Two Days in Valencia

Another year, another trip to Spain, this time Valencia. I wanted to make a quick recap and photo diary of my trip for my memories and maybe it also comes in handy for some other travellers. 

Februaries are for Spain - last year it was Barcelona (click to see a whole post about what to do, where to eat, and where to stay in Barcelona), and this year Valencia. We went in February because the plane tickets are cheaper and it's much less crowded than in the next few months. Also, the weather is quite nice and warm.

We stayed in a hostel (Quarth Youth Hostel) and had a great location, a short 5-minute walk to the Mercado Central (which is a great place to get breakfast). From the airport, you can get to the city center by metro but there was a huge waiting line to buy the tickets, so we took a taxi (there were four of us, so we split it).

The first thing that we visited, was the Oceanografic, the biggest aquarium in Europe. Ticket prices are quite high (35€) but I think it's worth it. You can easily spend 3-4 hours or more in the aquarium. You can see lots of different animals there, fish, sharks, even belugas, birds, turtles, penguins... When we were there, they also had a show with dolphins that was interesting to see.

A few words about food: As I said before, the Mercado Central is perfect for breakfast, you can get anything there and you can also find great coffee. One more thing that you need to try in Valencia is Paella Valenciana (traditional paella with chicken and rabbit, you can get it pretty much everywhere but check the ratings on Google to find the best one - the one in the photo is from Los Gomez Taberna). You can also find some great Mexican and Italian restaurants in Valencia, I'm not big on Spanish cuisine, so I always opt for those.

We were only there for two days but I would recommend at least a day more to visit some more places, for example, the Bioparc: "BIOPARC Valencia is an animal park that has been designed under the concept of zooimmersion. The incorporation of multispecies enclosures and depth of vision makes it possible to contemplate different spaces from the same point and allows you to enjoy a unique experience only noticeable in wild nature. Thanks to this, we can approach animals without visible barriers as if we were in the original places of the species" (from their website). Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is one more thing that I want to visit if I'm ever again in Valencia and of course, the Valencian beach is also still on the list.

When I visited Barcelona, everybody told me that I would like Valencia better but if I'm honest, I didn't, I was more impressed with Barcelona. I liked Valencia as a city but nothing tops up that feeling when you walk up the stairs from the metro station and you see the Sagrada Familia for the first time. Or when you are watching the sunset over the city at Bunkers del Carmel. Or seeing the Gaudi architecture for the first time. Food places are better in Valencia though, Valencia is also much cheaper and more walkable than Barcelona. I would choose Barcelona any day, but Valencia is also great for a little spanish getaway.

Thank you for reading!