Cabanyal dines outdoors on 29 September to push back on tourism

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• French broadcaster BFM reported that heavy rain on the Spanish coast left one person dead and stopped the metro in Valencia.
• Open-Meteo gives Valencia city an overcast Tuesday between 22 and 28 degrees with a 70% chance of rain, while Chelva inland is expected to see storms.
• Libertad Digital reported that the Mercado Central was evacuated in under five minutes after a fire broke out in its basement, and six fire units attended.
• According to Libertad Digital, La Fe hospital in Valencia will open a proton therapy unit for tumours in 2027, funded with 29 million euros from Amancio Ortega.
• Users on the r/valencia Reddit forum report that part of the ceiling has come down at the Estació d'Autobusos de València, the city's main bus station.

Today's essentials

Cabanyal dines outdoors on 29 September to push back on tourism. On the evening of Tuesday 29 September, the Associació de Veïns i Veïnes del Cabanyal-Canyamelar (the local neighbours' association) is holding another 'sopar a la fresca', a communal dinner eaten outdoors in the cool evening air, to defend a model for Valencia's seaside districts that puts residents ahead of tourism, Valencia Secreta reports.

The association calls this a follow-up to an earlier edition that went well. The exact start time and meeting point for tonight had not been confirmed at the time of writing, so check the association's own channels before you go. The 'sopar a la fresca' is an old Valencian habit: on warm nights, families carry a table and chairs out onto the street and eat together with their neighbours. Here it becomes a protest.

The dispute centres on a draft municipal bylaw on the use of public space. Speaking to COPE Comunitat Valenciana on 28 September, association president Daniel Adell said the text is ambiguous and that it could allow fines for neighbours eating and drinking in the street. He added, with some irony, that such a gathering might only count as legal if it had an English name. The association wants the bylaw to explicitly protect the 'sopar a la fresca'. Its other demands are an upgrade to the seafront promenade, whose infrastructure dates from the 1990s, more shade, and permanent public toilets instead of portable chemical cabins. COPE says Malva-rosa, Patacona and Pinedo are also involved.

ValenciaExtra reported that a previous protest dinner brought together neighbourhood associations from five seaside districts: Malva-rosa, Cabanyal, Natzaret, Grau-Port and L'Illa Perduda. They met outside the IES Isabel de Villena secondary school on the Paseo Marítimo at around 9pm under the slogan 'Volem sopar a la fresca' ('We want to dine out in the cool air'). According to the same outlet, the groups object to a growing number of building works that turn shops and homes into tourist flats. They are also responding to a proposal from the hospitality sector to set aside a separate area on the seafront just for dining.

What this means for you: if you live in Cabanyal, Malva-rosa or any other seaside district, this bylaw could decide whether you can still eat outside your own front door. That makes it worth following, and COPE says the draft is still being worked on, with no adoption date given yet. If you want to join in tonight, take your own chair and some food, and bring an umbrella too, because Open-Meteo forecasts a 70% chance of rain in the city.

Weather today

Grey, humid and possibly wet across Valencia. Open-Meteo forecasts an overcast Tuesday 29 September in Valencia city, with temperatures between 22 and 28 degrees, a 70% chance of rain and winds up to 13 km/h.

Keep an umbrella handy in the city, but light clothing is still fine, as the night won't drop below 22 degrees. Inland it will be much less settled: Chelva has a 98% chance of rain with storms forecast, a minimum of 18 degrees, a maximum of 26 degrees and gusts up to 15 km/h, so don't plan a hike or a mountain drive today. Oliva, on the southern coast, is the best bet for staying dry, with overcast skies between 22 and 26 degrees, only an 18% chance of rain and winds up to 14 km/h.

Transport & traffic

• Heavy rain expected inland tonight. AEMET, Spain's state weather agency, has issued warnings for heavy rain in inland parts of the provinces of Valencia and Castellón from this afternoon into tonight, Valencia Secreta reports. If you're driving inland this evening, for example towards the mountains of Valencia or Castellón province, allow extra time or put the trip off, and check the official warning levels on the AEMET website before you leave, because conditions can change within hours. The same story was shared on the r/valencia Reddit forum. Mountain roads and underpasses are usually the first to flood.
• Metro halted as rain hits the Spanish coast. French broadcaster BFM reports that heavy rain along the Spanish coast has left one person dead and stopped the metro in Valencia. The report does not say when services will return to normal. If you rely on Metrovalencia for your commute, check the operator's live service updates before you leave home and have a backup ready, such as an EMT bus or a taxi. With more rain forecast for the city today, stoppages could happen again.

What's changing for you

• La Fe to open proton therapy unit in 2027. La Fe hospital in Valencia will open a proton therapy unit for treating tumours in 2027, funded with 29 million euros donated by the Galician businessman Amancio Ortega, Libertad Digital reports. Libertad Digital says the unit is turning La Fe into an 'oncology city'. If you or someone close to you is being treated for cancer in Valencia, ask your oncologist whether this treatment might be an option once the unit opens, and expect to hear more as 2027 gets closer.

Local news to know

• Mercado Central evacuated after basement fire. The Mercado Central in Valencia was evacuated after a fire broke out in its basement, with six fire units called out and the evacuation plan clearing the building in under five minutes, according to Libertad Digital.
• Ceiling comes down at the bus station. Users on the r/valencia Reddit forum report that part of the ceiling has come down at the Estació d'Autobusos de València, the city's main bus station, where the Generalitat had promised to finish improvement works in the first quarter of 2023.
• Weather warning for Thursday 1 October. Looking further ahead, Las Provincias reports that AEMET has issued a weather warning for parts of the Comunitat Valenciana on Thursday 1 October, with hail and very strong gusts possible.
• Lateen sails return to El Palmar. Traditional lateen-sail boats will be on show in El Palmar, in the Albufera, this weekend, with an open day at the Trilladora del Tocaio as part of the 9 d'Octubre celebrations, Valencia Bonita reports, citing Las Provincias.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow