Today is the day Of AVE: Valencia to Madrid and vice versa will no longer have to fly, drive, or take a regular train. Spain’s super-fast AVE train service which currently runs from Malaga to Madrid in just under 2.5 hours will also link Spain’s orange capital with its national capital from December 19th onwards.

This week saw the inauguration of the section of the new track between Madrid and Cuenca and Albacete, a journey time of two hours using the country's high speed AVE trains. Francisco Camps (President of the Generalitat Valenciana), Jose Blanco (Minister of Public Works and Transport) and Juan Carlos I (King of Spain) visit this inaugural celebration.

The 90-minute trip (the new trains reach speeds of up to 205 mph) will increase in frequency, with eventually up to twenty trains departing on a daily basis. Passengers can choose between two service classes across twelve coaches with 365 seats in total. Club Class, in four coaches, will seat 71 passengers while the eight Tourist Class coaches offers 294 seats.

The AVE will slash the current journey time between Madrid and Valencia of three hours and forty-five minutes to a superfast 90 minutes - almost four times as fast as the regular rail service.

Valencia is on the up and up as a travel destination. Famous for its charming Gothic quarter and Renaissance buildings, like Barcelona it boasts an exciting architectural mix of old meets new. The region is famous for its orange groves (Valencia oranges make the best marmalade) and the beachside city has a world famous sailing harbour, port, and shopping and restaurants galore.

Valencia’s art nouveau mercado central is one of the best food markets in Europe, while the city’s futuristic City of Arts & Sciences designed by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava is one of the most photographed modern cityscapes in Europe.

The City of Arts & Sciences is home to Europe’s largest aquarium, an interactive science museum, a planetarium with its own IMAX theatre, a state-of-the-art opera house and the Agora where the Valencia Open tennis tournament is held.

The marina underwent a massive makeover in time to host the international yacht race the Americas Cup in 2007 (it returned once again to Valencia this year) and the Valencia Grand Prix, which returns next June, is all the more exciting as drivers wind their way around an urban track which hugs the coastline around the port.

With its mix of activities, culture and over three hundred miles of beaches that stretch along the region’s coast, it is arguably one of Spain’s most varied and sophisticated beachfront cities. For those who haven’t visited, it’s an alternative to Barcelona well worth exploring.