Valencia (population 800,000 city, 1.8 million metropolitan area; Spain's third-largest city; the capital of the Valencian Community on the Mediterranean coast of eastern Spain) is one of the most culturally distinctive cities in Spain — a city with its own language (Valencian — a variety of Catalan, spoken by approximately 50% of Valencia's population), its own legendary dish (paella valenciana — the original paella from the rice paddies of the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia: the dish consists of rice, rabbit, chicken, ferradura (flat green beans), garrofó (large white lima beans), tomato, paprika and saffron; the Valencian insistence that the authentic paella contains NO seafood is a matter of regional pride so fierce that the Valencian regional government issued an official paella recipe in 2016 to establish the 10 canonical ingredients), its own spectacular annual festival (Las Fallas — the week-long March festival (March 1-19, climaxing on the 19th — the Nit del Foc (Night of Fire)) in which hundreds of enormous satirical sculptures (fallas) made of papier-mâché, wood and polystyrene are erected throughout the city and then ceremonially burned in a single night of spectacular pyrotechnics; UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage 2016), and the most spectacular architectural complex built in Spain in the 21st century (the City of Arts and Sciences — Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias — by Santiago Calatrava: the 2-km-long complex along the former Turia riverbed including the Palau de les Arts opera house, the Oceanogràfic aquarium (the largest in Europe), the Hemisféric IMAX cinema and the Umbracle landscaped garden). The Turia Garden (Jardí del Túria — the 9-km-long linear park created in the dry bed of the Turia River (diverted after the catastrophic 1957 flood) running through the centre of Valencia from the Calatrava complex to the old city) is the greatest urban park created in Spain in the 20th century. The Silk Exchange (Lonja de la Seda — UNESCO World Heritage 1996; built 1482-1548 in the Valencian Gothic style; the most perfectly preserved Gothic commercial exchange building in Europe) documents Valencia's role as the wealthiest city in 15th-century Spain.
Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences — the architectural complex by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava and the architect Félix Candela; built 1998-2005; the most visited tourist attraction in the Valencian Community): the complex elements: the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (the opera and performing arts theatre — the most dramatically shaped opera house built in Europe since the Sydney Opera House: the 230-m-long building with the twin shell structures that evoke a warrior's helmet (the casc guerrer); the mosaic trencadís tiles (the broken-tile mosaic technique invented by Antoni Gaudí and continued by Calatrava — the white, grey and blue mosaic reflects the Mediterranean light)); the L'Hemisfèric (the IMAX cinema-planetarium — the ellipsoid structure that resembles a giant human eye (the reflecting pool surrounding the building creates the effect of an eye looking up at the sky)); the Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felip (the science museum — the 26,000 m² interactive science exhibition in the "skeleton" building (the exposed structural ribs that create the appearance of a giant dinosaur or whale skeleton)); the L'Umbracle (the landscaped garden promenade — the 300-m-long pergola with the native Mediterranean plants (the rosemary, the lavender, the bougainvillea) that provides the approach to the complex from the Turia Garden); the Àgora (the multipurpose events hall in the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid — a saddle-shaped concrete structure that can accommodate 14,000 people).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideL'Oceanogràfic (the Valencian Oceanographic Institute — the largest aquarium in Europe; capacity 110,000 m³ of water; designed by Félix Candela (the Spanish-Mexican architect known for his thin-shell concrete hyperbolic paraboloid structures — the Oceanogràfic pavilions are the most graceful thin-shell concrete structures built in Europe in the 20th century)); the collection (500+ species, 45,000 animals, 10 pavilions representing the major ocean environments of the world): the Mediterranean (the seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) and the common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) of the Valencian coast; the grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) and the sea bream (Sparus aurata)); the Ocean pavilion (the 7-metre-deep tank (the largest tank in the Oceanogràfic) with the whale shark (Rhincodon typus — the largest fish in the world; up to 12.65 m in captivity), the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and the large pelagic fish); the Arctic-Antarctic pavilion (the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)); the dolphin shows (the dolphin training and behaviour demonstrations in the open-air stadium); the underwater restaurant (the restaurant in the largest fish tank — dining surrounded by the fish of the open ocean).