Trip to Valencia was more of a last-minute call so the deal on our flight wasn’t that great. We flew from Trieste, which is so much cozier than Venice. We had an amazingly warm and dry winter at home - nonetheless the sun and temperatures of Valencia were very inviting. We picked an Airbnb just across the street from Mercat Central. The photo below was the view from our window.

We arranged a bike rental service prior to our arrival and basically got everywhere either biking or walking. Valenbisi was a good and affordable service.

On our very first day we checked the whole Historic Centre in one take. Turns out it’s really compact and manageable. We didn’t really stop for sightseeing and simply walked the streets of old town. We passed Mercat Central, Lonja de Seda, Iglesia de Santa Catalina, La Almoina, Plaza de la Virgen with Valencia Cathedral and went all the way up to Torres de Serranos and continued through El Carmen neighbourhood.

We had lunch at Snack Attack, horchata and farton in the famous Horchateria Santa Catalina and some tapas at La Pilareta for dinner. Quite the welcome.

We cycled south to Ruzafa, a hip neighbourhood, where we absolutely loved Dulce de Leche. Their cakes are unbelievable and the selection is huge. This was our coffee spot for a few more times. We stumbled upon Parc Central de València quite randomly and really enjoyed it. It’s very well taken care of and not crowded at all. The city can get quite busy so it’s good to get some distance once a while.

Ciutat de les Arts
i les Ciències

We reached City of Arts and Sciences soon enough, parked our Valenbisi bikes and continued on foot. Calatrava’s work is truly remarkable. Everything is bigger and bolder than the photos show. We especially enjoyed L'Umbracle, a garden of sorts with plant species indigenous to Valencia. Overall the whole Cuitat’s architecture is stunning; Hemisfèric, Science Museum, Palace of the Arts, Assut de l'Or Bridge, L'Àgora and Oceanogràfic connect beautifully.

GOIKO was a random discovery but their burgers have to be on my top 5 list. We soon returned for seconds. I’m pretty demanding about my burgers but this was truly amazing.

Oceanogràfic

A rainy day was a perfect opportunity to visit the largest oceanarium in Europe. It is home to 45.000 animals from 500 different species - including sharks, penguins, dolphins, sea lions, walruses, beluga whales ... The park is nicely divided into different habitats.

We checked the whole area except dolphinarium - it’s just not our thing. The highlight was definitely the beluga whales. We were apparently the first ones there as it’s located somewhat at the end of the tour. We could hardly believe how sociable and playful belugas are. They kept zooming around us and played with their bands and balls. We could stare at them all day.

Mercat Central

We finally visited our neighbouring market after the aquariums. The Art Nouveau structure is special in its own way and it’s full of delicious Valencian cuisine. Needless to say we were frequent visitors after that. I purchased quite a few jamón ibérico packages to take home.

I continued my cloudy day in El Carmen. I checked the massive street art scene, climbed the 15th century Torres de Quart for some grey views and called it a day as the rain was picking up.

Lonja de Seda

One of the main tourist attractions in Valencia is the Silk Exchange, located just behind Mercat Central. This late Gothic-style building was used for trading in silk and it has always been a centre for commerce. Unintentionally we were the first ones in and had the place to ourselves for a short while.

Torres de Serranos

Jardí Botànic de la
Universitat de València

After visiting the botanical gardens, we cycled back to Café de las Horas. They supposedly have the best Agua de Valencia, a cocktail made from cava, orange juice, vodka and gin. The whole pitcher hits pretty hard.

Torre del Micalet

The Bell Tower of the Catedral de Valencia is a lovely sunset viewpoint. Stairs take a while but I guess it’s worth it since it’s one of the highest spots around.

Bioparc

This was one of the absolute highlights of the week. I loved everything about this zoo and have never seen anything similar. The animals seems super relaxed and genuinely happy.

The concept of the zoo consists of immersing visitors into the animals' habitat and not vice versa. This is achieved by not using the traditional railings and cages that are common in many zoos, using instead rivers, ponds, streams and rocks to separate visitors from the animals. Great care has been taken in reproducing the eco-systems, including an important collection of African flora.

Fujifilm Slovenija was kind enough to let me test the Fujinon XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR and Bioparc was the perfect setting to do so. This lens is fantastic!

Russafa

Parc Central
de València

Tyris on tap

Tyris On Tap is a cool place with plenty of beer on tap. Tyris was the first craft beer in Valencia. We tried a few but my favourite was probably Trigo - wheat beer.

Torre de Santa Catalina is another spiral staircase and viewpoint not too far from Torre del Micalet. We visited the tower in the morning and continued towards Jardines del Turia where we spent some time chilling in the sun.

El Cabanyal

El Cabanyal is a calm and colorful fishing district. Tiled façades and coloured buildings give it a special vibe. There’s plenty of restaurants as well - we shared some tapas at La Otra Parte Taberna.

Playa de la Malva-Rosa

The beach was packed and very lively. Volleyball, football, strolling or just chilling. We finished our evening with a few sunset shots of Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.

We woke up at 4 am the next morning and used Cabify to get to the airport. As we landed in Trieste we already had our temperatures checked. COVID-19 shit just hit the fan in our part of the world as Italy and Spain fell pretty hard in the weeks to come.

Valencia is a lovely city - hopefully we’ll return soon.