Museo Nacional de Ceramica (National Museum of Ceramics), Valencia (must see)

If buildings could compete for attention, the National Museum of Ceramics could easily be accused of showing off. It occupies the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas, an 18th-century Baroque extravaganza that seems determined to decorate every available inch. The entrance alone is enough to make visitors stop mid-step. Carved from alabaster, it combines religious symbolism with a visual pun on the marquis's title, "Dos Aguas," which means "Two Waters."

Above the doorway, the Virgin Mary presides over the scene, while two reclining figures pour water from overflowing urns, representing the Turia and Júcar rivers. Around them, vines, foliage, and swirling ornamentation appear to have staged a decorative takeover. And that's just the outside...

Indoors, the palace continues its campaign against restraint. Room after room unfolds in a parade of twisted columns, gilded grapevines, cherubs, painted ceilings, and enough ornament to keep your eyes busy for hours. One of the standout pieces is the Carriage of the Nymphs—a lavish coach that seems slightly excessive even for a fairytale... Elsewhere, you'll find antique furniture, canopied beds, rare bookplates, vintage posters, photographs, sketches, jewelry, and keepsakes connected to some of Valencia's most notable residents.

Then there are the ceramics themselves, all 5,000 or so of them. The collection spans thousands of years, from prehistoric and Roman fragments to elegant pieces imported from the East and even works by Pablo Picasso. Particularly impressive are the medieval ceramics produced in nearby towns, celebrated for their vibrant greens, deep blues, and shimmering metallic glazes.

Many visitors, however, end up falling for a different exhibit altogether: a fully reconstructed 19th-century Valencian kitchen. Covered in decorative tiles and filled with scenes of food, animals, and everyday life, it offers a charming glimpse into a world where even the kitchen walls seemed unwilling to settle for plain and practical.