Valencia from A to Z

Taylor Rawls is a student at the University of Richmond and an ISA Featured Blogger. She is currently interning abroad with ISA Internships in Valencia, Spain.

•  Albufera
  • Albufera is a lagoon and estuary that is a beautiful and popular fishing spot.
• Bravery
  • Valencia got its name from the word “valiente,” or “brave” in English.
• Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias
  • The City of Arts and Sciences contains an IMAX theater, planetarium, aquarium, an interactive science museum, and an opera house.

• Desserts
  • Valencia is known for having two especially delicious desserts: fartóns and churros. The best way to eat a churro is to dip it in chocolate. YUM.
• Eating out
  • Most restaurants are closed between 4 pm and 8 pm, the hours between lunch and dinner.
• Falles
  • Falles is a celebration of Saint Joseph. There are parades, insanely large puppets, and at the end of the festival, all of the puppets are lit on fire.
• Gastronomy
  • Basically, there is a lot of food here, and it is all delicious.
• Horchata
  • Valencia is the birthplace of this delicious drink, a combination of water, sugar, and tigernuts.
• Institut Valencià d’Art Modern
  • The Valencian Institute of Modern Art has beautiful exhibitions of contemporary art and photography.
• Jamon
  • Ham here goes by many names, but Spanish cured ham is delicious and can often be found as a starter or part of a tapa.
• Kilometers
  • Running is huge here and you can find 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons, and marathons almost every weekend.
• La Tomatina
  • The world’s largest tomato fight. Enough said.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia
  • The Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia was founded in 1913 and has about 2,000 works.
• Naranjas
  • Oranges, anyone?
• Oranges
  • Just to recap, Valencian oranges are big, sweet, and can be found for sale on almost any street.
• Paella
  • Original paella is rice mixed with chicken and rabbit, but you can find variations of it all throughout Valencia.
• Queso
  • What would Valencia be without cheese?
• Río Turia
  • The Turia River no longer runs through the middle of Valencia and it is now mostly something that resembles a garden and is perfect for picnicking, running, and bike riding.

• Salchicha
  • Salchicha, “sausage” in Spanish, is eaten in Valencia during lunch and dinner, not breakfast, often as part of a sandwich or along with rice and vegetables.
• Tortilla
  • If you order a tortilla here, you will get a thick, but delicious, mixture of eggs, potatoes, and onions.
• Uvas
  • “Uvas” is Spanish for “grapes” and Valencia is separated into two zones and 4 sub-zones that all produce a different kind of wine.
• Virgin’s Square
  • The Virgin’s Square (or Plaza de la Virgen) is in the center of the historic district and holds the famous Turia fountain.

• Water
  • Valencia is right on the Mediterranean Sea. Get your fill of sand, sun, and salty water.

• Xàtiva
  • The Castle of Xàtiva isn’t exactly in Valencia, but it’s close and beautiful and definitely something that you should check out.
• Yummy
  • This isn’t a noun, but this wouldn’t be a good list about Valencia if food wasn’t mentioned at least one more time.
• Zoo
  • Valencia’s zoo, called Bioparc, has few barriers and attempts to make visitors feel as if they are actually in the wild.

The world awaits…discover it.