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJardí del Túria (Turia Garden — the 9-km-long linear park that occupies the former bed of the Turia River; the Turia was diverted after the catastrophic flood of October 14, 1957 (the "Dana del 57" — the 1957 flood was the deadliest natural disaster in Valencia's history: 81 people killed, 4,000 homes destroyed, the city flooded to 5 metres depth; after the flood the Spanish government (the Franco regime) diverted the Turia River 10 km south through an artificial channel, leaving the old riverbed running through the city centre; the original plan (1966) was to build a motorway through the old riverbed — a popular citizens' protest campaign ("El Llit del Túria és nostre i el volem verd" — "The Turia bed is ours and we want it green") successfully lobbied for a park instead; the park was completed in stages from 1986 to 2000)); the park features (the 9 km from the City of Arts and Sciences to the old city contains: the Bioparc Valencia (the zoo in the western section); the sports facilities (the football pitches, the cycling tracks, the running paths); the Gulliver Park (the monumental sculpture of the sleeping Gulliver from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels — the 70-metre-long horizontal sculpture (the largest playground sculpture in Spain) with slides, climbing ropes and walkways built into the giant figure's body)).
Valencian paella dinner (the definitive Valencian cultural experience — eating the dish that was invented here in the rice paddies of the Albufera lagoon 8-10 km south of Valencia): the authentic Valencian paella (the official 2016 Valencian regional government recipe: 10 canonical ingredients — rice (Valencian Senia or Bomba variety), rabbit, chicken, ferradura (flat green beans), garrofó (large white lima beans), tomato, olive oil, paprika (sweet pimentón de la Vera), saffron and water; cooked in the paella pan (the flat circular two-handled pan — the word "paella" IS the name of the pan, from the Latin "patella"); the socorrat (the crispy bottom layer of caramelised rice that forms on the bottom of the paella pan (the most prized part of the paella — the thin golden crust of caramelised rice and concentrated meat juices); the Albufera lagoon (the freshwater coastal lagoon 10 km south of Valencia — the Parque Natural de l'Albufera where the Valencian rice has been cultivated since the Moorish agricultural reform (8th-13th century CE); the best Valencian paella is traditionally eaten at the lakeside restaurants (the barracas) of the Albufera); the Fallas souvenirs (the ninots — the small figures that the fallas sculptors make as gifts; the surviving ninot (the one figure saved from the burning by popular vote — the Ninot Indultat) is displayed in the Museo Fallero).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideValencia Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de Valencia — built on the site of the Great Mosque of Valencia (the mosque was converted to a church after the Christian reconquest of Valencia by James I of Aragon in 1238); the construction: the cathedral was begun in the Romanesque style (1262), continued in the Gothic style (14th-15th century) and completed with the Baroque west facade (the Façana dels Ferros — the Churrigueresque Baroque portal of 1703)); the Holy Chalice (la Santa Copa — the most significant relic in Valencia: a dark agate cup with a 1st-century CE Roman-period upper section (the cup itself) and a medieval gold and gem-studded base (14th century); the chalice is displayed in the Capella del Sant Calze (the Chapel of the Holy Chalice) inside the cathedral; the Vatican has endorsed the Valencia chalice as the most credible candidate for the cup used at the Last Supper — the historical evidence (the cup was documented in the Vatican treasury from 258 CE (when Pope Sixtus II sent it from Rome with the deacon Lawrence (who became St. Lawrence) to protect it from the Emperor Valerian's persecution of Christians) until the 8th century, when it was sent to Spain for safekeeping during the Arab conquest of Rome)); the Micalet tower (the Gothic bell tower of the Valencia Cathedral — 50 m tall; the 207-step climb to the top for the finest panorama of the historic city centre).