Travel the coolest of the city without leaving anything
If your idea is to visit Valencia and you have three days we give you the clues so you can make the most of this time in the land of flowers, light and love. Here we go. For the first day we reserve the Historical Center of the city. We started with an open-air breakfast, which in Valencia is possible at least ten months a year thanks to the permanent anticyclone we live (the other two months, sometimes, too). Contact with the sun always puts you in a good mood and is also good for your health (with protection and moderation: welcome vitamin D). For that breakfast you have many options but we suggest you start at the Tapinery Market, it is in a secluded square next to the Queen’s and it is a place that goes out of the classical canons. It has two very nice terraces to take an orange juice (remember, you are in Valencia, we are surrounded by orange trees everywhere), some toast or, directly, a esmorçaret, which is the Valencian version of brunch and consists of some sandwiches outrageously rich (and powerful), with his drink, his olives and his peanuts (here, “cacaus” in Valencian). Once you have put on your boots, it is time to walk through the historic part of the city. A tour with the most interesting must go through sites such as the Central Market, the Plaza de la Virgen, San Nicolás, the Lonja, the Plaza Redonda, the Torres de Serranos and the Quart. That said, you can choose to make a first contact with the city through the Mint Free Tour, which is the only tour of its kind that invites you to enter San Nicolás and the Silk Museum. With this visit you can take a walk accompanied by an official guide who will tell you comic strips about the old part of Valencia and that would allow you to have an initial idea of the situation and then choose what you want to know better.
After the tour you will have made room for a good rice. Being in Valencia and not eating rice must be punishable by a local law. You have many places to choose and, above all, many different types of rice. Here you can see a representative sample of what you will find when you open the restaurant menu. After the meal you will need to walk and enjoy the early hours of the afternoon, which in Valencia are very pleasant at this time of year. We suggest you take a tour of two places that will not leave you indifferent, both related to the past sedero of the city, which was very powerful and conditioned the existence of a whole district, Velluters. This is the Lonja and the Silk Museum, the two buildings represent the power of a trade, the silk arrived from the East by the famous route, which was very important in Valencia. La Lonja is a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1998 and the Museum of Silk is located in a beautiful building restored in 2016 by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation. Seeing the museum is a very pleasant experience that can be done with a guided tour, with an expert guide in art and history that will tell you very well, or with an audio guide at your own pace, available in five languages. The two historic buildings are ten minutes from each other and worth seeing.
The second day in Valencia is reserved to get to know the City of Arts and Sciences in depth and take a walk on the beach. From the center you can make a very cool trip to there going by the old bed of the Turia river, which is currently the Garden of the Turia. The walk runs parallel to the asphalt path that you can also do by taxi or bus. The way by the river can do it in bicycle or walking and is very pleasant. Check the options offered by Menta Valencia, they are many and varied. From the complex macro designed by Calatrava you surely know almost everything: that it has been the scene of futuristic films (Hello George Clooney!), Which is one of the most visited sites etc etc. It’s worth it to go through it calmly, you will not see Clooney but you’ll have a great time.
When you finish watching the CAC complex, head towards the beach, it is very close. There you can take a walk by the sea and have dinner in the many places that dot the promenade. There are of all tastes and colors but all looking at the sand.
The third day in Valencia is well worth a trip to La Albufera, the place par excellence of rice, not in vain this freshwater lagoon is surrounded by rice fields and the culinary tradition baby of these lands. A good idea, depending on the time of year we are, is to take a walk through the bird watching center of Saler, a place where you can see all kinds of wildlife in the area and walk in the natural park with specific places of viewpoints. Then, everything points to that you have to eat a succulent rice in one of the many places that there are by the Palmar, by the Saler or by Pinedo. The boat ride is also a fun option. As you can see, everything revolves around the Albufera. And very necessary: watch the sunset from the jetty of the Gola de Pujol. You can not miss the views from there or the colors, they are impressive.
