Special treat: The Hospes Palau de la Mar has a beautifully-designed, modern Mediterranean style in a 19th century building. Doubles from £100. Read a full review here http://bit.ly/XI8TJA.
Special treat: Also try the elegant Caro hotel in an old palace. Doubles from £122, including breakfast. Read a full review here http://bit.ly/11aAb2N.
Mid-range: The Ayre Astoria Palace is in the centre with comfortable rooms and great views across the city from the top floor. Doubles from £58. Read a full review here http://bit.ly/T5OlOJ
The Cathedral is a riotous hotchpotch of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque extravagance, worth climbing the Micalet bell-tower for great city views (0034 963 918127; catedraldevalencia.es; €4.50/£3.70).
Soak up the scene at one of the pavement cafés in the Plaza de La Vírgen and get a beer or a gin and tonic at Café Negrito (Plaza del Negrito 1; 0034 963 914233).
Jump in a taxi to Bodega Casa Montaña in the Cabanyal, the old fishermen’s quarter, for some of the best tapas you’ll ever taste.
There are always a few exhibitions worth seeing at the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (Guillem de Castro 118; ivam.es; €2/£1.70), where there is also a good bookshop.
Wander the streets of the old town to La Lonja, the 15th-century silk exchange, one of the best examples of Gothic civil architecture in Europe which has World Heritage status (Admission €2/£1.70).
Opposite La Lonja, pick up a freshly-squeezed orange juice outside the art nouveau Central Market, where the fabulous local produce is sold at more than 1,000 stalls.
Grab a stool at Ricard Camarena’s Central Bar in the market for a quick lunch of tapas made with the freshest ingredients.
Head down to the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, which comprises a science museum, planetarium, opera house and marine park.
Vuelve Carolina is run by top chef Quique Dacosta. Downstairs is a gastrobar while upstairs is the more formal El Poblet (vuelvecarolina.com; €25/£21 in the gastrobar and €50/£42 in El Poblet) .
Explore the Bioparc (0034 902 250340; bioparcvalencia.es; admission €23.80/£20), Valencia’s very 21st-century version zoo. You might even get to see Ebo, the gorilla born there last October.
Or visit the Museo de Bellas Artes (San Pío V; 0034 963 870300; museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es; free), which is one of the most important art museums in Spain.
The family-run Casa Ripoll (Módulo 7, Paseo Marítimo, Playa de Malvarrosa; 0034 963 550022; casaripoll.com; around €20/£17) is popular with locals and is right on the beach.
