other destinations in Valencia
After Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and L'Oceanografic, today we're looking at the attractions we visited in downtown Valencia.
As mentioned in the other reports, I had booked a hotel near the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. From there, it is a very pleasant walk to the city center along the park-like medians of avenues or through the former riverbed of the Turia, which is now also a large park. It takes about half an hour to three quarters of an hour to get there.
I won't go into detail about all the destinations here, but rather let the pictures speak for themselves. You can find background information in the links.
The main destination for all (cruise) tourists is probably Valencia Cathedral [↗]. It can get quite crowded here, and there is an admission fee. The interior is not quite as opulently decorated as, for example, the churches in Andalusia, but it is still worth a visit.
Other churches such as the Church of Santa Catalina [↗] or the Basilica del Sagrado Corazon are also worth a look. But be careful: as is often the case in Spain, the churches are not permanently open throughout the day.
An “insider tip” for art lovers is the Hortensia Herrero Art Center [↗] in the city center. We didn’t make it to the actual museum of modern art because we got stuck at Centre del Carmen Cultura Contemporania on the way, but the Hortensia Herrero Art Center was fixed in our plans. In a former city palace, you will find objects that you don’t see very often. Some of them were created explicitly for this location.
Last but not least, there is of course also a lot of street art in Valencia, especially in the northern part of the city center.
Overall, I can highly recommend a long weekend in Valencia. In addition to the City of Arts and Sciences, there are many other attractions to see, and especially in the off-season, the city is not overcrowded and the weather is usually very pleasant.
