High Speed Train Links Valencia and Madrid

From the Tourist Office:

VALENCIA, Spain, November 12, 2010 – Paella lovers rejoice! Getting to Valencia will get a lot easier come December. Just in time for the New Year, the Alta Velocidad Espanola, the AVE, or high-speed train will inaugurate service from Madrid to Valencia making the trip in only 90 minutes. On December 19, the first trains will depart, traveling at speeds of up to 205 miles per hour. Eventually up to 20 trains a day will make the trip. The AVE will have two-class service in 12 coaches with 365 seats: four Club Class coaches with 71 seats and eight for Tourist Class with 294 seats. Currently the train from Madrid to Valencia takes more than three hours and 45 minutes.

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Delta Goes Non-Stop To Valencia From New York

The Tourist Office has just passed on some great news for travelers to Spain from New York City. Delta Air Lines is about to resume service to Valencia, a breathtaking city on Spain's Mediterranean coast and popular summer destination. The new flights start on May 28 and take place four times a week from JFK airport.

“For several years now, Valencia has been Spain’s fastest growing destination for international visitors. With Delta’s new non-stop service, Americans will be able to travel here faster and more conveniently,” said Belen Juste, Minister of Tourism for the Valencia Region and President of the Valencia Region Tourist Board.

Valencia is known for more than its pristine coastal properties. Visitors will find unique gothic and renaissance architecture, an amazing, unique cuisine (try the paella) and some of the best weather in Europe. Check out the Valencia section on our website for more information, hotel offerings and some helpful travel tips.

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New Terminal T1 Opens At Barcelona Airport

Travelers to Barcelona will be treated to a more luxurious arrival and departure with the official opening of the new Terminal T1. The Ricardo Bofill-designed terminal will accommodate approximately 30 million people annually.

Created for $1.7 billion, Terminal T1 boasts some serious amenities. In addition to a 256,181-square-foot shopping promenade, there's also a spa, fitness center, hair salon, four VIP lounges and a multi-faith chapel. Business travelers will have access to a series of offices, boardrooms, a private gym and rest area with beds, baths and TVs.

More from the Tourist Office of Spain:

This terminal is one of the largest civil engineering projects recently undertaken in Europe. Bofill designed the structure with sustainability in mind, placing hundreds of solar panels on the aluminum roof. Thus, 70 percent of the water in T1 is heated using thermal collectors. Curtain walls, designed to resist air, water infiltration, wind and its own dead load forces are composed of an aluminum framing filled with glass to provide an architecturally-pleasing and light-filled structure.

The opening of T1 has created 3,000 jobs in a terminal where over 6,000 will be employed. Many will work in the new processing building which has 166 check-in desks and 52 auto check-in machines. The Barcelona Airport is now able to serve 55 million passengers per year. Improvements have also been made in regards to flight operations. In 2004, the airport facilitated 64 operations per hour. Flight operations will now increase to up to 90 per hour. A total of 19 airlines are currently based in T1 including: Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Swiss International, TAP Portugal, US Airways and Egyptair. At the beginning of September, One World (Iberia, American Airlines and Vueling), will move to the new terminal and by the end of the year, SkyTeam (incorporating Air Europa) will relocate there. Every seven minutes, a shuttle bus connects passengers from T1 to T2. For further information about the Barcelona Airport, go to www.aena.es.

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Nonstop To Valencia

Starting June 5, Delta Airlines will offer direct flights to Valencia - an exotic, beautiful locale on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Flights will depart four times a week from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and the timing couldn't be any better. Valencia is rapidly becoming one of the must-see Spanish destinations.

If a trip to Valencia is in your cards, we advise you to catch the Fallas (the city's main festival taking place in March). Also, make time for a visit to the City of Arts and Sciences - a futuristic cluster of museums that features an opera house, planetarium and plenty of art.

As usual, thanks for reading. Please visit International Lodging Corporation at our home page.

What's New In Barcelona?

Barcelona is more popular than ever with American tourists. The Tourist Office of Spain writes, "This year [we're] welcoming millions of cruise passengers as well as thousands of first-timers who enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the film Vicky Christina Barcelona. Some 54 new hotels are set to open in the next two years."
The Barcelona International Airport is also about to expand, adding a new terminal designed by Ricard Bofill in the first half of 2009. This means more widespread airline coverage and an overall increase in the number of flights entering the city.

In the next week or so, the ILC blog will be focusing on some new and exciting opportunities in Barcelona for those interested in the arts and dining. Let's start with music.

For our audiophile travelers, a new rock and roll museum is planned to open in 2009. Permanent exhibits will include The Beatles and Rolling Stones, along with rare documents by Bruce Springsteen and Jim Morrison. Housed in a converted bull ring at Las Arenas, the new space provides yet another reason to prolong your stay in Barcelona for another day.

It's also worth noting that Barcelona's modernist concert hall is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary with special concert plans through March.

As usual, thanks for reading. Please visit International Lodging Corporation at our home page