Valence · ES
Valencia: Old Town Highlights
From the grand town-hall square through the modernist Central Market to the cathedral of the Holy Grail and the great Gothic gates of the city.
De quoi parle cette balade ?
Welcome to Valencia, Spain's sun-drenched third city, where Roman foundations, Arab streets, Gothic stone and bold modernist design all jostle together. On this gentle loop through the Ciutat Vella, the old town, we begin in the grand civic square at the heart of the city's wild Fallas festival, graze through one of the largest fresh-food markets in Europe, and marvel at a Gothic silk exchange so fine it earned World Heritage status. We will slip into a church painted like a jewel box, stand before the cathedral that claims to hold the true Holy Grail, and finish beneath the towering medieval gates that once guarded the city. Wear a hat against the sun, and let Valencia work its easy magic.
Ce que vous verrez
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1
Plaça de l'Ajuntament
Square
Valencia's grand triangular civic square, ringed by the ornate city hall and main post office, and the thunderous stage for the daily firecracker displays of the Fallas festival.
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2
Mercat Central
Market
A dazzling modernist market hall of iron, glass, tile and stone from 1928, one of the largest fresh-food markets in Europe, crowned by domes and a weathervane shaped like a parrot.
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3
Llotja de la Seda
Monument
A masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this 15th-century silk and commodities exchange is famed for its hall of spiralling, palm-like stone columns.
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4
Església de Sant Nicolau
Church
A plain-fronted medieval church concealing one of Spain's most dazzling interiors: a Gothic skeleton entirely covered in swirling Baroque frescoes, earning it the nickname the Sistine Chapel of Valencia.
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5
Plaça Redona
Square
A perfectly circular hidden square, ringed by balconied houses and lined with tiny shops selling lace, fabrics, ceramics and traditional crafts around a central fountain.
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6
Plaça de la Reina
Square
The lively, orange-tree-lined square at the foot of the cathedral and its soaring Micalet bell tower, a recently pedestrianised space that is the natural crossroads of the old town.
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7
Catedral de València
Cathedral
Valencia's great cathedral, a layered blend of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque built over a mosque, famous above all for a chapel that holds what many believe to be the true Holy Grail.
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8
Basílica de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats
Basilica
The beloved basilica of Valencia's patroness, the Virgin of the Forsaken, linked to the cathedral and crowned by a glorious frescoed dome, the emotional heart of the city's faith.
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9
Palau de la Generalitat
Palace
A magnificent Gothic and Renaissance palace, begun in the fifteenth century, that has served as the seat of Valencia's self-government for more than five hundred years.
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10
Torres de Serranos
City Gate
The grandest surviving gate of medieval Valencia, a pair of mighty polygonal Gothic towers built in the 1390s, once the main northern entrance and later a prison, now climbable for sweeping views.
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