Weather forecast Valencia

Valencia (including rainfall and temperature averages)

There’s more to the third-largest city in Spain than paella. It may be the birthplace of the quintessential Spanish dish but up until the 13th century Valencia was far more heavily influenced by outside cultures than its own. It was named by the Romans, from the Latin “Valentia”, meaning strength, but the subsequent Moorish presence had even more impact: except for a brief invasion by El Cid in 1088 the area was essentially Islamic until the Reconquest, when the Muslims were expelled permanently. During the Golden Age the city was one of the biggest centres of culture and trade in Europe but it went into decline over the following centuries, stripped of its autonomy. It retained a vivid sense of identity, holding out against first Napoleon and later Franco (Valencia was capital of the Republic during the Spanish Civil War) while cities all over Spain surrendered their keys. Both Generals punished the population severely but neither was able to suppress the Valencians for long. As well as being the agricultural power house of Spain, it has modernised rapidly and is said to be experiencing another Golden Age, constantly reinventing itself.

Valencia is a wonderful city to visit. Its climate is typically Mediterranean: changeable, with mild winters and long hot summers. The most atmospheric area to explore is undoubtedly the labyrinthine Barrio del Carmen, whose ancient winding streets date to Roman and Arabic times. The Church of the Carmen is peaceful and cool, with a timeless quality. The Cathedral, built between the 13th and 15th centuries on the ruins of a Mosque, is primarily Gothic in style with elements of Baroque and Romanesque architecture. Its greatest treasure is a gold and agate chalice that is said to have been used by Christ at the last supper. The magnificent Serrano and Quart towers are what’s left of the wall that used to surround the city.

UNESCO has recognised the Late Gothic silk exchange as a World Heritage Site: it is impossible not to be impressed by its lavish carvings, inside and out. Nearby, the domed Central Market is one of Europe’s oldest running food markets. Rising up from the dried-up riverbed in the south of the city, La Cuidad de los Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) is breathtaking; designed by Santiago Calatrava as a present to his home city, this huge futuristic educational complex looks like something in a sci-fi movie and was inspired by animal skeletons. Inside there is a theatre, a marine park, a botanical garden, a science museum and an IMAX cinema. All are larger than life.

After a couple of days in Valencia, you will probably discover that it is possible to tire of paella. Don’t worry: there are many other dishes to choose from. Squid here is excellent, cooked in its own ink or deep-fried in rings, and there is a bewildering choice of fish and shellfish. Bunuelos are balls of pastry stuffed with cheese or pumpkin and deep-fried and the hilariously named fartons are in fact innocuous bread rolls, often dipped into horchata, a sweet tiger-nut drink. Valencia has some of the best bars and clubs in Spain, with music to suit everyone’s taste. In March the city holds its biggest street party, the Falles, which start with processions and carry on late into the following morning. Just don’t bother to go out before eleven p.m. – you’ll find the bars empty and the waitresses looking at you in shock.