Things to Do in Valencia

Kids and adults alike are intrigued by the City of Arts & Sciences, a museum complex devoted to discovery. The site is divided into four sections: the Hemisferic, Principe Felipe, Oceanographic and L'Umbracle.

The Hemisferic houses a planetarium, IMAX cinema and laser show, while the Principe Felipe building has a multitude of science exhibits and is shaped to look like the skeleton of a whale. The Oceanographic aquarium includes polar exhibits, coral reefs from the Red Sea, Mediterranean seascapes and underwater tunnels, and botanical species and sculptures are highlighted in the L’Umbracle walkway. Musical performances and operas are hosted in El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia.

Situated in the ciutat vella, or old town, Valencia’s Barrio del Carmen is in many ways where you’ll encounter the soul of the Spanish coastal city. Once sandwiched between the 11th-century Muslim wall and the 14th-century Christian one, it’s a neighborhood packed with history, dating back over 1,000 years.

You can still see remnants of its distant past among El Carmen’s streets. The most impressive of these sights certainly includes the medieval towers, Torres de Quart and Torres de Serrano, both of which once belonged to the now-destroyed Christian wall. Then there’s the Portal de Valldigna (located on the street of the same name) that once served as the gate through the former Muslim wall to the Moorish and Jewish quarter. And the past also lives on in the district’s name, derived from the 13th-century Convent of Carmen, which is now a museum dedicated to the 19th century.

To experience a Valencia sight that will satisfy all of your travel senses, head straight to the city’s Central Market (Mercado Central in Spanish, or Mercat Central in Valencian). This is where, since 1928, hundreds of vendors have come together to sell their goods under one giant, beautiful roof.

The market offers everything from fresh produce to meat and fish, and even specialty coffee — all making it a foodie’s dream, and the perfect place to get closer to the region’s culinary culture. The building alone is quite astonishing, too, featuring fancy iron and glass domes through which sunlight illuminates the entire 8,160-square-meter space. The market also has some pretty impressive neighbors beyond its doors, including the imposing Church of Los Santos Juanes, and the Lonja de la Seda, a divinely designed building that used to be home to the city’s silk exchange.

Once upon a time, Valencia had four gates that allowed for passage through its medieval wall. Come the 19th century, the city needed to grow, so that stony barrier was demolished, leaving only two gates behind, one to the north, and the other to the west, the 15th-century Torres de Quart (or Quart Towers).

Acting as Valencia’s western gate, the Torres de Quart led to the pueblo Quart de Poblet, from which they got their name. Over the centuries, the towers have weathered their fair share of battles; in fact, reminders of Napoleon’s bombardment live on in the gate’s canon-ball-pocked outer walls (which now tend to fill with birds’ nests instead of weaponry). Though the Torres de Quart’s original purpose was as a passageway, for centuries they acted as a prison: first one for women, starting in the 1600s, and later as a military prison, from 1813 until 1932.

The twin-towered stone gates of the Torres de Serranos are all that remains of Valencia’s original city walls. The imposing 14th century gates were the city’s main exit to Barcelona and northern Spain.

Today the gates are a popular photo stop, and you can climb to the top for great views of Valencia.

Free guided tours take you through the battlements and walkways every day except Mondays.

Known for its jumble of architectural styles, Valencia Cathedral (also known as the ""Seu"") is also famous worldwide as the home of the Holy Chalice. While the cathedral’s dome and tower are Gothic, the main entrance is Baroque and some of the chapels date from the Renaissance.

Take a tour to learn more about the cathedral’s architectural history and treasures, or just pop in to pay your respects to the Holy Grail in the flamboyant Capilla del Santo Caliz near the main entrance. It’s claimed to be the chalice from the Last Supper.

The de Borja chapel boasts some lovely frescoes by Goya and the museum reveals a rich collection of vestments and statues.

During the 15th century, Valencia reached the height of its success as one of Europe’s most important mercantile cities. So come the end of that century, it was decided to construct a building where trading could take place. The result was La Lonja de la Seda (the Silk Exchange), which is one of the finest examples around of civil Gothic architecture and a sight to behold in this Spanish coastal city.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the secular building is composed of four principal areas, the largest of which is the Trading Hall, which occupies roughly half of the entire property. This main room is where the majority of business went down and is no doubt the most impressive given its shiny marble floors, and spiraling columns that bloom into a vaulted ceiling of palm-tree-frond-like arches. Look carefully along the upper perimeter of the room and you’ll even notice golden Latin letters emphasizing the principles of honest trade.

Plaza de la Reina isn’t particularly old: it dates back to only 1878, when a triangular block of buildings was destroyed to make room for a large main square. Now the plaza – considered the city’s Kilometer 0 -- fills with cars, flower beds and pedestrians, and is lined by a host of cafes and outdoor terrazas (seating areas). In fact, this is where you’ll find one of the city’s oldest restaurants, Horchatería Santa Catalina, the ideal place to try Valencia’s signature beverage, the nutty-flavored and refreshing horchata.

Perhaps more intriguing than the actual plaza itself are the sites that surround it, most notable of which is surely the Valencia Cathedral. Built on the site of a former mosque, the 13th-century church is a mixture of architectural styles, but predominantly Gothic. What makes the basilica particularly special, though, is that many believe it to be the most plausible home of the Holy Grail.

The grand Plaza Ayuntamiento is one of Valencia’s three main squares.

The stunning plaza has a fountain and patch of grass at its heart, and is flanked by some of Valencia’s most important buildings.

The bell tower of the neoclassical town hall chimes on the hour, and inside the opulent decor features marble and richly carved wood.

The post office is more like a theater than an administrative building, with a leaded-glass dome. The plaza is a popular meeting spot for local Valencians, and is the focus for fireworks displays during the annual Fallas Festival.