Barrio del Carmen
This complex has cultural events and also contains two contiguous museums: the Museo de Prehistoria and the Museo de Etnología, entered on a single ticket.
Must-see attractions in Valencia Region
Castellón Province
The twin towers of this imposing city gateway are a good place to begin your exploration of the town. With a solid octagonal form, they were first built…
Alicante
Flanked by twin towers, this old-town church's flamboyant, 18th-century baroque facade and ornate, gilded altarpiece contrast with the nave’s Gothic…
Costa Blanca
An appealing clutter of mementoes and bric-a-brac, this museum helps you appreciate why salt still means so much to torreviejenses. There's a slow-moving…
Valencia Province
Playa de Gandia, 6km from the centre, is a long, broad beach of fine sand, groomed daily by a fleet of tractors. It’s a popular resort with a good summer…
Valencia
This stylish spot is a local reference point for high-quality, carefully selected contemporary art exhibitions. There are often some real gems on display,…
Valencia
Reaching down to the riverbed are the Royal Gardens, a lovely spot for a stroll, with plenty of palms and orange trees as well as a small aviary. Once the…
Alicante
Alicante's main market hall is a feast for the eyes and other senses. Dating from the 1920s, it has a few Modernista flourishes; it suffered extensive…
Valencia
High-quality temporary art exhibitions, often featuring major international names, are the main offering at this bank-run centre, which also has other…
Costa Blanca
Head down to the fishing port, in the shadow of the mighty Peñón, to watch the day's catch get auctioned off in the lonja (fish market).
Alicante
Northeast of the town, Playa de San Juan, easily reached by the tram (Costa Blanca stop), is larger and usually less crowded than the city beach.
Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados
Valencia
The Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Santos Inocentes Mártires y Desamparados, to name it fully, is Valencia's central spot for active Christianity…
Valencia
Obscured by palm trees in the gardens of a former psychiatric hospital, the city’s main public library is in a grand 16th-century building. The Gothic…
Valencia
This handsome 15th-century Gothic palace, much amended over the years, is the seat of government for the Valencia region. Its symmetry is recent: the…
Barrio del Carmen
Surely due a modish revamp soon, this overly comprehensive museum of archaeology has some excellent pieces and loads of interesting information, but pick…
Valencia
An astonishing sight, this '80s architectural project looks like the mothership has landed on the edge of Benimaclet. A riot of unusual angles, protruding…
Valencia
This centenarian institution in the heart of the Benimaclet barrio doesn't look much with its big, bare interior, but in many ways it's the soul of the…
Valencia
Built in the late 15th century as a residence for the Borja family, this imposing palace has late-Gothic and Renaissance features and now serves as…
Alicante
The ruins of the Roman town of Lucentum, a forerunner of Alicante, lie about 3km east of the centre in the locale of Tossal de Manises. Excavations have…
Alicante Province
Barrio de San Isidro was decorated with dozens of murals by well-known artists during the cultural flowering of the 1970s, in homage to Miguel Hernández,…
Valencia
These Arab-style baths, constructed in 1313, functioned continuously as public bathing facilities until 1959. It's worth dropping in if you're passing by…
Western Valencia
Water lore is a major part of Valencian popular culture, and the eight acequías (irrigation canals) that were diverted from the Río Turia to keep the…
Barrio del Carmen
Behind tall doors rest Las Rocas, giant carts that are wheeled out to celebrate Valencia’s Corpus Christi festival. With their paintwork darkened with age…
Museo de la Torre del Homenaje
Valencia Province
This watchtower, part of the original Moorish fortifications though later extensively modified by Christians in the 15th century, looms over the principal…
Western Valencia
At the end of the Turia dry riverbed, this landscaped park has a grassy mound to climb for views, plus paths stretching along a stream connecting two…
Castellón Province
The Maestrazgo’s remote hills have been a treasure trove for palaeontologists and this small museum in a church near the tourist office exhibits a…
Alicante Province
In a former farmhouse, this museum is all about the date palm and the intricate blanched, woven fronds used throughout Spain in Palm Sunday rites. Wander…
Valencia
One of the most attractive of the Turia's old bridges, this elegant stone Renaissance span was commissioned in 1591 to replace a wooden bridge that had…
Valencia
This church, badly knocked about in the civil war, is starkly impressive inside. It’s dwarfed by the striking late-17th-century hexagonal baroque bell…
Valencia's Beaches
This low, squat market has an unusual indoor-outdoor design and is worth a look for its palpable sense of history (opened 1910) and community, but at the…
Western Valencia
Abutting the botanical gardens, this modern creation could not be more distinct in style. Shorter on green space, it has the formality of a classic French…
Alicante Province
One of Orihuela's many noteworthy buildings is this mainly 14th-century church, with an impressive late-Gothic facade and a more extrovert baroque portal…
Valencia's Beaches
The middle section of Valencia's main beach is popular with joggers and cyclists for its promenade. Though it gets busy, there's plenty of space for all…
Alicante Province
This vast baroque church with its trademark blue dome is used for performances of the Misteri d’Elx. The interior is lofty and imposing with a…
Alicante Province
Near the basilica where the Misteri d'Elx is performed, Museu de la Festa offers a multimedia presentation, complete with virtual Apostle, about the drama…
Barrio del Carmen
One of several Republican air-raid shelters from the civil war around town, some of which can be visited, this was being rehabilitated as a cultural…
Valencia
Not by any means a football club, this offbeat gallery space is run by a cooperative not-for-profit arts organisation. Its exhibitions are often worth a…
Iglesia de las Santas Justa y Rufina
Alicante Province
Worth admiring is this church's Renaissance facade and its Gothic bell tower graced with gargoyles. The single-naved interior also preserves architecture…
Valencia Province
In the old town, Museo del Vino, within the handsome, sturdy 15th-century Palacio del Cid, is a venue for wine lovers. A range of presses and other…
Valencia
Long the headquarters of the University of Valencia, with a harmonious cloister-courtyard that's worth popping into. It's lined with plaques of notable…
