Castell de Sagunt

What to do in Sagunto? A charming old city not far from Valencia

I know I wrote this when we are all in Coronavirus lockdown. But hey today is 23rd June 2020 and the lockdown in some parts of Europe are lifted! Time to prepare for beach-front holiday again!

I would recommend to give it a try to Sagunto, a charming old city, just an hour reach from Valencia, Spain.

I was there last Summer. We fly using Ryanair to Valencia (it was from Bologna, Italy). And then book a transfer car that picked us up from Valencia Airport straight to our hotel in Sagunto.

Our hotel is Hotel Els Arenals near Canet Playa in Sagunto. We choose this hotel because of its close proximity to the beach. The hotel is modern and equipped with air conditioner.

If you choose the sea-view room, you can see fantastic view of Mediterranean sea from your balcony.

Well, the food in this hotel is definitely worth it! We had breakfast and dinners here. Absolutely fantastic!

The hotel also has a lovely swimming pool and and outdoor bar. And just about 2 minutes walk, you can reach the beach!

There are quite a few bars in this long sandy beach. So don’t worry if you are hungry or thirsty, there are beach bars to cater your lunch, snack, and especially your beer!

We were there in late August 2019 staying for three nights. We had one lovely hot sunny day and one not too hot (or cloudy) day! We even had one day of rain.

The beach is quite long, so you can stroll nicely in this long walk.

There are also promenade close to the center of the beach. Though not all area has this promenade. Close to our hotel, there is only road for cars and bicycles.

In this promenade, you can also find restaurants and cafe. Be very mindful about Spanish siesta. The dinners (evening meals) are not served before 9pm! But you can always have snacks or ice creams (or coffee?) in some cafes.

One day when it was raining, we decided to see the Old City Sagunto. Just a taxi ride, I think cost about 11 Euros from our hotel.

Here is a stunning Sagunto, or Saguntum, the name of the city in Roman times.

The Theatre was built in the first century AD and could seat around 8,000 people.

We also visited Castell de Sagunt, a beautiful medieval fort.

We visited Plaza de San Fernando where we saw a fig tree! God knows how old this fig tree is!

We also see an Antiquari museum of the Castle where we saw some Roman artifacts too.

We also see the archaeological museum in the main city centre.

This particular amphora caught my eyes! It has a sharp bottom! I think it was to stab to the (probably) sand inside the Roman vessel, so that it can stand straight!

I think each amphora depending on their shape, carries different things. For example, some amphorae carry garum (Roman fish sauce), some carry olive oils, and some probably carry wines!

There is also a very interesting object: a Roman scale! Imagine the Roman has been using the scale and the condition was so perfect!

We also notice that there are Roman remains scattered through out Sagunto city centre.

After a long sight seeing, it’s time for a lovely lunch at the Old City.

What more do you want, beach and historic city of Sagunto! Very recommended!

Back to hotel now to enjoy the sunset!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *