Iglesia de San Nicolas de Bari (Church of St. Nicholas of Bari), Valencia (must see)

From the outside, the Church of Saint Nicholas and Saint Peter Martyr plays a clever trick on visitors. Its Gothic façade is handsome enough, but fairly restrained. Then you step through the doors and suddenly find yourself wondering whether you've accidentally wandered into a giant painted masterpiece.

Often nicknamed Valencia's own "Sistine Chapel," this church is a riot of color, movement, and imagination. The story began in the mid-13th century, shortly after the Christian reconquest of Valencia, when a mosque on this site gave way to a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Bari. Later, Saint Peter Martyr joined him as co-patron, giving the building a double helping of heavenly supervision.

The real visual fireworks arrived between 1690 and 1700, when the interior underwent a spectacular Baroque makeover. Nearly 2,000 square meters of frescoes spread across the vaults and upper walls, illustrating scenes from the lives of both saints alongside a cast of virtues, angels, and symbolic figures. Looking up here isn't optional—your eyes will be drafted into service almost immediately.

The church itself follows a simple Gothic layout: a single nave flanked by six side chapels, each home to notable artworks by Spanish masters. Yet it's the contrast between structure and decoration that makes the place so memorable. Gothic architecture provides the bones, while Baroque artistry supplies the dazzling costume.

For centuries, smoke, dust, and time gradually dimmed the paintings. Luckily, a major restoration in 2016 carefully peeled away the grime and revealed colors so vivid they seem freshly painted. Thanks to that, today, visitors can admire one of Valencia's most remarkable interiors—a place where medieval stone and Baroque imagination decided to become lifelong partners...