What to see, where to buy and how to read the city — notes by a licensed guide who has been working in Valencia since 2019.
Three Valencia shops for souvenirs made by local artists — from postcards and ceramics to textiles and jewellery. Who started them, what sets them apart and what to take home to remember the city.
How Valencia's biggest festival works: why huge figures are burned, who prepares Las Fallas and what it all costs. The history and traditions of the festival, the people behind it and the events worth catching.
A guide to Valencia's second breakfast, almuerzo: what to order, how the local sandwiches differ and which bars are worth a visit.
What goes into a real Valencian paella, how arroz a banda differs from del senyoret, and which other rice dishes are worth trying? A guide to help you make sense of a Valencian restaurant menu.
Hippos underwater at Bioparc, the aquarium and Science Museum, a giant sloth at the Palaeontology Museum, the Gulliver playground in the Turia park and an animal hunt on old-town façades.
Malvarrosa, Cabanyal and Patacona in the city, the dunes and pines of El Saler and La Devesa, resorts to the north: which beach to choose, where to eat and when to swim.
The old centre with the cathedral and the Silk Exchange, the Turia park and Calatrava, the sea and El Cabanyal: a three-day route from a licensed guide — and how to fit it into one or two days.
A science museum, an aquarium, a cinema shaped like an eye, a garden under arches and an opera house: what is inside each, how long it takes and what to choose if you only have a day.
Four palaces of the Valencian nobility where the building itself is as interesting as the collection: Dos Aguas ceramics, the royal residence of Cervelló, the L’Iber miniatures and the city museum.
The Silk Exchange, the Water Tribunal, Las Fallas and hand bell ringing — four UNESCO entries, three of which are not buildings but living traditions.
Vermouth, mistela, fondillón, herbero and rice cream liqueur: what they are, how they are drunk and which labels to look for.
Five shops with local character: historic ceramics, regional wine and chocolate, two hundred vermouths, Spanish minimalism and alternative finds by the sea.