What we did on Day Two…

We started our day once again with some baked goods from La Peqeuna Pasteleria de Mama, right next to our hotel, before walking the Jardin Del Turia.

Jardin Del Turia is a huge draw for me when talking about Valencia. It’s the biggest urban park in Spain and is the real hub of the city. Here you see people cycling, running, segwaying, on scooters, its full of life.

The Turia river used to run through the town but in 1957 the river flooded which resulted in damage to the city and 81 deaths. As a result the river was diverted outside of the city and it was slowly transformed into a 9km long green space.

Walking down the gardens you’ll find 18 bridges, of varying historical significance, but all beautiful in their own way. There are fountains, beautiful floral displays, there’s always something to see.

One of the more interesting things to see is Gulliver Park, a play park designed to look like the fallen Gulliver. It’s free to enter and is a really creative way to play.

As you reach the Old Town you will see the Torres De Serranos, one of the city gates from the Ancient City wall, dating back to 1392. For a few euros you can climb the tower and get a beautiful view of the city.

Valencia’s old town is just so charming and has some of the most beautiful architecture of any city I’ve seen.

Barrio Del Carmen is really the heart of Valencia. It’s one of the largest medieval quarters in Europe so you find lots of stunning architecture. It’s the perfect place to stroll around and also has lots of great eating options.

The Plaza De La Virgin is so lively and full of people. It’s insanely beautiful and for that reason the perfect place to stop for a drink. Usually I find myself driven away from having a drink in places like this, they can be overpriced and busy, but this plaza is just different, its the perfect place for people watching.

Valencia cathedral is hard to miss with its position in the centre of the city but take the time to enjoy its gorgeous gothic architecture that is so closely associated with the city.

Another popular plaza is Plaza De La Reina, always full of life and some beautiful floral displays too. There are lots of bars and restaurants around and the plaza looks really beautiful illuminated at night.

After somewhere we’d selected for lunch ended up being closed we walked around trying to find somewhere with half decent reviews on Tripadvisor and found El Botijo Tapas. From outside it didn’t look like anything at all and is in a bit of a back street but the positive reviews encouraged us to give it a go. We got a selection of dishes, all delicious, and sat outside, perfect for some people watching.

For me no trip to Valencia is complete without a trip to Valor Chocolates. I’ve been coming to Valencia since I was a teenager and this has always been one of my must stops as someone with a big sweet tooth. Adam and I picked up some Churros with a selection of dipping chocolates and it was delicious.

After our lunch the sightseeing continued. La Lonja De La Seda is a typically gothic building built as a silk exchange market in the 1400’s. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and a must see for its beauty and charm.

Palacio Del Marques Do Dos Aguas is an absolutely stunning building, prepared to be blown away. This place, a palace of nobility, is an absolute paragon of opulence and such a place to behold.

The Central Post Office was constructed in the 1900’s and as post offices go its pretty beautiful! Its clear that a lot of care went into the construction and as a result this is a really stunning building to look at.

We finally walked back towards our hotel, back down the gardens. Adam and I had decided to stroll over to the El Saler Centre food hall and find a place to eat. Everywhere was suddenly quite busy and so we ended up at Muerde La Pasta, a buffet restaurant. It was actually really good value, there were lots of choices and we left really satisfied.

We walked around the City of Arts by night, once of the reasons I love staying in the area so much. As not many people stay at this end of the city you really have the place to yourself and the uplit buildings reflect so beautifully on the water.

Steps walked: 23,505