Valencia (2008)

15 May 2008 - 18 May 2008 We set off for Valencia at the ungodly hour of 6:20 in the morning, by now resigned to the classic 40 minutes of the Malpensa Express train. Our low-cost airline this time is Vueling.com, which welcomes us with a jolly delay of about twenty minutes. Fortunately, thanks to Alitalia's partial collapse, the flights leave from terminal 1 and save us a bit of effort.

The airport nevertheless always lives up to its reputation, cramming all the passengers for the flight onto a bus to reach the plane standing ten metres away!

Arriving in Valencia, the city greets us with a small, perfectly organised airport; within minutes we're already on the metro, which in about 20/25 minutes drops us in the centre, total transport cost €1.80! From the airport there are metro lines 3 or 5, which follow the same route for several stops, then split into two branches.

Our hotel is a stone's throw from the Colón stop, in Calle Correos, a side street off Plaza Ayuntamiento. Never was a choice better. We decided to invest a bit more money than usual (double ensuite with breakfast €79 a night) because after frantic searching a few months earlier we had found room only in outlying areas. Valencia's public transport leaves quite a lot to be desired: the metro and trams connect few areas of the city and the buses run rarely, and in some cases the last service is at 11 p.m.

Once we've dropped our bags we dash off to explore the city. A first stop at the Cerveceria 100 Montaditos to rediscover how good eating in Spain is. You can choose from hundreds of different sandwiches, but if you know little of the language I'd suggest choosing the offer of 6 montaditos plus drinks; they're already a very generous snack.

Valencia is a very particular city; perhaps because it lies between Barcelona and Andalusia, two spectacular beauties, it can seem anonymous and unattractive. Architecturally it doesn't strike you immediately with particular beauties; the main attractions, like Plaza de la Reina, Plaza de la Virgen and Plaza Ayuntamiento, the Norte station with the Plaza de Toros beside it, are concentrated in the city centre. In half a day, wandering at random, we saw them all. CONTINUES ON OUR BLOG: