This is Spain

Visiting Valencia is a joy and it needn’t be expensive. If you use our service to find you a cool hotel you will first have a great base to start from. Then take these tips and they will lead you to other great things to do in Valencia. Of course you can go to the big attractions, there are some mentioned below, but this is a good start.

1) Walk through the Turia gardens. This dry riverbed meanders through the city and you are never far from it. There are a whole host of attractions within it and it should be the first stop for anyone wanting to get to know how beautiful a city park can be with a bit of imagination.

2) Visit the Fallas Museum. Located near the City of Arts and Sciences (See number four) the Fallas Museum is small and intimate unlike the Fallas Fiestas themselves and gives a great overview of what the Fallas are and how they have developed over the years. Very cheap to get in.

3) Go to the Medieval Central market. It has spent most of the last ten years under scaffolding in various parts and currently a metro station is being built to one side but inside you will find produce of every type from different parts of the World. Changes with the seasons. Springtime is just a strawberry festival.

4) See the City of Arts and Sciences. In this one I say just take a camera and go there, you do not need to go to it. Your camera will love you for it.

5) Walk around the old Town area called the Carmen. Here you will see how an area has character and how character can be retained by a bit of thought. Facades remain in place even when buildings are gutted and rebuilt so it doesn’t lose its beauty .

To see the whole of the original ten go to this link .

6) See the Holy Grail in the cathedral. Indiana Jones needn’t have bothered with going to look for the Grail anyywhere else as, alledgedly it is in Valencia Cathedral.

7) Get yourself down to the beach and Port areas and have yourself a drink overlooking a great city beach or the America’s Cup Port. Also investigate the Cabañal and Malvarrosa areas while you are there.

8) Get down to the Palmar village to the South of the City where Paella restaurants are all that exist. You are surrounded by the Albufera lake which is a rice growing paradise.

9) Go on the City Bus Tour as it will surprise you with the variety of things to see in the city. This costs but not too much.

10) Get out in the evening and enjoy a jug of Agua de Valencia, a mixture of Vodka, Champagne and orange juice that should not be taken lightly because the hangover the next day can be brutal.

I hope you have enjoyed our ‘Top Ten’ so, just for you, here are the ‘bonus’ numbers 11 and 12.

11) Go to the Gulliver Park in the Turia riverbed if you are bringing kids. Gulliver is tied down and the kids (And you) can climb all over him as if you were a Lilliputian. Well worth a visit for the child in all of us.

12) Grab yourself a coffee in one of the pavement cafes in the Plaza de la Virgen, Plaza de la Reina or the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and peoplewatch as the World and their wife passes in front of you. Pavement cafes abound in the city so just sit down and watch the World go by. Remember that there are loads of other things to do and each person will find their own favourites. I haven’t included the big ticket visits like the Bioparc Zoo, The City of Arts and Sciences Tickets, Football at Mestalla, and a multitude of events such as Formula One, Sailing regattas and more but for more information about things to do in Valencia and Spain keep an eye out for more .

© Graham Hunt 2009 (Valencia)

Graham Hunt
graham@valencia-property.com
www.valencia-property.com
Calle Valencia 57, La Pobla de Vallbona, Valencia 46185, SPAIN