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange — UNESCO World Heritage 1996; built 1482-1548 by the master builder Pere Compte; the most perfectly preserved Gothic commercial exchange building in Europe and the finest example of secular Valencian Gothic architecture): the history (the Silk Exchange was built during Valencia's golden age — the 15th century when Valencia was the wealthiest city in the Iberian Peninsula (the Valencian silk trade (the silk weavers of Valencia produced the finest silk in Spain — the silk came from the mulberry orchards of the Valencian hinterland where sericulture had been introduced by the Moors in the 10th century; the Valencia silk guild was the most powerful in Spain) made the city so prosperous that a dedicated silk exchange building was required; the exchange was funded entirely by the Valencia silk merchants)); the building (the Sala de Contractació (the Contract Hall — the trading floor; 21-m-tall twisted columns that branch into the fan vaulting of the ceiling without capitals, creating the impression of a stone forest; the light through the high Gothic windows illuminates the floor); the Torre del Consolat (the prison tower — the tower where bankrupt merchants were imprisoned; the upper floor prison chapel); the Pabellón del Consulado del Mar (the pavilion of the maritime consulate — the administration of maritime trade disputes)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMercado Central de Valencia (the Central Market of Valencia — one of the largest covered food markets in Europe (8,000 m² under the Art Nouveau iron and glass roof); built 1914-1928, designed by Alexandre Soler and Francesc Guàrdia; the most architecturally spectacular food market in Spain): the architecture (the Art Nouveau market building with the ceramic tile domes, the iron framework and the stained glass windows — the most elaborate market hall built in Spain in the early 20th century; the two main domes (the larger dome above the central crossing; the smaller dome above the north entrance) with the decorative ceramic tiles in the Valencian colours (the blue and yellow of the Valencian flag and the orange of the Valencian orange)); the market stalls (1,000+ permanent stalls selling: the Valencian orange (the most famous export product of Valencia — the Navelina, the Navelate and the Valencia Late orange varieties; the Valencia orange season is November-April); the tiger nuts (the xufa — the tuber from which horchata de chufa is made — the traditional Valencian milky drink; the xufa is cultivated in the Valencian hinterland of Alboraia; the horchata de chufa of Valencia is completely different from the Mexican horchata — it is made from the ground tubers of the Cyperus esculentus plant, producing a sweet, nutty, milky drink); the artisan cheeses, the cured meats (the jamón ibérico de bellota), the fresh fish and the Mediterranean produce).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEl Cabanyal (the historic fishermen's neighbourhood of Valencia, 3 km east of the city centre on the Mediterranean coast): the barrio (El Cabanyal — the neighbourhood that developed from the 14th-century fishermen's huts (the barracas) on the sandy shore; the current neighbourhood preserves the most intact collection of early 20th-century Valencian modernisme (Art Nouveau) architecture in the city: the painted ceramic tile facades of the Cabanyal houses (the individual decorative tile panels on each house facade, each different, creating the most colourful street scene in Valencia)); the Malvarrosa Beach (the Playa de la Malvarrosa — the main Valencia city beach (the 5-km golden sand beach north of the port; the city beach of Valencia is one of the longest urban beaches in Spain; the fine golden sand, the clear Mediterranean water (the water temperature reaches 26-28°C in July-August)); the America's Cup (in 2007 Valencia hosted the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup — the first America's Cup held in Europe; the 2007 Valencia harbour transformation (the Port America's Cup facilities still visible in the Valencia marina south of the city beach)); the Horchata culture (the traditional horchata de chufa bars of El Cabanyal and the Alboraia village (10 km north): the cool horchata served in a tall glass with the fartons (the elongated glazed pastry for dipping) is the defining Valencian summer afternoon snack).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideParque Natural de la Albufera (the Albufera Natural Park — 10 km south of Valencia; the freshwater coastal lagoon (the Albufera lagoon: 21 km² of shallow water (average depth 1 m) separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow sandbar (the dehesa)); the Albufera is the largest freshwater lake in Spain and one of the most important wetland areas for migratory birds in the western Mediterranean (the lagoon is a stopover and wintering ground for 250+ bird species including the Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope), the Northern pintail (Anas acuta), the Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris — endangered) and the Purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)); the rice paddies (the rice cultivation of the Albufera: