Palmera – The Essential Guide from Local Residents…

Enjoy our quick guide to Palmera, a municipality in the province of Valencia in Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Below, we feature an expat interview with Vanessa Crocker-Dean of Hello2Spain who covers the Palmera area.

Specifically, we wanted to learn from Vanessa the advantages of going to Palmera and the value for money you can get if you decide to stay and live permanently on this area in the Costa Blanca.

Where is Palmera?

Palmera is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain and belongs to the province of Valencia, in the region of La Safor. It is a very traditional and Spanish town with plenty of amenties.

How to Get There

Palmera is very close to Gandia and the town is approximately 5km to the blue flag beaches. From Valencia and Alicante airports, follow signs for the AP7/AP70 and exit at junction 61 signposted Oliva. Take the N332 signpost towards Valencia. Palmera is the second town you would come to.

By train, you can travel from Valencia to Gandia. The bus station and train station are at the same location. There is also a short bus ride to Palmera which means that no car is required.

Are there many facilities such as doctors and dentists, shops etc?

Palmera town has the following facilities.

Local park, swimming pool, junior school, baker, grocery store, various coffee shops and bars, Pharmacy (speaks English), Doctor (speaks English), Repsol petrol station, local supermarkets, Lidl and Family cash (L’Alqueria de Comtessa), larger supermarkets in Oliva, Bellreguard, Gandia and Piles. Garden centre (Bellreguard), Town hall housing local council, police, and post box service. Vets in L’Alqueria de Comtessa (speak English).

New Hospital in Gandia which is just a few kilometres away and has state of the art equipment.

History

With the expulsion of the Moors, the area should be completely depopulated.

During the nineteenth century, after overcoming the crisis of silk and transforming its agriculture into the cultivation of oranges, the population doubled and reached 458 in 1900. The local history lacks relevant facts and is immersed in the historical duchy of Gandia with the manor belonging to desvinculadoras laws of the Cortes of Cadiz in 1814.

Economy

Its richness lies in agriculture, irrigation and all of it a matter of monoculture specialized in the production of citrus. It also has some cattle chains. The property is divided, and use the typical plots of land minifundismo Valencia.

Until the 1990s the people lived almost exclusively on orange cultivation. In the early twenty-first development is based on the creation of a resting area for the inhabitants and residents of Gandia. It’s beautiful orange groves are losing importance in favor of an urban wild predator naturalize. Hoy days between the industrial estate and the new residential double the surface of what was the town in the 90s.

Monuments

Parish Church. It is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

Local Celebrations

Major Festivals. Local festivities in June.

What are your favourite things to do in the area?

Cycling. A very popular cycle track is found in Oliva-Gandia.

Water Sports. There are a huge selection of beaches to choose from, Oliva, Piles and Miramar the closest beaches, jet skiing, wind surfing, dinghy sailing from the marina, kite surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking basically anything you can think of is just 15 minutes’ drive away. Also there is a yacht club called Club Nautica at Gandia.

Equestrian Centre. There are 3 main centres where you can have lessons, a hack out or show jumping.

Tennis courts are located at the local sports centre in Palmera. Next to the swimming pool.

Shopping. Gandia is the closest main city and has all the shops expected of a city, indoor shopping complexes with cinemas, Calle Major and streets off have around 800 different shops, Grau de Gandia for beach shopping and on the outskirts are the DIY shops, car showrooms, garden centres basically various industrial estates have everything you need. There are of course closer supermarkets and facilities in immediate neighbouring towns.

What are the nearest international schools and how good are they?

There are several schools in and around the area but the nearest International School is the British School Gandia which offers the following:

Complete language immersion from Pre-Nursery to Year 13 (0 to 18 years of age)

Personal and individualized education, with continuous supervision and curricular adaptation to each pupil’s needs.

A comprehensive education which covers learning in all curricular and extra-curricular subject areas designed for artistic and physical development: judo, ballet, tennis, violin, etc.

Teaching values that are reflected in our pupil’s behaviour and attitude.

Continuous contact with our pupils’ parents, informing them of all aspects relevant to their child’s education.

Vanessa, thank you so much for sharing this information on your experiences in Spain to our readers and also for sending all the photos. If you want to contact her, you can find her details below.

Hello2Spain

Marques de Campo, 6, 03700 Denia
Tel. +34 672 208 879
Email: info@hello2spain.com
Website: www.hello2spain.com

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