The old Soviet Union meets Dubai on the shores of the Caspian Sea. In 2023, Valencia further celebrates its foodie credentials by hosting the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards in 2024 it’s been crowned the European Green Capital thanks to its myriad sustainability initiatives.
Don’t miss a trip to the City of Arts and Sciences, an extensive complex where you’ll find Europe’s biggest aquarium a digital 3D cinema the highly interactive Science Museum the Palau de les Arts, which hosts musical performances year-round and the Umbracle, a 17,000sqm open-access garden. Here, you can stroll the Jardin del Turia, the former riverbed turned 9km-long park that’s now the beating green heart of the city, before discovering the handsome walled old town and ducking into the Mercado Central for a snack.
Down the coast from tourist magnet Barcelona, Spain’s third city is a winning combination of buzzy without being overwhelmed, with great-value prices to match. It offers an exquisite balance of beachside location, outrageously good cuisine – this is the birthplace of paella, after all – and range of cultural institutions to get stuck into. I would add this unassuming yet extraordinary Spanish coastal city to every list going if I could.
