There’s not a city in the world Jürgen and I know quite so well as Valencia. We lived here for years before starting our travel project, and should there ever come a day we’re ready to settle down, it’s to Valencia that we’ll return. We figured our favorite city on Earth deserved the full attention of our blog, so we spent 91 days seeing the sights as though we were newcomers.
Pack the bags, turn off the lights, shut the door, hail a taxi, shed a tear… and say goodbye! After five years of constant travel, we’ve become quite adept at the Departure Dance. But this time, there was a twist. Valencia has long been our adopted home, and this year we finally made it official by buying an apartment. We know we’ll be back soon, and that makes this departure a lot less melancholy.
Valencians love to be outside and, as the workday ends, will explode from their offices and flow down the sidewalks like lava, before coming to rest in one of the city’s many plazas. There are hundreds of plazas in Valencia, but here are some of the historic center’s most well-known.
Whether you’re in the mood for tapas, bocadillos, or a full, multi-course menu, there are a million restaurants to choose from in Valencia. And if your time in the city is short, it’s better not to run the risk of picking the wrong place. Don’t trust TripAdvisor, which is appallingly off-the-mark in this city; for a classic Valencian meal, any of these should fit the bill.
Armed with a pen, paper and a list of questions, we set out into the streets of Valencia to meet some locals. As we suspected, this turned out to be a simple task. Valencians practically live outdoors, especially during the summer, and are friendly and approachable. Almost every person we stopped was happy to take a few minutes out of their day to answer our questions.
If you’re looking at the Turia Riverbed using a satellite program such as Google Earth, you might be surprised by the presence of a giant tied onto the ground with ropes. And zoom in closer… what are those little specks climbing all over him? Lilliputians?
Once upon a time, not actually all that long ago, Valencia’s historic center was bordered to the north by the Turia River. Although it was normally a benevolent presence, the Turia was given to sporadic fits of rage. And after a deadly flood in 1957, Valencia decided to remove the threat once and for all.
For three days in late April, everything comes to a stop in Alcoy, as the city celebrates its famous festival of Moros y Cristianos. Local groups parade around the city center in a series of exuberant and colorful processions which stretch, from Saturday morning to Monday. We visited on the first day of the festival, to see the entrances of both the Christians and the Moors.
