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

Built between 1616 and 1662 on the site of a former mosque, this church (called a concatedral because it shares the seat of the bishopric with the Concatedral de Orihuela) has an austere facade designed by Agustín Bernardino, a disciple of the great Spanish architect Juan de Herrera. Inside, it's dominated by a dome nearly 150-feet high, a pretty cloister, and a lavish baroque side chapel, the Santísima Sacramento, with an elaborate sculptured stone dome of its own. Its name comes from the day that Alicante was reconquered (December 6, 1248) from the Moors, the feast day of San Nicolás.

About 15 km (9 miles) inland from Dénia, this 400-yard-long cave was named for the 12 Moorish skulls found here when it was discovered in 1768. The cave of stalactites and stalagmites has a dome rising to more than 60 feet and leads to an underground lake.

This is the major village in the area, with streets lined with restaurants specializing in various types of paella. The most traditional kind is made with rabbit or game birds, though seafood is also popular.

The always-entertaining fishing quarter and harbor are below the city near the bus station and the mouth of the Francolí River. Restaurants in the port, such as the popular El Pòsit del Serrallo ( Moll de Pescadors 25), offer fresh fish in a rollicking environment.

The Greco-Roman ruins here are Catalonia's most important archaeological site, and this port is one of the most monumental ancient engineering feats on the Iberian Peninsula. As the Greeks' original point of arrival in Spain, Empúries was also where the Olympic Flame entered Spain for Barcelona's 1992 Olympic Games.

This 12th-century Romanesque church is part of a 10th-century monastery, still in an excellent state of preservation. It's set on the town's main plaza, Sant Pere, with many cafés and terraces.

Founded in 977, this pre-Romanesque gem contains the relics of St. Vincent as well as the tomb of its benefactor, Pere de Rovira. La Capella de la Veracreu (Chapel of the True Cross) displays a reproduction of an alleged fragment of the True Cross brought from Rome by Bernat Tallafer in 977 and stolen in 1899.

The fishing industry is still very important in Calpe, and every evening the fishing boats return to port with their catch. The subsequent auction at the fish market, from around 5 pm, can be watched from the walkway of La Lonja de Calpe.

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.

The remains of this 13th-century mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, were discovered in the 1960s; it's one of the few surviving in Spain. A stone stairway leads down into the chamber where the water was drawn from the river, but little else indicates the role that the baths played in the medieval Jewish community. Access is by guided tour only (organized through the tourist office).

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.

Founded in 1158 on the banks of the Gaià River, Santes Creus is one of Catalonia's largest and best-preserved Cistercian monasteries. Its otherwise austere church features glorious Cistercian and Gothic stained-glass windows, as well as the royal tombs of King Peter III and James II and his wife Blanche of Anjou of the Kingdom of Aragón. Other highlights include the ornate 14th-century Gothic cloisters.

The church of St. Peter, across the Galligants River, was finished in 1131, and is notable for its octagonal Romanesque belfry and the finely detailed capitals atop the columns in the cloister. It now houses the Museu Arqueològic (Museum of Archaeology), which documents the region's history since Paleolithic times and includes some artifacts from Roman times.

Inside the old hospital of San Juan de Dios, the MARQ has a collection of artifacts from the Alicante region dating from the Paleolithic era to modern times, with a particular emphasis on Iberian art.

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.

In the Plaza de Toros, the Bullfighting Museum is a must for aficionados, with fine examples of matador costumes (the "suits of lights"), bull heads, posters, capes, and sculptures.

The Episcopal Palace near the cathedral contains the wide-ranging collections of Girona's main art museum. On display is everything from superb Romanesque majestats (carved wood figures of Christ) to reliquaries from Sant Pere de Rodes, illuminated 12th-century manuscripts, and works of the 20th-century Olot school of landscape painting.

From pre-Roman objects to paintings and drawings from the notorious siege at the hands of Napoleonic troops, to the early municipal lighting system and the medieval printing press, artifacts from Girona's long and embattled past are exhibited in this fascinating museum. Rooms organized chronologically and by theme educate visitors on the ways the city has developed.

Inside the Romanesque Benedictine monastery is this museum, which contains interesting exhibits about the town's cork and fishing trades, and displays local archaeological finds.

Bonfire festivities are popular in this part of Spain, and the ninots, or effigies, can be elaborate and funny, including satirized political figures and celebrities. Every year the best effigies are saved from the flames and placed in this museum, which also has an audiovisual presentation of the festivities, scale models, photos, and costumes.

American industrialist Charles Deering’s magnificent early 20th-century palace, perched on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, is home to this eclectic collection that spans 10 centuries. It includes Romanesque and Gothic altarpieces, paintings from the Neoclassic period, and Modernisme works by artists linked to Sitges. It’s worth a visit if only to see the dedicated sculpture room, with noucentista sculptures by Joan Rebull framed by enormous windows offering jaw-dropping views of crashing waves below.

An interesting collection of artifacts and movie-related paraphernalia traces the evolution of movies, starting with Chinese shadow puppetry, through the first rudimentary moving pictures, to the Lumière brothers. The Cine Nic toy filmmaking machines, originally developed in 1931 by the Nicolau brothers of Barcelona and now being relaunched commercially, allow even novices to put together their own movies.

Hundreds of antique dolls and toys are on display here—including collections owned by, among others, Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, and Joan Miró. The museum also hosts Catalonia's only caganer exhibit. These playful little figures, which pose answering nature's call, have long had a special spot in the Catalan pessebre (Nativity scene). Farmers are the most traditional figures, squatting discreetly behind the animals, but these days you'll find Barça soccer players and politicians, too.

A 1960s neoclassical building contains this museum housing the most significant collection of Roman artifacts in Catalonia. Among the items are Roman statuary and domestic fittings such as keys, bells, and belt buckles. The beautiful mosaics include a head of Medusa, famous for its piercing stare. Don't miss the video on Tarragona's history.

Just uphill from the fish market are this early Christian necropolis and museum. In 1923, the remains of a burial ground were discovered during the construction of a tobacco factory. The excavations on display—more than 2,000 tombs, sarcophagi, and funeral objects—allow visitors a fascinating insight into Roman funeral practices and rituals.

The family house of renowned cellist Pau (Pablo) Casals (1876–1973) is on the beach at Sant Salvador, just east of the town of El Vendrell. Casals, who left Spain in self-imposed exile after Franco seized power in 1939, left a museum of his possessions here, including several of his cellos, original music manuscripts, paintings, and sculptures. Other exhibits describe the Casals campaign for world peace ("Pau," in Catalan, means both Paul and peace), his speech at the United Nations in 1971 (at the age of 95), and his haunting interpretation of El Cant dels Ocells (The Song of the Birds), his homage to his native Catalonia. Across the street, the Auditori Pau Casals holds frequent concerts and, in July and August, a classical music festival. The museum is about 32 km (20 miles) south of Sitges, en route to Tarragona,

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 for entry) 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.

A 1½-km (1-mile) circular path skirting the surviving section of the 3rd-century-BC Ibero-Roman ramparts, this walkway was built on even earlier walls of giant rocks. On the other side of the path is a glacis, a fortification added by English military engineers in 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Look for the rusted-bronze wolf sculpture featuring Romulus and Remus.

The landscaped gardens of this stepped archaeological walk are below the Barri Vell's restored Carolingian walls (which you can walk, in parts) and enjoy superlative views of the city from belvederes and watchtowers. From there, climb through the Jardins de la Francesa to the highest ramparts for a view of the cathedral's 11th-century Torre de Carlemany.