Valencia – Historic & Futuristic

Valencia is more than oranges and Paella. It has wonderful parks and green spaces. It also has amazing architecture in both modern and historic. We took sunset photos at the futuristic Arts Centre and the stormy day gave us some very unique dramatic look with the clouds.  Felt like we were outer space for a bit.

The Mercado Central market are filled with fresh fruits & seafood and the always present, Jamon Iberico Bellotta (best ham in the world in our opinion). We enjoyed visiting the Jamon meat stall as you can see below.  Jose, the butcher hand carving our Jamon.  Mercado Central is one of the biggest indoor fresh market in Europe.  Over 1000 stalls.

The Turia River Gardens is a must see, wrapped around the old city. It reminded us of home with all the outdoor green space available to use all season given their year round sunny weather.  The old river was prone to floods in the mid-20th century, so Valencia decided to divert the river and turned into a lush garden. The 9km stretch houses everything from the futuristic centre with opera, aquarium and IMAX to fields for the sports.

Valencia is also home of the famous Paella. Most of us refer to Paella as a Spanish dish but Spaniards will tell you it’s Valencian and should only consume it in Valencia for the most authentic Paella.    The original Paella is not cooked seafood, but with chicken and rabbit.  Barcelona also makes good Paella but a deep-dished version vs wide and shallow original.  The best Paella are cooked to order and the base is crispy, slightly burnt.

From all the cities we visited in Spain, Valencia seems to be the most livable and practical city.  We love Seville, Granada & Barcelona, that’s why Valencia makes sense because you can visit all this wonderful places with a train ride away.