So, Valencia then...

[Patrick Thistle]

I have most of a week in Valencia coming up - getting there on a Tuesday and flying home on the Saturday. It's for a work conference and the days are pretty full. Some of the evenings too.

But if I do get a few hours, what's worth seeing?

Also I've checked and Valencia and Levante aren't playing at home during the days I'm there, which means I can't add a new ground to my list while I'm out there. Unless anyone on here knows of another team in very close proximity who would be playing at home.

(I even checked Valencia B and their ladies team to see if anyone was playing. But sadly no.)

(Valencia are playing Barcelona on the Saturday I fly home but the flight tickets are booked now.)

So, any advice / tips / things I gotta see?

[Sam]

So, Valencia then...

Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias is worth a few hours if you've got them spare, and the park that runs around the city centre (in what used to be the river bed, before they drained it) is quite pleasant for a stroll. The cathedal's nice, the train station and bullring are pretty to look at, and the old silk exchange (Lonja in Spanish, Llotja in Catalán/Valencian) is worth a look in. There are some nice bars not far from the central square close to the cathedral.

If you're into looking at collections of miniature lead soldiers arranged to recreate old battles and centuries past, you must check this place out too. The bloke who set it up really did have far, far too much time on his hands, I didn't know whether to gape in astonishment at the size of the collection or burst out laughing.

[ad hoc]

So, Valencia then...

Yes to the Calatrava stuff in the old river bed, its a pretty astonishing place. It's a great city for biking in (unusually for Spain) and the beach is also very nice (though you may not have the chance to head there if you're busy in the daytimes). The barrio del carme is the old part of town* and is cool for wandering around, but these days the hip area is the zone southeast of the station (the name of which escapes me), but I'm guessing if you;re being taken out to dinner you'll get to both of those areas.

(*I lived in Barrio del carme in 1987/88, when it was the seediest, dodgiest, most exciting place I'd ever been. The buildings were in disrepair, drug use was rampant (only place Ive lived where the sight of people jacking up on the streets and snorting lines off tables in crowed bars was commonplace). My apartment had no bathroom, just a toilet on the balcony, and the kitchen sink for washing (no hot water either).

It's been cleaned up a lot, as I was there this summer. Really enjoyed going back, though it felt like an entirely different city

In football terms Villareal aren't that far away in Castellon.

[ursus arctos]

So, Valencia then...

The cathedral itself is also definitely worth a visit,, especially in the afternoon, when the alabaster panels are most translucent.

Eat paella.

[Lang Spoon]

So, Valencia then...

ursus arctos wrote: The cathedral itself is also definitely worth a visit,, especially in the afternoon, when the alabaster panels are most translucent.

Eat paella.

Don't need to drink Orxata though, unless you've a thing for weird tasting ice cold milk type stuff.

[WOM]

So, Valencia then...

Esto no significa nada para mí.

[ursus arctos]

So, Valencia then...

Don't you have "Horchata" up there?

[steveeeeeeeee]

So, Valencia then...

I haven't been for over a decade, but it's a lovely city. There's nothing majorly vital to see, it's just a very pleasant place, great for walking around and experiencing Spanish life.

It could be an absolute nightmare trying to catch a taxi there in the evening, I seem to recall.

Agua da Valencia is the local tipple; cava and very fresh orange juice.

[Sam]

So, Valencia then...

ursus arctos wrote: Don't you have "Horchata" up there?

I think he's making a joke in which he pretends to be confused and think this thread is about another European city beginning with 'V' and ending with 'a'... but given it's WOM there's a good chance it's not that and that he has in fact never heard of Ultravox.

[WOM]

So, Valencia then...

That's exactly what it was.

And I am indeed curious about Horchata, having heard of it in a Vampire Weekend song. I'm sure it's available around here someplace.

[ad hoc]

So, Valencia then...

steveeeeeeeee wrote:
Agua da Valencia is the local tipple; cava and very fresh orange juice.

and vodka

[DCI Harry Batt]

So, Valencia then...

Churros. And that mad thick hot chocolate that is basically just melted chocolate.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Valencia then...

I haven't been since 2001, but I absolutely loved the place. Loved the moat-park thing, the local beaches are decent (and not mobbed, as all the holidaymakers pile over to Ibiza in stead) and the food was fantastic. Also, the Mestalla is the very definition of Proper Urban Football Ground.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

So, Valencia then...

Sorry to be a pedantic cunt, but it's a bugbear of mine. It's 'Mestalla', not 'the Mestalla'. Mestalla is the name of the area, like Highbury or Ibrox.

[Patrick Thistle]

So, Valencia then...

Thanks everyone. I've got a couple more weeks before I go so any more tips are welcome.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Valencia then...

Sorry to be a pedantic cunt, but it's a bugbear of mine. It's 'Mestalla', not 'the Mestalla'.

Fair enough. I roar with disapproval at work when people call it The San Siro, or talk about The Ukraine.

[WOM]

So, Valencia then...

The Human League must have had you in fits around '84.

[E10 Rifle]

So, Valencia then...

Yep, and Pixies

[Sporting]

Too many bloody tourists here these days; I stay in my barrio unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, you can always take a trip up to the new unfinished stadium, now nine years paralysed.

[gt3]

and vodka

Gin not vodka when I was there...

Also, the world's oldest court...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/trave...urt-180956951/

[Patrick Thistle]

I really liked Valencia. I can see me working there as a waiter after Brexit.

I'll be comically inept and when the tapas bar owner yells at me I'll just say "What?!?" and hopefully everyone will find that endearing.

[Sporting]

I really liked Valencia. I can see me working there as a waiter after Brexit.

Hopefully you won't need to live off your tips (which don't really happen here anyway) as the pay's shit.