


A tragic event in 1957 completely changed the city for the better. A great flood caused the Turia River to overflow its banks and the entire city was swimming in two meters of water. Officially there were eighty one deaths recorded, but the real figure was certainly much higher. A massive public works project diverted the river to a new course that skirted the city, and the dry river bed was made into a long, winding park that provides much needed green space. It snakes through the Old Town for four miles, all the way down to the harbour, giving Valencia a beautiful focal point

Our drive up to Valencia brought us past the notoriously brash beach cities of Alicante and Benedorm. It's best to give these concrete jungles a wide berth unless you are from the North of England and want your Spanish experience to have all the charm and authenticity of a Fish-N-Chip shop by the sea. Approaching Valencia, we passed miles and miles of industrialized agriculture churning out billions of oranges, and then the groves gave way to an ugly assortment of faceless tower blocks. One doesn't fall in love with Valencia at first sight! But gradually the wide boulevards became more handsome, and the buildings became more interesting. By the time we arrived in the city centre, we were overwhelmed with its beauty and grandness. Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings vie for attention next to ornamental baroque facades with

Our hotel was in one of these lovely buildings perfectly positioned on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento positively dripping in ambience. The inside of the Melia Plaza hotel was more run of the mill, but it fit our needs just fine, and it was an excellent value at just 80 euros a night. My only complaint was that Maria went on a cleaning rampage every morning long before we were ready to get up. As we arrived in the evening, we could not wait to get out and see The City of Going Out, and we didn't have to go far before we established ourselves in a local outdoor bar and restaurant called La Cata. With the parade of people going past us, we quickly realized that the boys are the stars in this town. The young men of Valencia are groomed and preened and show off their fit bodies in tight shirts and shorts. They shave their legs and pluck their brows. Their sideburns are carefully manscaped into sharp points. The girls are more low key and soft spoken. They group together to watch the boys strut their stuff like peahens taking in the parade of peacocks. Once the crowd has filled up on tapas and paella, the hipsters head to the district of Bario Del Carmen which is positively screaming with energy all through the night. Bar

The next morning we (somehow) pulled ourselves together and went out to explore the city by daylight albeit wearing the darkest shades we could find. The Old Town is small and easy to get around on foot, and all roads lead to the Cathedral de Valencia. The ancient stone church is a hotch potch of styles and houses a couple of works by Goya, and a series of extraordinary life-size figures of Christ on the Cross. After begging forgiveness for the night before, we dragged ourselves up the winding stairs of the bell tower known as El Miguelete for a sweeping view of the city. We made a very fast exit when the bells began to ring. The next stop was the Mercado de Colon. A huge sprawling market built in 1914 with impressive iron columns and ceramic murals depicting the riches of the farmland. We spent a couple of hours tasting cherries, cheese, jamon

When in Valencia, one must eat like a Valencian. The signature dish of the region is paella, and we set out to find the best one in town. There is a huge fresh water lake near Valencia and rice has been grown in the surrounding wetlands for centuries. It's not hard to figure out how Valencians invented this popular dish by cooking rice from their fields and mixing it with fish from their sea. Not surprisingly the locals are very proud of their

Having taken our fill of traditional Valencia, we took a cab over to park that was


