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THREE years after it was last celebrated, the Comunidad Valenciana's giant March Fallas festival is back on, with massive, colourful papier-mâché monuments in every neighbourhood of almost every town within the province of Valencia.
A handful of locations in the north of the province of Alicante, such as Dénia and Pego, and in the south of that of Castellón, also host the huge fiesta which typically starts with the statues' unveiling on March 16 and ends with their being burned to the ground on the night of March 19, a public holiday in the region.
Whilst numerous towns and villages go in for the Fallas in a big way, meaning you do not have to be in Valencia city itself to get the full experience, Spain's third-largest metropolitan area is the biggest version, with over 700 monuments or fallas satirising celebrities, politicians and current affairs, and tends to be more 'global' – the themes of these monuments are easier for non-residents to understand compared with those in smaller towns which focus on sending up more local issues.
Given that, for people travelling from abroad or from other parts of Spain, Valencia is the quickest and easiest gateway to the festival – with an international airport and an underground train line running straight from inside the terminal to the city centre – most people who do not live in the Comunidad Valenciana will probably experience the Fallas there rather than in another part of the province.
And to help them, along with locals joining in the general festivities, parties, parades and eating and drinking that happens around the clock during Fallas week, the metro will be running 24 hours a day.
From now until March 20 inclusive, an additional 48 security and police officers will be at the main railway stations to provide assistance, directions and general information for visitors, as well as ensuring they are safe.
The metro stations of Xàtiva – just outside the main Estació Nord rail terminal – and the next one along, Colón, will shut between 12.30 and 14.30 from March 16 to 19 inclusive, when the mascletaes, or colourful gunpowder-banger shows, take place, and underground station Alameda, close to the Túria riverbed gardens, will close two hours before the late-night fireworks between March 16 and 18 inclusive and for an hour or so afterwards.
Fortunately, all these are a fairly short walk from the next stations – those who would normally get on or off at Xàtiva or Colón should continue on to Àngel Guimerà, Plaça Espanya, or Bailén – or Alameda during the lunchtime slot.
Instead of Alameda, during the night firework displays, travellers are advised to use the stations Colón and Facultats.
Even though stations closest to the noisy displays are closed when they are happening, the metro itself will run 24 hours a day from March 15 to 20 inclusive, or '120 hours of non-stop service', according to city transport authorities.
Ahead of the festival, the regional government has launched a travel-card, known as a SUMA pass, which allows access to the metro, the MetroBus, the outer suburban rail or Cercanías, and the urban bus service, using just one ticket and one price.
These were first aired on the last day of January and are currently used by just over a third of all passengers on Valencia's public transport.
SUMA cards cost €8 for one zone, €12 for two zones, and €20 for all areas out into the radius of the city as far as the airport, which is in the nearby town of Manises.
This means prices for travel cards have come down by an average of 50% in the past two months.
Holders can change trains, buses or a combination with gaps of up to 90 minutes on a one-zone pass or 110 minutes on a two-zone pass.
City and regional transport authorities have reminded locals and visitors that masks must be worn on the entire bus and train system, including when waiting at stops and stations in the open air.
Given that the Fallas in Valencia city tend to be crowded, especially during the mascletaes, masks are strongly recommended at all times when outside, and are compulsory when distancing is not possible.
March sees some of the highest numbers of passengers in Valencia city on all modes of transport – even before the Fallas start in earnest, around 200,000 people have been riding the tram or the metro daily, rising to 226,000 on March 8 for the International Women's Day parade.
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