Created by 3GoExploring.
Valencia in Spain has been called the city of 100 bell towers, with its various architectural styles, a walk through this stunning city is a walk through time. We arrived on a beautifully sunny morning, after the usual hearty breakfast in preparation for the day's walking, we made our way to the shuttle bus waiting near the ship. The shuttle buses are free to those on select fare, a charge of £4 is made each way for those on saver, the drop-off point is near the City of Arts and Sciences.
Please be aware this is not the city centre, local buses, taxis and of course good old Shanks's Pony will be needed to continue on. We decided to explore by foot, the beautiful Spanish sunshine and gentle breeze made for a great Sunday morning stroll…
The Turia Garden is one of Spain's largest urban parks built on a former riverbed. Nine kilometres long, with its sports and leisure areas and the city's main museums and monuments, this was the perfect starting point.
Making our way along one of the many paths we headed towards Cabecera Park, passing the City of Arts and Sciences, the work of Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava. As you walk along keep an eye out for cyclists and joggers, the park is extremely popular even more so on Sunday morning. As you walk through Turia Garden you will experience different sections designed by several urban planners, orange trees and palm trees coincide together, whilst fountains and ponds blend into the landscape.
The walk to Cabecera Park is around 7 Kilometres so not for everyone, as we are keen walkers we decided to walk there and hope to see some animals at Bioparc Valencia, unfortunately, this was not the case, and the views are extremely restricted. Never mind, we were still rewarded with ponds full of carp and terrapins bobbing around.
After a quick break, we made our return journey back, time to explore Valencia city centre.
If you are a lover of history and architecture then Valencia should be high on your list for a visit, founded in 138 BC by the Romans it is one of the largest historic centres in Europe. Making our way around the city with a few must-see locations on trusty Google Maps you are never short of a ‘let's see what's down there’ moment. Indeed we did retrace our steps a few times whilst exploring, but that's what we love, discovering new locations off the beaten track. Some of our favourite locations were the district of El Carmen with Portal de Quart (Quart Towers), with its fantastic views over the city free on Sundays and Holidays.
The Plaza de la Virgin housing the Metropolitan Cathedral, in its gothic style, is said to hold the Holy Grail.
Nearby is the La Lonja de La Seda de (Silk Exchange) a famous civil gothic building which housed the Spanish silk trade.
Unfortunately, the Mercat Central de Valencia was closed as it was a Sunday. With so much to see and do, time was starting to become our enemy, with heavy hearts we made our way back to the shuttle bus to re-join the Ship. Valencia was so much more than we expected, we wish we had more time to explore the city but that's the nature of cruising, would we go back yes will we go back I hope so.
Useful Valencia transport information
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