Exploring Valencia

Cuisine exceeds all expectations

The people in Valencia are very friendly and always willing to help. The vast majority of them understand and also speak English. Some a little worse, but good enough to talk with them. The cuisine is exceptional and we decided to walk to the Puerta del Mar restaurant and try one of their delicious Paellas. The restaurant is located near the city centre and is famous for its exceptional Paellas. However, prices can be quite high if you're not careful. Before ordering, check if the price on the menu is per person or per dish. This will help you avoid a potentially high bill and bad mood. Their most famous Paella is Paella Valenciana, which contains a rabbit and snails. We also tried Tapas, namely Patatas Bravas in the Bar&Kitchen restaurant, and were impressed by the flavour. And of course, you can't go without pastries, which are more than excellent in Valencia. Our new motto is: “If you want to eat good and affordable pastries, visit Valencia”. Walking around the city, we came across several adverts about Fartoni, so we decided to see what it was. It is bread with sugar, which is often accompanied by Horchata, vegan milk, which is additionally sweetened by the locals. You also can't leave Valencia without having a drink called Agua de Valencia. That is a drink made from orange juice, vodka, gin, sugar and champagne and pleasantly cooled with ice cubes.

Siesta and lazy mornings

Before the trip, we heard the word Siesta many times, and we only understood its exact meaning when walking through the sleepy streets. Days start later in Spain, and most shops, bars, and attractions don't open until after 10 in the morning. You have no choice but to prolong your morning sleep if your day must start with coffee. During Siesta, all services, except grocery stores, close at around 2 pm when the locals leave for their afternoon rest after four hours of work. The break lasts about two hours, but can last up to 7 pm. This means that Valencia's nightlife is in full swing, and the mornings are understandably sleepy and slow.

Things to see and do

• Biopark Valencia, which we thought was one of the most beautiful locations in Valencia. A very nicely landscaped zoo, made into a huge park, as its name suggests. Many animals live here, which we do not see in Slovenia. What is very interesting is that the animals are distributed according to the areas they come from. Very educational for children. The animals can be admired from all different point of view, as the park is cleverly designed.
• We suggest a tour of the 15th-century Torres de Quart, which also served as a women's prison for some time. It played a key role in Napoleon's time, when he stopped his troops in the 19th century. The cannon marks are still visible today.
• After a few days in Valencia, we noticed that the city had a lot of graffiti. The graffiti is mostly on the walls and also on the shutters of shops, which you can admire during Siesta. Each shutter has graffiti that actually represents the meaning of the service the shop offers to the people who pass by.
• The lively El Carmen neighbourhood, with plenty of bars and clubs. There is a cat house, where legend has it that a woman left the house to the stray cats. Also located here is the Portal de Valldigna, the entrance to the Moorish quarter where Muslims lived. You can visit the church of San Nicolás de Bari y San Pedro Mártir, and opposite the central market you will find Lonja de la Seda, a UNESCO-listed silk exchange.
• You should not skip the González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Art. At the entrance to the museum, we were amazed by two beautiful carriages, and then we visited the interior of the museum on two floors. The downstairs rooms are for temporary exhibitions, while upstairs we were able to see the objects that usually decorate our homes.
• The largest European Oceanogràfic aquarium with more than 45,000 living creatures and presenting the main ecosystems of the planet. We recommend you buy a combined ticket with the possibility of visiting the Science Museum, as the price is much lower.

Museums around Valencia are very cheap. You will pay a maximum of three euros per person for the entrance, and some of them are even free on Sundays. You will pay the most for Oceanografic and Biopark, but do not let that stop you from visiting.

We recommend visiting Valencia in September when the temperatures are lower. If you want to save on overnight stays, you can choose to stay a bit outside the city centre, and use city transport to move around the city, which is very tidy and accessible and environmentally friendly. You can use the metro, buses and bicycles.

Petra Butina