Valencia · Things to do

Calatrava's complex at the seaward end of the Turia park: the Hemisfèric IMAX dome, the Príncipe Felipe science museum, the Oceanogràfic aquarium and the Palau de les Arts opera house, each ticketed separately or on a combined pass. Allow half a day minimum — the Oceanogràfic alone fills a morning.

The 1928 iron-and-glass market hall and the fifteenth-century Gothic silk exchange face each other across one small square. The Lonja is a UNESCO World Heritage site and charges a modest entry fee; the market is free, trades mornings only and closes on Sundays, which makes it a breakfast rather than an afternoon.

After the 1957 flood the river was diverted around the city and the old bed became a park roughly nine kilometres long, passing under the medieval bridges. Free, flat and the fastest way to cross Valencia by bike; hire stands sit at several of the ramps down into it.

Cultural visits run Monday to Friday 10:30–18:30, Saturday to 17:30 and Sunday from 14:00, and take in the chapel holding the cup the cathedral presents as the Holy Chalice. The Miguelete bell tower is climbed on a separate ticket, open daily 10:00–18:45 from 1 December to 28 February.

The freshwater lagoon and rice fields about ten kilometres south of the city, reached on the EMT 25 bus. Flat-bottomed boats run short trips from the landing at El Palmar, most people going for the sunset, and the village is where Valencians eat paella — at lunchtime, not dinner.