It seems safe. Charges are low. La Paz backs onto a national park, so it can feel very rural if you pick the right part, or very buzzy if you end up looking out over to Sagunto. 

In Gilet one relies on Sagunto for most things. Sagunto has two main parts. The old town is under the castle. Park in the underground car park by the river and walk up. The modern town (Puerto de Sagunto) is a couple of miles east of sagunto, and that is where you will find the modern shopping centres, hospital, and a very different vibe. Designer kitchens, car dealers, all of modern life. 

When I mentioned Pucol, i was thinking of the Los Monasterios urbanisation, which is one of Valencia's more up market urbs. It more expensive than La Paz, but there is 24hr security (manned gatehouses etc). The houses are nice, and some have views to Valencia. I would guess that the people there either use Valencia or Sagunt for their day to day needs. It feels different from Gilet, even thought they are only a few Km apart.

Between the two big urbanisations are lots of little ones. The whole area is nice. Sagunto is a major stop on the Barcelona - Valencia rail line. For me, north of Valencia, there is only really Sagunto and Castellon de la Plana. If you can stand living near tourists, then maybe Peniscola might be worth a look to. But most of that coastal strip is miles of weekend flats. If you like sleepy villages then there are many just inland. Vilafames would be worth a look if you can hack the isolated village thing. Gilet is not isolated, its part of the Valencia metro area.

There are also big graceful houses in Naquera, inland from Pucol. 

But there are not many english people here. For us that is a plus, but it will be a different life from somewhere like Malaga. Some things will be harder.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

For some reason this has stopped me replying twice so here goes again....
thanks Roland, that's really helpful. We had already seen Monasterios, it's gorgeous though probably too expensive for us. I can't find La Paz on google.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Kikie said:


> For some reason this has stopped me replying twice so here goes again....
> thanks Roland, that's really helpful. We had already seen Monasterios, it's gorgeous though probably too expensive for us. I can't find La Paz on google.


Try Googling
_urbanizacion La Paz valencia españa_. I get some references to houses for sale there, if it's the right one, in Gilet, Valencia


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Try Googling
> _urbanizacion La Paz valencia españa_. I get some references to houses for sale there, if it's the right one, in Gilet, Valencia




Yup, that is the right place. I wonder how she got on.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Thanks everyone. We're still recovering from the bug (two weeks now) but hopefully will be out exploring places in the next couple of days.


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