Following Barcelona, we hopped on a train and made our way to Valencia. This stop was a little more special because it’s where Caitlin studied for a few months back in college. Personally, it was not only great to have an educated tour guide but also interesting to see an actual community in Spain as opposed to a large city. If you’ve only been to Barcelona then you probably haven’t seen everything shut down from about 2:00-5:00 for a siesta or gone to a restaurant and gotten unlimited tapas as long as you’re ordering drinks. You see this in a smaller city or community.
Science Buildings - This set of about 8 or so buildings/structures are SUPER impressive, and has a sci-fi feel to them (they’ve actually been used in various movies). After some research I learned that it put the city in some massive debt and people are still not too pleased, but that has no affect on how awesome they are. The buildings include a performing arts center, aquarium, amphitheater, planetarium, and science museum.
Aquarium - I don’t think I have been to an aquarium since I was probably 10, so it was fun to see the biggest one in Europe. They have dolphins, whales, sharks, jellyfish, and much much more. The only “heads up” I would give is that the entrance fee is pretty pricey, at about 30 Euros a person.
Beaches - The beaches here are nicer, bigger, and not as rocky as Barcelona. There are also great restaurants and bars lining the boardwalk but we skipped out on these. A word of advice would be to get an umbrella and 2 chairs for 15 Euros so you don’t bake yourself to death.
Market - The market in Valencia is probably smaller than the major one in Barcelona but that just means it’s not as overwhelming and as a result we spent a lot more time there. We ate at an excellent stand called Bar Central in the middle of the market and then spent an hour walking around and looking at everything that was being sold.
Food/Drinks - We did a lot of eating at our place in Valencia so our main suggestion is for drinks. And it’s going to Cafe de las Horas for their Agua de Valencia. Valencian Water is a cocktail made from a base of cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka and gin. It was delicious and the place was even better.
See ALL of our Valencia photos here: https://doshobos.com/valencia-photos