Valencia attractions

This aesthetically stunning complex occupies a massive 350,000-sq-metre swath of the old Turia riverbed. It’s occupied by a series of spectacular buildings that are mostly the work of world-famous, locally born arch…

Valencia’s cathedral was built over a mosque after the 1238 reconquest. Its low, wide, brick-vaulted triple nave is mostly Gothic, with neoclassical side chapels. Highlights are its museum, rich Italianate frescos a…

Inside a striking palace, this ceramics museum celebrates an important local industry. Downstairs (which also features a decadent hand-painted 1753 carriage) you can learn about the history of ceramics from baroque …

Recently reopened to the public after a magnificent restoration, this single-naved church down a passageway is a striking sight. Over the original Gothic vaulting, the ceiling is a painted baroque riot, with enough …

This seminary was founded in the late 16th century by San Juan de Ribera, a towering Counter-Reformation figure who wielded enormous spiritual and temporal power in Spain and beyond. With an impressive if austere Re…

This splendid building, a Unesco World Heritage site, was originally Valencia’s silk and commodity exchange, built in the late 15th century when the city was booming. It's one of Spain's finest examples of a civil G…

This zoo devoted solely to African animals has an educational and conservationist remit and an unusual approach. Though, as always, the confinement of creatures such as gorillas in limited spaces raises mixed feelin…

Bright and spacious, this gallery ranks among Spain’s best. Highlights include a collection of magnificent late-medieval altarpieces, and works by several Spanish masters, including some great Goya portraits, a haun…

Valencia’s vast Modernista covered market, constructed in 1928, is a swirl of smells, movement and colour. Spectacular seafood counters display cephalopods galore and numerous fish species, meat stalls groan under t…

Stretching the length of Río Turia’s former course, this 9km-long lung of green is a fabulous mix of playing fields, cycling, jogging and walking paths, lawns and playgrounds. As it curves around the eastern part of…