Spain’s third-largest city is a magnificent place, content for Madrid and Barcelona to grab the headlines while it gets on with being a wonderfully liveable city with thriving cultural, eating and nightlife scenes. Never afraid to innovate, Valencia diverted its flood-prone river to the outskirts of town and converted the former riverbed into a wonderful green ribbon of park winding right through the city. On it are the strikingly futuristic buildings of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, designed by local-boy-made-good Santiago Calatrava. Other brilliant contemporary buildings grace the city, which also has a fistful of fabulous Modernista architecture, great museums and a large, characterful old quarter. Valencia, surrounded by the fertile fruit-and-veg farmland La Huerta, is famous as the home of rice dishes like paella but its buzzy dining scene offers plenty more besides.
Valencia’s cathedral was built over the mosque after the 1238 re-conquest. Its low, wide, brick-vaulted triple nave is mostly Gothic, with neoclassical side chapels. Highlights are rich Italianate frescoes above the altarpiece, a pair of Goyas in the Chapel of San Francisco de Borja , and…da-dah…in the flamboyant Gothic Capilla del Santo Cáliz , what’s claimed to be the Holy Grail , the chalice from which Christ sipped during the Last Supper. It's a Roman-era agate cup, later modified, so at least the date is right. Various relics and a beautiful transitional altarpiece in the Chapel of San Dionisio are other noteworthy features. Left of the main portal is the entrance to the Miguelete bell tower. Climb the 207 steps of its spiral staircase for terrific 360-degree, city-and-skyline views. As for over a thousand years, the Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court) meets every Thursday exactly at noon outside the cathedral’s Puerta de los Apóstoles. Here, Europe’s oldest legal institution settles local farmers’ irrigation disputes in Valenciano, the regional Language.
While you’re in port in Valencia, explore the city with a 24-hour ticket aboard a hop-on hop-off bus tour. On this shore excursion, create your own itinerary as you travel around Valencia in an open-top, double-decker bus, hopping off whenever you’d like to see all the main sights, such as the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias), the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Silk Exchange (La Lonja) and the Congress Palace (Palacio de Congresos). Located on Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, Valencia is a beautiful modern city with a rich Roman and Gothic history. When you arrive in the Valencia port, explore the city at your own pace on a hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour! Travel between the two routes on an open-top, double-decker bus, hopping on and off wherever you want. This sightseeing shore excursion provides you with 17 convenient stops around town so you can see attractions like the Cathedral of Valencia or San Pio V Palace. See the Silk Exchange, one of the best-preserved examples of late Gothic architecture in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Quart Towers and the Serranos Towers, Valencia’s old city gates. See the futuristic-style football stadium Nou Mestalla, or visit Valencia’s zoo, Bioparc. Both routes each take approximately 1.5 hours. The buses depart every 20 to 30 minutes from each stop – the closest stop to the cruise port is Stop 7, El Puerto. Tickets are valid for 24 hours from first use. Worry-Free Shore Excursion: This excursion is located within a 10-minute walk to the cruise port, so you determine the time you return to your ship in Valencia. Please allow yourself ample time to enjoy the excursion and ensure your timely return to the port. This excursion is not covered by our Worry-Free Policy
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Another awesome builging El Palau de la Generalitat
Part of the content of this site comes from Lonely Planet. This is a task for TIC subject at the Universitat de València