What a wonderful city! We spent two full days enjoying the sights (and tastes!) of this lovely city on the Southern coast of Spain, and discovered things about it that were completely new to us. Did you know that Valencia has it’s own language (Valencian, of course), and that since it’s founding in 138 BC, it has been ruled by the Romans, the Islamic Moors, and the Christians under various kings? Many of the Christian churches here were built right on top of the Islamic temples (after they tore them down to the slabs first)! We learned a lot about this amazing city in our walking all around town and on our history tour yesterday.

Aimless Wanderers

On Tuesday, our first full day in Valencia, we had no set plans, so we picked a few “interesting” spots at random and set off walking. We found the city to be easily walkable, and full of beautiful buildings, statues, monuments, and parks that made our day pass by in a blur. We had lunch at the Mercado de Colon, where we tried our first DELICIOUS agua de Valencia (iykyk), and we checked out a ton of sights throughout our day. Cars, trains, buses, and a TON of walking… we made some tracks around this city.

The city does a good job of keeping things green with lots of parks, and lots of random Valencia orange trees. We learned later that night from our tour guide that the orange trees in the city are all “ornamental” and have sour oranges… all except one tree. The one city tree that has delicious, sweet oranges is known only to the president of Valencia, who passes the knowledge down to each successive president. 😂🥰. If you zoom in on the picture below of the giant bronze cape (a monument to the Valencian Order of Knights of the Cape), you might be able to see why it was my favorite photo of the day. A pigeon happened to land right on top of the cape as I snapped the photo, so it looks like he is the head “wearing” the cape. Made us laugh, anyway!

Street Art

We read an article about the Valencian Street Art, and while we didn’t find much of it, we did manage to come across some cool stuff.

Valencia History, Wine, & Tapas Tour

We took a very interesting history tour Monday night that led us thru the Valencia Historic District/ Old Town. Our guide Paula was a cute German gal who studied Spanish history and speaks four languages. She gave us all kinds of fun facts about Valencia on the history tour. We learned about the Silk Exchange, the Central Market, the Valencia Cathedral, the narrowest house in Valencia, and so much more. It was a great tour! The Central Market was already closed, so we decided to come back again on Tuesday, so some photos below are day/night contrast.

After the walking history tour, they took us back to a pretty patio by the one remaining Moorish gate and wall in Valencia, where they served us local Valencian wine and tapas. We enjoyed a good Cava and several tastings of local white and red wines, gazpacho, paella, some breads, olives and Marcona almonds, and churros con chocolate for dessert. We really enjoyed everything we tried!

Inside the Central Market (Mercat Central)

For all your market needs! Sorry Publix, but this place wins.

The Silk Exchange (La Lonja de La Seda)

Our tour guide gave us great information about the Silk Exchange that thrived in Valencia between the 15th and 16th centuries. This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site with gothic architecture that served as a hub for the silk making trade. One of the gruesome yet interesting tidbits we learned from our guide was that to discourage thieves who would sometimes break in and attempt to steal the expensive silk at night after hours, with virtually no trial the suspected thief would be publicly beheaded right in front of the silk exchange building, and left there for days to discourage future thieves. Yikes! Although it hasn’t been used to house silk in many years, it is still an interesting and beautiful building.

The Round Plaza (Plaza Redonda / “El Clot”)

This cool little landmark circular plaza in the historic district was previously used as a meat and fish market. It is now a commercial area.

City of Arts and Sciences

Our final stop of the day on Tuesday was to walk the lovely, modern “City of Arts and Sciences.” They have made this modern complex somehow fit seamlessly in this very old city, and it is a sight to behold. It sits at the end of the Turia Gardens, a dry riverbed that they have turned into a walkable green space around the city. The gardens are full of parks and walking and bike paths, and house playgrounds, skate parks, and other great amenities for Valencia’s residents. Came across this fun playground (Gulliver Park) on our walk up to the City of Arts and Sciences.

The City of Arts and Sciences is a complex of attractions designed by Santiago Calatrava. It stretches for almost two kilometers along the former riverbed of the Turia. The complex includes a science museum, a planetarium and 3D digital cinema, an aquarium, concert and exhibition halls and more! We arrived towards the end of the day, so we were content to look at these from the outside.

We had a low key evening as we packed up again in preparation for our departure tomorrow. We will be checking out of Valencia and continuing along the coast to spend one night in Cartagena. Looking forward to the adventures ahead! Thanks for adventuring with us.