Spain 2023: A Day Trip to Valencia, Valencia, Spain

I’ve made the day trip to Valencia from Linda & George’s home in Spain a number of times. It’s a beautiful city that I don’t think I could tire of visiting. The city is the capital of the province of Valencia and the third largest municipality in Spain. There has been a city there since Roman times, then in the 15th century it thrived due its port and trading in the Mediterranean area, becoming one of the largest European cities by the end of the century. It’s still the 2nd biggest container port on the Mediterranean. In the 18th century it became a major silk manufacturing centre. There are many more wonders to Valencia, not least - for this foodie - it being the place where paella originated, and it’s such a beautiful city that merely walking through it is a delight.

Valencia is of course known for its oranges - the best in Spain - and the tiling in the railway station celebrates this. Many of the streets are lined with orange trees.

We arrived mid morning and decided to head to the market, but stop for a coffee on the way. We took pot luck and just stopped at somewhere we liked the look of and found good coffee and a snack.

Mercat Central is a huge covered market built in Valencian Art Nouveau style. I’ve been there a few times and it never fails to excite me, it’s such a beautiful building inside and houses just the most brilliant stalls selling the best food and wine. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).