Seeing & Doing
Start at Art Nouveau Central Market (Plaza del Mercado; 00 34 963 829100), where the fabulous local produce glitters in all its voluptuous glory under domes adorned with stained glass and mosaics.
Wander through the lanes behind La Lonja to reach the Cathedral on Plaza de la Reina and try to get your head around the mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture. Do Colmado LaLola (Calle Bordadores) for tapas.
Go to Malvarrosa beach for a long, leisurely lunch at Casa Carmela, a pretty and popular restaurant where they cook excellent paella. You can take bus number 19 or 32 from the central Plaza del Ayuntamiento down to the beach – the 32 runs parallel to the promenade so it particularly handy.
Nearby, Cabanyal-Canyamelar is the old fishermen’s district with a grid of narrow streets lined with tiny houses with colourful tiled façades. Pop into La Batisfera bookshop (Calle de la Reina 167), which also has a pleasant café. Don’t miss the Museo del Arroz – Rice Museum – in a restored mill and stop off for tapas at bars such as Casa Montaña in a traditional 19th-century bodega.
Eating & Drinking
Central Bar is run by Ricard Camarena, who has a Michelin star at his main restaurant in the city. Order one of the squidgy and substantial bocata baguettes.
Stop at the Art Nouveau Colón Market (Jorge Juan 19), which now houses cafés, restaurants and shops. Have a coffee or a traditional horchata (a chilled drink made from crushed tiger nuts) at Casa de l’Orxata, where they use organic tiger nuts and don’t add loads of sugar (unless you want it).
Dinner at Llisa Negra, the latest restaurant opened by Quique Dacosta, who has four Michelin stars.
Café Madrid for a nightcap.
Where to Stay
Caro Hotel is where luxury meets archaeology in the heart of the Old Town. This former palace-turned-design hotel incorporates 2,000 years of history—with preserved Roman, Moorish, and Gothic elements like a 2nd-century Roman mosaic and a 13th-century Arabic wall.
One Shot Palacio Reina Victoria 04 blends Art Deco and early 20th-century charm with polished woods, vintage-style lighting, and high molded ceilings.
Around Valencia
Take a half-hour bus ride – towards the Albufera nature reserve to reach El Saler, a strip of beaches backed by dunes and pine trees that divide the lake and marshlands from the Mediterranean. Despite being so close to Spain’s third-biggest city, this part of the coast feels remarkably wild, in contrast to the urban beaches that flank Valencia itself. The sand gets less busy the further south you go – look for signs to La Devesa – and swimsuits are optional on quieter stretches. Take a picnic or have one of the best paellas of your life at one of the restaurants by the beach or around the lake.
The coastal town of Cullera is a summer hotspot for those seeking sunshine. But on a “chilly” winter’s day, you can outside the mountain-top castle, originally a Moorish fortress, enjoying views of boundless orange groves to one side and recently harvested rice fields to the other, the seafront high-rises fading into the picturesque charm of the old town.
In the pretty seaside town of Gandia, south from Valencia city, a local street Food restaurant (streetfoodgandia.com), run by Chema Soler fuses Mexican and Asian flavours with his Mediterranean roots to great success, as with his scallops with Iberian jowls au gratin and kimchi. If you are traveling on the Cercanias train, take the C1 from Valencia Nord Station and you’ll be there in about an hour and 10 minutes. A few things not to miss in downtown Gandia are the town hall and surrounding plaza, the archeology museum, and my personal favorite, the Ducal Palace. To get to the beach from downtown Gandia, head back to the train station and you will see a large bus stop right in front of the station. There is a sign at the bus stop that says “Bus Playa.” Simply hop on the bus there and in about 15-20 minutes you’ll be at the beach. You could base yourself at La Galiana.
Requena is one of the best day trips from Valencia if you love wine. This small town isn’t particularly close to Valencia, but it’s worth the hour and a half train ride to sit outside and drink local wine in the sunshine. The wine region is known as the Utiel-Requena wine region. The most dominant grape to grow here is the bobal grape which you will be able to sample at most of the wineries in the region. However, you’ll also taste some fantastic white wines as well as plenty of great cava. I recommend starting your trip to Requena with a visit to the Cuevas de la Villa. These are an underground network of caves that have been here for centuries. For a small fee, you can a great audioguide available in English or Spanish. You will then walk through the different rooms of the cave learning about what each was used for over the course of history and eventually understand why this region became such a popular place for making delicious wine. Once you come out of the caves, you will be right across the plaza from a favorite winery in this region, Murviedro. You can sample several of their wines in their tasting room or you can take a tour of the winery and learn all about their winemaking process. You can also purchase bottles here and they are significantly cheaper than at the local supermarkets or other wine shops. Then you absolutely must stop into Ferevin Wine Shop. This is a collective of many of the vineyards and wine producers here in Utiel-Requena. If you want to sample wine from around the region from the small vineyards in the area, this is the best place to do it. Each tasting glass comes with a small meat and cheese platter to enjoy your wine with. They have seating inside and outside and you can purchase bottles of wine from tons of different wineries in the region.
Montanejos Thermal Springs – The whole town of Montanejos is worth exploring if you have a car and the time to spend the day here. You can walk along the river to see the source of the springs as well as tons of other trails packed with natural beauty. Best visited with a tour.