the Moorish introduction of rice cultivation in Valencia in the 10th century created the landscape that produced paella; the rice variety Senia (the traditional short-grain Valencian rice used in paella) and the Bomba variety (the premium Valencian rice that absorbs more water than Senia without losing its structure) are cultivated in the flooded paddies that surround the lagoon; the rice growing season: the paddies are flooded in April-May, the rice seedlings transplanted in June, the harvest in September-October (the moment when the rice paddies turn golden is the most atmospheric view in the Valencia region)); the sunset boat ride (the traditional flat-bottomed Albufera boat (the albuferense or barca plana) ride at sunset — the most photogenic moment in the Albufera (the sky reflection in the still lagoon)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMuseo Fallero (the Museum of the Fallas — the museum containing the ninots indultats (the "pardoned figurines") saved from the annual Nit del Foc burning): the Fallas festival (Las Fallas — the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage festival of Valencia (March 1-19, culminating on March 19 — St. Joseph's Day, the patron saint of carpenters, hence the festival's origin in the carpenter's tradition of burning the wooden support stands used for winter candles on the spring solstice): the festival involves the erection (from March 15) of hundreds of fallas throughout Valencia — the fallas are satirical sculptural tableaux (made of papier-mâché, polystyrene and wood) depicting politicians, celebrities and social issues in a humorous and often savage satirical light; the sculptures range from 1-5 metres (the small neighbourhood fallas) to 30+ metres (the major city-centre fallas that cost €500,000-€1,000,000 to construct); on the night of March 19 (the Nit del Foc — Night of Fire) ALL fallas are burned simultaneously at midnight (the most spectacular urban pyrotechnic event in Europe)); the ninot indultat (the one figurine from all the fallas saved from the burning each year by popular vote — the museum collection (the ninots saved from 1934 to the present) documents 90 years of Valencian satirical art; the collection of 688 saved figurines).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBioparc Valencia (the zoological park in the western section of the Turia Garden (3.5 km from the city centre); opened 2008; the most innovative zoo concept in Spain): the Bioparc concept (the "zoo-immersion" philosophy: the barriers between animals and visitors are hidden (the moats, the glass walls and the physical separation are concealed by the African savanna landscape design (the baobab trees, the red laterite soil, the African grass species)); the visitor walks through the African ecosystems without visible separation from the animals); the African ecosystems represented (the savanna (the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), the Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi), the African lion (Panthera leo), the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the plains zebra (Equus quagga)); the Madagascar island (the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and the indri (Indri indri — the largest living lemur; the haunting wail call)); the equatorial forest (the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the mandrills); the wetlands (the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and the African pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis))).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBarrio del Carmen evening (the most atmospheric evening neighbourhood in Valencia — the historic barrio within the old city walls, bounded by the two surviving Roman gates (the Torres de Serranos (the north gate, 1392) and the Torres de Quart (the west gate, 1444, with the cannonball damage from Napoleon's siege of 1808 still visible)): the Carmen street scene (the Carrer de la Bolseria and the Carrer del Mossèn Femades — the 14th-15th century streets with the most characteristic Valencia old-city architecture: the stone-faced 14th-century palace facades (the noble houses (palaus) of the medieval Valencian aristocracy) converted to bars, galleries and bohemian cafés); the Valencian evening food (the tapas of Valencia: the all i pebre (the eel in garlic-pepper sauce from the Albufera — the traditional eel dish of the Valencian fishermen); the clòtxines (the Valencian mussels — the small, intensely flavoured mussels from the Valencia mussel farms in the harbour, served al vapor with the lemon); the fartons with horchata (the final horchata of the visit at the traditional Horchatería El Collado or Horchatería Santa Catalina in the old town); the Agua de Valencia (the traditional Valencia cocktail: a mix of cava (Valencian sparkling wine), orange juice, vodka and gin — invented at the Café Madrid in Valencia in 1959).