In June I had the chance to visit the Andreu World factory on a trip to sunny Valencia in Spain.
Valencia is World Design Capital of 2022.
Andreu World is a furniture company that produces high-end furniture for more than 60 years. Andreu World is well-known globally with sales offices in Europe, North America, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East. The Smile collection is one of their most iconic products and has been honoured with international awards. The Nub chair by Patricia Urquiola is also another iconic product and personally, one of my favourite chairs.
So, when we arrived in Valencia, we checked in at our hotel, AC Hotel Colon Valencia and then we strolled around the city centre. We visited Mercat Central and tasted the Valencian oranges. Yum!
Then we visited Lonja de la Seda, a late Valencian Gothic style civil building which is also listed in the World Heritage Site. Its listing states that “the site is of outstanding universal value as it is a wholly exceptional example of a secular building in late Gothic style, which dramatically illustrates the power and wealth of one of the great Mediterranean mercantile cities”.
We had lunch at La Pizca de Sal the historic part of the city and amongst all delicious dishes we had mussels, Paella Valenciana (for me, vegeterian paella), Gazpacho and seafood salad. Everything was very good!
Miriam, our guide and Spanish colleague, kindly explained to us the history of the city.
After lunch, we took a cultural and architectural bike tour up to the beach. Valencia is a bike-friendly city and it’s a joy to cycle around the city and see all the sights Valencia is offering. In fact, biking in Valencia is one of the top tourist suggestions!
So we started from the Quart Towers and headed towards the coastline. Valencia has one of the largest urban parks in Spain, called Turia Gardens. It runs through the city, and from the top, it looks like a river. It contains leisure activities, and foot and cycle paths, and it is crossed by 18 bridges. The scenery changed regularly, and we passed through different sections of the beautiful Gardens that are palm trees, orange trees, rose beds etc.
We also did many architectural stops, such as in Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, a 35-hectare site. So in 1991, Spanish architect Calatrava won the competition and developed a whole complex, which includes a science museum, a planetarium and the Palau de les Arts (Opera house).
We arrived at the beach where we sat in a heladeria (ice cream shop) where besides ice cream, I tasted horchata and farton. Horchata is a sweet beverage made from tiger nuts (chufas) and farton is a kind of soft bread drizzled with sugar. Very typical here in Valencia and delicious!
For dinner, we went to Casa Montaña. Casa Montaña was established in 1836 and it was always the favourite place for politicians, intellectuals and artists. Nowadays, is internationally recognised by the most exclusive publications of gastronomy, wine and travel.
We were treated as very special guests and we had dinner in an exclusive room, we felt so spoiled. Everything we ate was delicious and the atmosphere and everyone that served us was very friendly and knowledgeable.
Before arriving at the hotel, we took a stop at Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias for some night pictures.
The second day was dedicated to the factory of Andreu World We visited both Andreu World Est and Andreu World Tops factories. . We had the opportunity to be guided through the whole process, from the beginning to the assembly, the sustainability process and the packaging.
We then visited the Andreu World Showroom where we learned the history of Andreu World, the materials they are using, the importance of sustainability, etc. Then we had a showroom tour. Below you can see some pictures of the products on display. It was difficult to choose amongst all of them which I like the most (besides the Nub chair).
For dinner tonight we went to Pelayo Gastro Trinquette. Since 1968, the Pelayo Trinquette is one of the most renowned trinquets courts of the Valencian ball sport in Valencia. It’s a handball sport played in Valencia. Nowadays it is part of a restaurant bar. We tasted many delicious sea-food tapas 🙂
On the third day, we visited the Bombas Gens Centre D’art.
Then we strolled around Piazza de La Virgen.
and around the city.
We had paella for lunch at the Mercat central.
In the evening we strolled around the area close to Port of Valencia and we ate delicious food at Ca la Mar.
I am so grateful for being part of this amazing trip! I feel honoured to have met so many talented and wonderful people. The knowledge i gained is priceless.
Until next time ❤️
