INTRODUCTION
Before you read this article, you need to have read "Finding Great Food in Spain - Part 1. Once you have read that, we can continue our trip. In this part 3, we will cover two regions, La Comunidad Valenciana on the eastern side of Spain and the island of Mallorca. So let´s dive in.
LA COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA.
We start by visiting Valencia. Here we have three different locations to stay in; which one you choose, or whether you choose to stay in all of them, will depend very much on your personal preference. The first is the historic centre of the city, which is where the town hall square, the cathedral, the market, the Calle Colón which is like the Oxford street of Valencia, the silk museum, the river (a park made from what used to be a riverbed), the north railway station and countless narrow shopping streets to explore, are located. Here we recommend staying in an 18th century converted palace, the Caro hotel - here is the link to see more details and book it:
https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/nMJZzOnY
The old city is best explored with a guide, a small group walking tour that we recommend being: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/CsUKqIbX Valencia is home to the famous Spanish rice dish, paella. Some of you might like to learn how to make a paella during your stay in Valencia, so we thought we´d include a recommendation for a cooking class - here´s the link: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/PmIH7Q6F
A view of the Ayuntamiento (town hall) in central Valencia.
The second place to stay is right on the famous Malva Rosa beach by the promenade where there are lots of shops and restaurants. In summer the beach is excellent for swimming, as you can wade out into the waves on soft sand in warm water. In winter, its nice to walk on either the beach or the promenade. Here we recommend the hotel y balneario Las Arenas which has nice rooms with balconies, fantastic food and a relaxing spa area with a well heated pool. Here´s a link to look and book:
https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/nKzKbjHO
View of Las Arenas Balneario Resort, by far the best place to stay on MalvaRosa beach.
The next place to stay is about 8 kilometres south of Valencia. Set amongst the pine trees by the beach, are some picnic tables and a barbeque area where you can grill your own meats in an area known as El Saler. If you like the peace and quiet of the countryside and like to be based outside of the city, this is an ideal place to stay and we recommend the new parador. It has its own golf course, and you can walk straight out onto El Saler beach and straight out into the pine woods. The rooms are spacious and the food is excellent. Here´s a link for you to look and book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/yYVEdfCW From here you can visit the Albufera natural park where there is lots of birdlife. We strongly recommend this private tour where you will be picked up in a car with a guide and given a boat tour and walking and bird viewing and lunch - here is a link where you can see details and book: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/1YFz5uSij
The Valencia region has some nice places to visit so there are a few day tours which we recommend. First of all, a trip to natural hot springs, in a small group tour that is flexible enough to include your personal preferences: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/iCu3uw3T Valencia is a major orange growing area, and I would recommend asking your tour guide to have a 10 minute stop amongst the orange groves for you to be able to take photos and walk a bit along paths by the plantations.
Orange trees in Valencia province.
We don´t normally recommend bus tours, but this one takes you for a great day out to some of the special places to see south of Valencia: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/23d4xvT0 Going north of Valencia, a visit to one of the best preserved castles in Spain in Peñiscola is well worth it - here´s a tour we recommend for that: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/Cd3n2Rs2
Back in Valencia, if you like wildlife, the Bioparc should not be missed and makes a lovely afternoon out. Here´s a link where you can see more details, and buy your tickets so you don´t have to waste time queueing at the location: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/tKKhID65
Finally, no article on Valencia would be complete without talking about Fallas. This is a unique festival, held during a week in March, where papier maché statues are located all around town and participate in a tournament to survive - those that do not win are burnt at the end of the festival whereas the winners are kept in the Fallas Museum which you may want to visit. In addition to statues, people wear 17th century costume, the women brandishing spectacular dresses costing thousands of euros. They walk in processions to deliver flowers to a cross in a square near the cathedral. If you want to experience this festival, make sure you book your accommodation and tours a very long time in advance - you will need to allow about two weeks so that you participate in Fallas for one week and have the other week to do all the things we have recommended above.
PALMA DE MALLORCA.
We now travel to Mallorca. From Valencia you can either fly or else take a boat with your car. Here´s a link to book: https://omio.tpk.mx/2D3tcVub Once there, we suggest you stay at the Castillo Son Vida Hotel which has comfortable rooms, beautiful gardens, great food, and a wonderful view of Palma. Here´s the link to book: https://omio.tpk.mx/2D3tcVub Even though the food at the hotel is excellent, try and keep space in your stomach to do a culinary walking tour of Palma - we recommend this one: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/XEPV5nCU Whilst in Palma you will want to visit the cathedral, the castel de Bellver, and the Palau de Almaudaina. For a good ensaimada and pastry, go to the patisserai ca na cati: https://www.canacati.com/productos
You will also want to explore the island while you are there. One fun day tour takes you to Soller on a vintage train, stopping off at an orange farm en route. Here´s the link to book: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/DkkgMvwT Another nice thing to do is visit the famous Mallorca windmills along with some pretty villages, with a guide who will accompany you in your car. Here is the link to book that experience: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/NQs1PCmu A visit to the Drach caves, Porto Cristo and a pearl factory also makes a nice day out: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/XpuagXQI
That concludes our tour of Valencia and Mallorca. To continue our gastronomic tour of paradors, see our next blog "Finding Great Food in Spain - Part 4, Cataluña, the Pyrenees, ".
We hope you have enjoyed this blog. The links in it recommending places can benefit us financially - we humbly ask you to make your bookings through these links as that helps us to keep this site up and running - and it won´t cost you any more than if you were to book directly on the provider`s own website. Also, in the event of a problem, it makes it easier for us to resolve it. Happy Travels! And we would very much appreciate it if you could forward this to those of your friends who love historic towns, beautiful countryside and travelling. Thank you, and may God bless you. Lean and Anthony, the travelling donkeys.
