In the 19th century, the city walls were torn down and it slowly began to expand, a process interrupted by the War of Independence against Napoleon (1804–14) and the Carlist Wars (1833–63). In 1833 Castelló became the capital of the newly constituted province. In the second half of the 19th century, the city again began to expand, marked by the arrival of the railway, the enlargement of the port and the construction of representative buildings (Provincial Hospital, Casino, Theater) and parks.
Most of the historical buildings are located in the diminutive old town, around the Plaça Major (Main Square). These include:
The Concatedral de Santa Maria (co-cathedral of Saint Mary), built in a Gothic-style in the 13th century and reconstructed one century later after destruction by fire. The present building is another reconstruction after the demolition ordered by the council during the Spanish civil war (1936).[1]
The Ajuntament (City Hall), erected at the beginning of the 18th century. It features a Tuscan-stylefaçade rising up over a colonnade.
Planetari de CastellóThe free-standing bell-tower of the procathedral, known as El Fadrí (the single man), built in the 15th century.
The Llotja del Cànem (Hemp Exchange Market), built during the first half of the 17th century to be used by traders in hempen cloth and ropes, a very important activity in the area at the time. Today the building is used by the University for cultural events and temporary exhibitions.
On the northeast edge of the town, at the end of a broad avenue decorated with orange trees, stands the Basílica of Santa Maria del Lledó (European Hackberry or Celtis australis), a basilica devoted to an image of the Virgin Mary found in 1366 by a farmer when he was ploughing his lands. The original 14th-century chapel was extended to its present Baroque form during the 16th century.
The annual festivities in Castellón are a week of celebrations three weeks before Easter every year called La Magdalena. People come from all over the province and many international bands and groups participate.
The city has its professional basketball team AB Castelló, which plays in the LEB Oro.
Villareal CF is the local professional football in the adjacent town. Villarreal has supported a long rivalry with CD Castellón for geographical reasons, since both are from the province of Castellón, however CD Castellón haven't played in La Liga since the 1970's. CD Castellón and Villareal also rival Valencia. However, the town's team of CD Castellón have had financial problems and unstable history despite having a 16,000 seater stadium, it is playing in the semi-pro and
amateur regional divisions. On 21 March 2018, Castellón beat the record of seasonal tickets in the fourth-tier of divisions with 12,701, and is a giant amongst minnows.[2] On 24 June, it returned to the third tier after a seven-year absence.
The small Castellón Airport offers charter and general aviation services, as well as scheduled passenger services to Bristol and London. The new Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport is designed to support large international jet flights and was completed in 2011. It has become a symbol of the wasteful spending prior to the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis. Valencia Airport is about 70 km (43 mi) south whilst Alicante Airport is another 185 km (115 mi) further down the coast.
Nowadays, this city has a new public transport called TRAM de Castellón which is a trolleybus. There is just a line Línea 1 (TRAM de Castellón), but authorities are planning to build the second line.