VALENCIA · SPAIN
Old stones, white concrete, orange light.
Paella was invented here. Calatrava built the white city. The Turia is a 9km park. Day trips, beaches, rice fields and the Mediterranean coast.
The flagship
Valencia’s most-booked, by a mile.
When in doubt, this is the one. The single experience the most travellers book before they get here.
The classics
Valencia’s Most Popular Experiences
Oceanogràfic, the Old Town, paella class, the catamaran cruise. The greatest hits of Valencia, reviewed.
Six sides
Pick a side of Valencia.
Old Town for the Cathedral and the orange trees. City of Arts for Calatrava’s white concrete. Turia Gardens for the bike highway. The marina for the catamaran days. The mercados for the food. The tapas trail for the evenings.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Cook a paella in its birthplace. Cycle the Turia. Walk the Old Town. Sail off Malvarrosa. Sip wine in the hills behind the city. Catch a flamenco show after dinner.
Before noon
Start with the paella.
It was invented in the Albufera rice fields just south of the city — cooking it is the right way in. If we had to pick three classes for a first morning, these are the ones we’d book.
Along the riverbed
Pedal the Turia.
When a flood diverted the river in 1957, Valencia turned the empty bed into a 9km park that runs the length of the city. It’s the easiest, most distinctive way to see the place. Our three favourite rides through it.
After dark
Stay for the flamenco.
Spain’s most-watched art form, performed nightly in Valencia’s old town tablaos. Three shows we’d pick for the one night you’re going.
When you’ve done the city
Worth leaving Valencia for.
Four day trips inside two hours of the city. Rice fields where paella was born. Thermal pools in the mountains. An underground river by boat. A coastal castle Game of Thrones used as Meereen.
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