Destination
Valencia, Spain
Sleep
Palacio Santa Catarina Hotel
Eat
Saona | The Baker
Shop
Carmencita Lab | Loewe
See
La Seu de Valencia – Catedral de Santa Maria
Valencia is the perfect place to take a day trip. The city is small enough that you can see most of the main attractions within a day, but large enough to offer a variety of places to go and things to do… not to mention a range of hotels to suit different tastes and budgets. We were only there for a day, so I can’t provide a comprehensive city guide, but I still wanted to share what we experienced and loved during our brief visit.
Sleep
Palacio Santa Catarina Hotel
It was the hotel that drew us to Valencia, and Palacio Santa Catarina lived up to all expectations. It’s stunning, centrally located and offers impeccable service, but the true piece de resistance is the rooftop pool and bar, which offers views of the rooftops in the city centre. Those views, which you see in more than one of these snapshots, are stunning. And the rooftop space is the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon relaxing. We would gladly have stayed in Valencia longer just to keep enjoying it.
Eat
Saona – Multiple locations
Not just one restaurant, but a whole group of them, Soana locations dot Valencia. They’re popular with locals, and with good reason. The menus are modern and unfussy, made up of a mix of local and international dishes to suit every palette. They change regularly, with the seasons (and, I suspect, just to keep things interesting.) And they’re well-priced, particularly at lunch time, when, during the week, as in most restaurants in Valencia, three courses will set you back only thirteen euros.
The Baker – Carrer del Mestre Josep Serrano, 7
We stopped at this bakery to get provisions for our train ride to Barcelona – which we wanted, but probably didn’t really need. It proved the right choice. The Baker exceeded every possible expectation we might have placed on a shop that we Googled one minute and walked to the next. I’m still dreaming of their nut roll, which was crispy, crunchy, sweet and slightly salty all at once.
Shop
Carmencita Lab – Carrer de Lluis de Santangel, 16
This shop is well known in the international film photography community (in spite of its ever dwindling population.) If you still take photos on film, it’s a must visit when you’re in Valencia. Beyond continuing to do high quality film developing, which is increasingly rare in the iPhone era, Carmencita Lab sells a wonderful selection of different types of film so that you can keep your analog camera loaded and ready to capture the sights around the city.
Loewe – Carrer del Marques de Dos Aigues, 7
It’s not often that a designer shop, with locations all over the world, would make one of these lists. But I feel compelled to give a special mention to the Loewe boutique in Valencia, which looks surprisingly unsophisticated from the front door but offers a wonderful, personalised shopping experience in a beautiful, on-brand space inside. We spent more time at the Loewe boutique than intended, and every person we encountered was patient, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable about the brand. The kind of service they offer is increasingly rare, even in designer stores, and worthy of note. If you’re in Spain and planning to make a Loewe purchase, it’s worth doing it in Valencia.
See
La Seu de Valencia – Catedral de Santa Maria
The Catedral de Santa Maria is among Valencia’s main attractions, with good reason. It’s a beautiful building by any architectural standard, and a relatively unique one among churches, because while construction started in 1238, it went on for centuries, through different eras and artistic styles. It’s mainly gothic in style, but combines elements of Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, which gives it a look that is entirely its own. The way it is nestled among the city buildings is equally unusual, but particularly charming. It’s not often that a church can capture my attention, but this one nearly stole my heart.
