15 Best Sights in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Costa Blanca, Spain

Valencia's impressive 13th- to 15th-century cathedral is the heart of the old city. The building has three portals—Romanesque, Gothic, and rococo. Inside, Renaissance and baroque marble were removed to restore the original Gothic style, as is now the trend in Spanish churches. The Capilla del Santo Cáliz (Chapel of the Holy Chalice) displays a purple agate vessel purported to be the Holy Grail (Christ's cup at the Last Supper) and thought to have been brought to Spain in the 4th century. Behind the altar is the left arm of St. Vincent, martyred in Valencia in 304.

Stars of the cathedral museum are Goya's two famous paintings of St. Francis de Borja, Duke of Gandia. Left of the entrance is the octagonal tower El Miguelete, whose 207 steps you can climb (entry, €2): from the top, the roofs of the old town create a kaleidoscope of orange and brown terra-cotta, with the sea in the background.

Occupying a 13th-century Cistercian monastery in the old city’s bohemian Carmen quarter, this arts center showcases contemporary art juxtaposed against a historical setting. Rotating exhibitions featuring paintings, sculpture, and video installations take place in marvelously dramatic spaces, including a 13th-century monks’ dormitory and an ancient Gothic cloister.

Designed mainly by native son Santiago Calatrava, this sprawling futuristic complex is the home of Valencia's Museu de les Ciències (Science Museum), Hemisfèric (Hemispheric Planetarium), Oceanogràfic (Oceanographic Park), and Palau de les Arts (Palace of the Arts, an opera house and cultural center). With resplendent buildings resembling crustaceans, the Ciutat appeals to architecture buffs and kids alike.

The Science Museum has soaring platforms filled with lasers, holograms, simulators, hands-on experiments, and a swell "zero gravity" exhibition on space exploration. The eye-shaped planetarium projects 3-D virtual voyages on its huge IMAX screen. At Oceanogràfic (the work of architect Felix Candela), home to one of the largest aquariums in Europe, you can take a submarine ride through a coastal marine habitat.

This bustling food market (at nearly 88,000 square feet, one of the largest in Europe) is open from 7:30 am to 3 pm, Monday through Saturday. Locals and visitors alike line up at its more than 1,200 colorful stalls to shop for fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and confectionery. Hop on a stool at The Central Bar, located in the heart of the throng, and taste award-winning chef Ricard Camarena's casual yet no less tasty take on tapas and bocadillos (sandwiches), while enjoying front-row-seat viewing of the action.

Valencia was a thriving center of artistic activity in the 15th century—one reason that the city's Museum of Fine Arts, with its lovely palm-shaded cloister, is among the best in Spain. Its permanent collection includes many of the finest paintings by Jacomart and Juan Reixach, members of the group known as the Valencian Primitives, as well as work by Hieronymus Bosch—or El Bosco, as they call him here. The ground floor has a number of brooding, 17th-century Tenebrist masterpieces by Francisco Ribalta and his pupil José Ribera, a Diego Velázquez self-portrait, and a room devoted to Goya.

The museum is at the edge of the Jardines del Real (Royal Gardens; open daily 8–dusk), with its fountains, rose gardens, tree-lined avenues, and small zoo. To get here, cross the old riverbed by the Puente de la Trinidad (Trinity Bridge) to the north bank. 

The modern Valencian painter and sculptor José Benlliure (1858–1937) is known for his intimate portraits and massive historical and religious paintings, many of which hang in Valencia's Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts). Here in his elegant house and studio are 50 of his works, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and drawings. Also on display are works by his son, Pepino, who painted in the small, flower-filled garden in the back of the house, and iconographic sculptures by Benlliure's brother, the well-known sculptor Mariano Benlliure.

Dedicated to modern and contemporary art, this blocky building on the edge of the old city—where the riverbed makes a loop—houses a permanent collection of 20th-century avant-garde painting, European Informalism (including the Spanish artists Antonio Saura, Antoni Tàpies, and Eduardo Chillida), pop art, and photography. 

On the Plaza del Mercado, this 15th-century building is a product of Valencia's golden age, when the city's prosperity as one of the capitals of the Corona de Aragón made it a leading European commercial and artistic center. The Lonja, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was constructed as an expression of this splendor and is widely regarded as one of Spain's finest civil Gothic buildings. Its facade is decorated with ghoulish gargoyles, complemented inside by the high vaulting and slender helicoidal (twisted) columns of the cavernous Contract Hall, one of the building's three separate sections. The upper level of the Pavilion of the Consulate of the Sea is particularly impressive, with its ornate 15th-century wood ceiling.

Since 1954, the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas has housed the Museo Nacional de Cerámica, with a magnificent collection of local and artisanal ceramics from ancient Greek, Iberian, and Roman times through the 20th century. The selection of traditional Valencian ceramics is especially noteworthy (look for the Valencian kitchen on the second floor).

The building itself, near Plaza Patriarca, has gone through many changes over the years and now has elements of several architectural styles, including a marvelous baroque alabaster facade. Embellished with carvings of fruits and vegetables, the facade was designed in 1740 by Ignacio Vergara. It centers on the two voluptuous male figures representing the Dos Aguas (Two Waters), a reference to Valencia's two main rivers and the origin of the noble title of the Marqués de Dos Aguas.

On the left side of the Plaza de la Virgen, fronted by orange trees and box hedges, is this elegant facade. The Gothic building was once the home of the Cortes Valencianas (Valencian Parliament), until it was suppressed by Felipe V for supporting the losing side during the 1700–14 War of the Spanish Succession. The two salones (reception rooms) in the older of the two towers have superb woodwork on the ceilings. Don't miss the Salon de los Reyes, a long corridor lined with portraits of Valencia's kings through the ages; 30-minute weekday guided tours (required) are available by calling or emailing ( [email protected]) in advance.

On one of the nicest stretches of the Turia riverbed is this huge glass vault, Valencia's main concert venue. Home of the Orquesta de Valencia, the main hall also hosts touring performers from around the world, including chamber and youth orchestras, opera, and an excellent concert series featuring early, baroque, and classical music.

This wide (nearly 450 feet) and popular grand municipal beach stretches north from the port and the America's Cup marina more than a kilometer (½ mile) before it gives way to the even busier and livelier Platja de Malvarossa. The Paseo Marítimo promenade runs the length of the beach and is lined with restaurants and hotels. There's no shade anywhere, but the fine golden sand is kept pristine and the water is calm and shallow. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

With the massive Baroque facades of the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and the Correos (central post office) facing each other across the park, this plaza is the hub of city life. The Ayuntamiento itself houses the municipal tourist office and a museum of paleontology.

Pop in just for a moment to marvel at the post office, with its magnificent stained-glass cupola and ring of classical columns. They don't build 'em like that any more.

This seminary, with its church, cloister, and library, is the crown jewel of Valencia's Renaissance architecture. Founded by San Juan de Ribera in the 16th century, it has a lovely Renaissance patio and an ornate church, and its museum—Museum of the Patriarch—holds artworks by Juan de Juanes, Francisco Ribalta, and El Greco.

A small plaza contains Valencia's oldest church (dating to the 13th century), once the parish of the Borgia Pope Calixtus III. The first portal you come to, with a tacked-on, rococo bas-relief of the Virgin Mary with cherubs, hints at what's inside: every inch of the originally Gothic church is covered with exuberant ornamentation.