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Valencia is the capital of the Valencian Community and, with 824,340 people, the third largest city in Spain, set on the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Turia. After a catastrophic flood in 1957 the river was rerouted, and its old bed became a long green park that crosses the city.
Founded as the Roman colony of Valentia in 138 BC, the city later came under Visigothic and then Islamic rule, which brought new irrigation and crops. James I of Aragon took it in 1238, and in the 15th century its merchants built the Gothic Silk Exchange, while Art Nouveau markets and a station followed in the early 20th century.
Visitors start in the old town with the cathedral and its Miguelete tower, the Basilica on the Plaza de la Virgen, the Silk Exchange and the Central Market. The Turia Garden then leads to the City of Arts and Sciences and its aquarium, and in March the Fallas fill the streets with fire.
Valencia Cathedral was consecrated in 1238 by the first bishop after the Christian conquest, on the site of a Visigothic cathedral that the Moors had turned into a mosque. Mostly Valencian Gothic, it has the octagonal Miguelete bell tower, and a chapel keeps a cup revered as the Holy Grail.
The Llotja de la Seda, or Silk Exchange, is a late Valencian Gothic building raised between 1482 and 1533 for the city's merchants. Its trading hall is held up by spiralling columns, its Consulate wing housed Spain's first maritime trade court, and a courtyard of orange trees lies behind.
The Torres de Serranos is one of the twelve gates of Valencia's medieval Christian wall, built in Valencian Gothic style between 1392 and 1398. When the wall was pulled down in 1865 it survived along with the Quart Towers, and it is now one of the best preserved monuments in the city.
The Torres de Quart is one of the two surviving gates of Valencia's old city wall, built between 1441 and 1460 on the road to Quart de Poblet. The gate was still in use during the Peninsular War, and its massive stone towers were marked by cannonballs and musket shots in that conflict.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken is the sanctuary of the patron saint of Valencia, on the Plaza de la Virgen beside the cathedral at the highest point of the old city. Pope Pius XII made it a basilica in 1948, and its doors face the fountain of the Turia and its irrigation canals.
The Central Market of Valencia is one of the largest markets in Europe, covering over 8,000 square metres opposite the Llotja de la Seda. Designed in Valencian Art Nouveau by Alexandre Soler March and Francesc Guàrdia Vidal, it was built from 1914 to 1928, with light pouring in through its domes.
The Mercado de Colón is a market hall in central Valencia and one of the main works of Valencian Art Nouveau, designed by Francisco Mora Berenguer and built between 1914 and 1916. Declared a national monument, it is admired for its extraordinary facade and the lavish decoration of its hall.
The Estació del Nord is Valencia's main railway station, opened in 1917 beside the city's bullring, 200 metres from the town hall. One of the main works of Valencian Art Nouveau, it was declared cultural heritage in 1983, while high-speed trains use nearby Joaquín Sorolla station.
The City of Arts and Sciences is a cultural complex by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela at the south-east end of the old Turia riverbed. It opened in 1998 with L'Hemisfèric and was completed by the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in 2005, and it is the most important modern sight in Valencia.
L'Oceanogràfic is an oceanarium in the City of Arts and Sciences, designed by Félix Candela and opened on 14 February 2003. The largest complex of its kind in Europe, it holds 42 million litres of water and 45,000 animals of 500 species, from sharks and penguins to dolphins and beluga whales.
The Turia Garden is a park of about 136 hectares in the former bed of the Turia River, which was rerouted after the catastrophic flood of 1957. Created in 1986 after residents demanded green space instead of a road corridor, it runs for nearly 8.5 km from Bioparc to the Oceanogràfic.
The Fallas is Valencia's patronal festival, with its main days from 15 to 19 March, when the falla monuments built across the city are burnt. The Mascletà, a thunderous display of firecrackers, is held every day from 1 to 19 March, and UNESCO listed the festival as intangible heritage in 2016.
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