Valencia was a city that surprised me with just how varied it was.
Within the same holiday I could be walking between medieval towers in the historic centre, exploring museums, wandering through a huge park built inside an old riverbed and then suddenly find myself surrounded by the futuristic architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences.
What made everything even more enjoyable was how easy Valencia felt to explore.
One of my favourite features of the city was the Jardí del Túria, which crosses Valencia and provided a relaxing green route for walking between different areas. Instead of constantly following busy roads, I could spend part of the journey walking through gardens, underneath bridges and alongside people cycling, running or simply relaxing.
That combination of history, modern architecture, museums, parks, food and a generally relaxed atmosphere made Valencia an excellent city to explore over several days.
Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
Nothing in Valencia looks quite like the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.
The enormous white structures, pools of water and futuristic architecture create an area that almost feels separated from the historic city I had been exploring elsewhere.
Even simply walking around the complex was an experience.
The scale of the buildings becomes much more apparent when standing underneath them, and I found myself spending plenty of time outside before even entering the individual attractions.
Several of the places I visited during the trip were located here.
Oceanogràfic Valencia
One of the main attractions was Oceanogràfic Valencia.
The size of the aquarium means this isn't somewhere I would recommend trying to rush through.
There are different marine environments to explore, with everything from smaller aquarium displays to enormous tanks and underwater viewing areas.
I enjoy wildlife attractions when travelling, so Oceanogràfic was naturally one of the places I wanted to experience while in Valencia.
It also worked particularly well as part of a wider visit to the City of Arts and Sciences rather than being treated as an isolated attraction.
Hemisfèric
I also visited the Hemisfèric.
Its distinctive eye-shaped building is one of the most recognisable structures within the complex.
The experience inside, with its enormous projection screen, was completely different from walking around a conventional museum.
After spending time at Oceanogràfic, it provided another example of just how varied the attractions within the City of Arts and Sciences are.
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
Another building that immediately caught my attention was the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía.
Even without attending a performance, the architecture itself makes it worth seeing.
Its enormous curved structure looks almost sculptural, particularly when viewed alongside the surrounding water and the other futuristic buildings.
This entire area became one of the most visually impressive parts of my Valencia trip.
Jardí del Túria – Valencia's Green Route
The Jardí del Túria was one of the things I enjoyed most about Valencia.
The park follows the former course of the Turia River and stretches for kilometres across the city.
For me, this made walking around Valencia particularly relaxing.
Instead of every journey involving pavements, traffic and busy streets, I could drop down into the old riverbed and continue through a long green corridor.
There were trees, gardens, bridges, sports areas and plenty of open space.
It also connects remarkably well with some of Valencia's major attractions.
At one end of my sightseeing was Bioparc Valencia, while further along the former riverbed I could eventually reach the spectacular City of Arts and Sciences.
The park therefore wasn't simply somewhere I specifically went to visit.
It became part of how I experienced Valencia.
The Champions Burger
The Turia also provided one of the more unexpected experiences of my trip.
I visited The Champions Burger event around Bajo el Puente de las Flores, in the old Turia riverbed.
After museums, churches and historic monuments, suddenly finding an event dedicated to burgers in the middle of the park was something completely different.
It was also another example of how the Jardí del Túria functions as much more than a conventional city park.
Bioparc Valencia
At the western side of the Turia Gardens, I visited Bioparc Valencia.
I had already experienced marine wildlife at Oceanogràfic, but Bioparc offered something completely different.
The park's environments are designed to feel much more natural than the traditional cages and enclosures associated with older zoos.
It made walking through Bioparc feel more immersive, particularly when moving between the different habitats.
Combining Bioparc, Oceanogràfic and the Jardí del Túria also gave me a good balance between wildlife attractions and simply spending time outdoors.
Exploring Valencia's Historic Centre
Away from the futuristic architecture, Valencia changes completely.
The historic centre brought narrow streets, squares, churches, markets and surviving sections of the city's old fortifications.
Plaça de la Mare de Déu
One of the central areas I visited was Plaça de la Mare de Déu.
This was a good place to slow down and appreciate the older side of Valencia.
The square is surrounded by some of the city's important religious buildings and provides an excellent base for exploring this part of the historic centre.
Valencia Cathedral
From the square I visited Valencia Cathedral.
After seeing so much modern architecture around the City of Arts and Sciences, walking through the cathedral provided almost the complete opposite experience.
The surrounding streets and squares also meant the cathedral felt naturally connected with exploring the old city rather than being somewhere I had travelled specifically to see on its own.
The Royal Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken
Nearby was the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken.
With the Basilica and Cathedral so close together, it made sense to experience them as part of the same walk around Plaça de la Mare de Déu.
This became one of those areas of Valencia where several interesting places could be visited without constantly checking transport or travelling across the city.
Valencia's Historic Towers
Two landmarks that particularly reminded me of Valencia's medieval past were the Torres de Serrans and Torres de Quart.
