We arrived in Valencia, a bike friendly city with pink sunsets by the Mediterranean sea, on a Friday afternoon. We unpacked our bags at the
Tryp Oceanic Hotel (which is very close to the City of Arts and Science) and went to have lunch. While doing research to plan the trip I had read that restaurants around that area are expensive and food is not good and they are right. Even though I was forewarned we had lunch there because we had been on a long trip and were starving so there was no other option. We had a terrible lunch at a place called Tapearte. It was like they had dropped the salt shaker on our plates... But we didn't let that ruin our day so we started exploring the
City of Arts and Science. It is a futuristic place with modern architectural marvels. The buildings are impressive and offer many leisure options:
- Hemisferic: an IMAX Cinema
- Principe Felipe Museum of Science
- Reina Sofia Palace of Arts
- Ocenaografic: the biggest aquarium in Europe
- Umbracle: a palm tree promenade that looks like an oasis in the concrete jungle.
- Agora (currently closed due to maintenance work): a covered plaza in which concerts and sporting events are held.
On Saturday morning we woke up early because we had a busy schedule. We had to explore the
Old Town before lunch time because we had reservations at a paella restaurant at the seafront. We took bus number 19 (it goes from the old town to the beach and stops by the City of Arts and Science which is half way). We got off at the
North Station, probably the most beautiful train station in Spain. The Art Nouveau facade is decorated with colorful bas-relief. Don't walk by without going in and seeing the beautiful ceramic tiles and mosaics that decorate it.
On our way to the old town we saw the
Town Hall, another architectural beauty. The first place we explored was
El Mercado Central (central market). Since it was Saturday morning the place was full of people shopping for groceries. There are also a few stands outside the market, if you look closely at the ones below you'll see a handful of
paelleras, the special pan where
paellas are cooked.
Valencia oranges are famous worldwide and are considered the best in the world. They are used to make the traditional
agua de Valencia (water from Valencia) a drink that combines champagne and orange juice.
Opposite the market is
La Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange Market), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built during Valencia's golden age, the 15th century, it was devoted to mercantile transactions.
Pit stop to have the most famous drink of Valencia:
horchata. This has been my favorite drink since I was a little girl so we couldn't leave the cradle of this delicious and refreshing beverage without having one.
Horchateria Santa Catalina is an iconic place that has served
horchata for over two centuries. They also serve
chocolate con churros and homemade ice-cream.
Next stop was the baroque
cathedral. We climbed the 207 steps of the tower (called
Miguelete) to get some amazing city views. I thought a lot about
Miguelete the two following days because of my sore muscles... One hell of a workout that was.
Behind the cathedral is the bustling
Plaza de la Virgen and the picturesque
Barrio del Carmen where you can find the most wonderful hidden gems.
We made it in time for our reservation at
Casa Carmela, an iconic paella restaurant. The paella was amazing but let me give you some advice: if you book this place, choose the first turn which is lunch at 1:30 pm. If you choose the 2nd one (3:30) you'll have to wait a long time even if you have booked a table. Paella takes a long time to cook, so we started having lunch around 4:30 pm, not fun.
We had desserts at a trendy beach bar:
La Más Bonita (literally the most beautiful). There's a queue any time of the day so better make reservations ahead. I had read online that their cakes are among the best in town and I can confirm it. We ordered the
nutella cake and the red velvet and both were scrumptious. Apart from sweets they have a menu full of healthy and delicious food.
After an evening walk along the beach we called it a day and went back to our hotel.
We devoted Sunday morning to the
Oceanografic, the biggest aquarium in Europe. We saw dolphins, penguins, tortoises, belugas and other sea life from all around the world. The tickets are pricey (€30) but if you love sea life it's worth it. The place takes about 3-4 hours to see.
We always like to see the main sights at night if possible and we knew the City of Arts and Science had to look amazing when lights are on. Unfortunately, we didn't make it by blue hour but at night it's spectacular too. The Reina Sofia Palace of Arts (below) looks particularly beautiful at night. To me it looks like something between a spaceship and a helmet, what do you think?
VALENCIA ESSENTIALS
