Gandia

Human settlement in what is now Gandía goes back to the Upper Palaeolithic, when Cro-Magnon people lived in the cave of Parpalló for several thousand years; the caves of Barranco del Llop and Las Maravillas were also occupied in this period. Roman coins, inscriptions, pottery, and terra sigillata fragments point to an imperial-era presence. The town as it exists today has certain roots in the Muslim period, and its first documented Christian mention appears in 1249, in King Jaume I of Aragon's Llibre del Repartiment de Valencia.

Through the 14th and 15th centuries, successive Aragonese kings strengthened the town's fortifications. It grew into a genuine cultural centre under Alfonso de Aragón el Viejo, who became the first Duke of Gandía in 1399, built the Ducal Palace, founded the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Cotalba, and presided over a court that included the poets Ausiàs March, Joanot Martorell, and Joan Roís de Corella — the core figures of the Valencian Golden Age.

In 1485 the dukedom passed to the Borja family. Fernando the Catholic sold it in 1494 to Cardinal Rodrigo de Borja, the future Pope Alexander VI, for his son. The dukes who followed maintained a splendid court in the city. The most celebrated was Francisco de Borja, who built new walls to protect the town from pirate raids, established a university here in 1548 with papal backing, and later renounced his titles to enter the Society of Jesus. He was canonised in 1671.

The medieval core of Gandía developed along what are now the streets of Río, Mayor, and Plaza, surrounded by walls built in the early centuries of Christian rule. Those walls are largely gone; what remains are three towers between the Escuelas Pías college and the river, the Torreón del Pino, and the Torreta on Calle de Pérez de Culla.

The Collegiate Church of Santa María has held collegiate status since 1499. Built in the Gothic style, it was extended in later centuries and once held major artworks — including an altarpiece by Paolo de San Leocadio with carving by Damián Forment — but most were destroyed in 1936. Two Gothic doorways survive, the Puerta de Santa María and the Puerta de los Apóstoles, the latter by Forment and currently being restored.

The Ducal Palace is considered one of the most significant aristocratic residences of the Crown of Aragón. Its Gothic Patio de Armas and the gilded gallery with original period tiles are standout features. The room where Francisco de Borja lived is preserved and viewable but cannot be entered. The nearby Convent of Santa Clara, a closed Clarissan convent founded in the 16th century, holds a notable collection of paintings left by the Borja family.

Eight kilometres away in Alfahuir, the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Cotalba, founded in 1388 in the Valencian Gothic style, served as the spiritual and cultural centre of the region for centuries and is the starting point of the Route of the Monasteries of Valencia, a 75 km itinerary taking in five monasteries. Pilgrim credentials for this route are issued at Gandía's tourist offices. The Palacete París, designed by architect Víctor Beltrí, is the city's main example of Valencian modernisme.

Valencia Airport is around 70 km away; Alicante Airport is around 110 km. The A7 motorway runs directly alongside the city. La Marina Gandiense operates seven local bus routes connecting Gandía to surrounding villages; lines L2 and L6 link the train station to the city beaches.

A single fare costs €1.50–1.80 depending on the route, paid directly to the driver. The marina has 120 moorings for vessels up to 30 m; no visitor moorings are reserved, but arriving or booking ahead generally gets you a berth. Gandía is the original home of fideuà, a seafood dish similar to paella but made with short, thick noodles; fideuà negra is the same dish made with squid ink.