Porta dels Serrans
The Porta dels Serrans, or Serranos Towers, forms one of the most impressive historic entrances into the old city.
Its massive stone towers are particularly striking when approached from the Turia side.
It was another example of how the Jardí del Túria repeatedly brought me close to places I wanted to explore.
Torres de Quart
I also visited the Torres de Quart.
Together with the Serranos Towers, they provided a glimpse of the defensive structures that once surrounded Valencia.
Seeing both also worked well as part of walking around the historic centre rather than treating them as major standalone attractions.
Museums in Valencia
Valencia also had enough museums to give me a completely different experience whenever I wanted a break from walking around the city.
My interests tend to pull me towards natural history, archaeology and prehistory, but I also included modern art.
Natural Science Museum of Valencia
The Natural Science Museum of Valencia was naturally one of the museums that interested me.
After visiting historic buildings and art museums elsewhere, spending time exploring natural history added another dimension to the trip.
Museums like this are almost always on my list when visiting a new city.
Museu de Prehistòria de València
Another museum particularly suited to my interests was the Museu de Prehistòria de València.
The archaeological and prehistoric collections made this one of the museums I specifically wanted to include during my time in Valencia.
I enjoy seeing how different museums present the earliest periods of their region's history, particularly through archaeological objects rather than simply written explanations.
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern
For something completely different, I visited the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, or IVAM.
Moving from prehistory and natural science into modern and contemporary art provided a complete change of pace.
That variety was something I appreciated about Valencia's museums.
I didn't have to spend several days looking at variations of the same subject.
Markets and Food
Food was naturally another part of exploring Valencia.
The city gave me everything from traditional markets and tapas to a classic Valencian market building and an entire event dedicated to burgers.
Central Market of Valencia
The Central Market of Valencia was one of the main food-related places I wanted to see.
I always enjoy visiting markets when travelling because they provide something completely different from museums and monuments.
Walking between stalls filled with fresh produce, meats, seafood and other local products offered a glimpse of everyday Valencia alongside the sightseeing.
The building itself also made the visit worthwhile.
Boatella Tapas
I also stopped at Boatella Tapas.
After walking around the historic centre and market area, sitting down for tapas felt exactly right.
Trying local food is always part of travelling for me, and tapas naturally became part of the Valencia experience.
Mercat de Colón
Another market I visited was Mercat de Colón.
This felt quite different from the Central Market.
Rather than simply being somewhere to shop for food, the building and its cafés and restaurants make it somewhere to stop, have something to eat or drink and spend some time enjoying the surroundings.
Visiting both markets showed two different sides of Valencia's market culture.
Bookshops, Warhammer and Harley-Davidson
Not everything I visit while travelling needs to be a famous attraction.
Some of the places I remember from trips are simply shops connected with my own interests.
Llibreria de Llengües Babel
One of these was Llibreria de Llengües Babel.
I enjoy finding bookshops when travelling, particularly independent or specialist ones.
Browsing through books provides a quieter break between sightseeing and usually leads me into parts of a city I might otherwise have ignored.
Warhammer
I also stopped at the Warhammer hobby store.
Like my visits to Warhammer shops in other cities, this was simply about including something connected with one of my interests while exploring Valencia.
It doesn't need to be a major tourist attraction to become part of the trip.
Harley-Davidson
The same applied to visiting the Harley-Davidson shop.
These smaller stops added variety to the holiday and broke up the more conventional itinerary of museums, monuments and historic buildings.
What I Enjoyed Most About Valencia
What stayed with me most was the contrast between the different parts of the city.
At the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia felt futuristic.
Walking between the Oceanogràfic, Hemisfèric and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, surrounded by enormous white structures and reflective pools, felt completely removed from the historic centre.
Then there was the older Valencia around Plaça de la Mare de Déu, Valencia Cathedral, the Royal Basilica, Porta dels Serrans and Torres de Quart.
The museums introduced yet another side of the city through natural history, prehistory and modern art.
Food and markets added their own experiences through the Central Market, Boatella Tapas, Mercat de Colón and the unexpected Champions Burger event in the old riverbed.
And between many of these places was the Jardí del Túria.
That may actually have been one of my favourite features of Valencia.
Being able to walk for kilometres through a green park crossing the city made getting around feel considerably more relaxed. I didn't always need to think of the journey between attractions as wasted time because the walk itself was enjoyable.
Valencia managed to combine futuristic architecture, medieval landmarks, wildlife, museums, markets, parks and food without feeling overwhelming.
And somewhere between all of that I could still find time to browse a bookshop, visit Warhammer or stop at a Harley-Davidson store.
For me, that variety was what made Valencia such an enjoyable holiday.
It wasn't one particular attraction that defined the trip.
It was being able to walk through the Jardí del Túria in the morning, explore a centuries-old part of the city later in the day and then suddenly find myself standing among some of the most futuristic architecture I had seen in Spain.