Valencia - A Green City with Lots of Culture

If a green city like Valencia has something that many other cities don't have to this extent, it's the countless green parks and avenues. These run through the entire city and provide plenty of shade on hot and sunny days. Yes, it was already pleasantly warm here. At the beginning of May, we had 32 degrees *sweaty*. Of course, the climate here is very pleasant, so you hardly notice it.

Turia Park Valencia

As I've already mentioned in my first Mention of Valencia was brief, and the park was introduced a little. But of course, we didn't just walk through it once, but also took a day to see the entire park. The park really stretches out from west to east. You can't walk 8 km (16 km round trip) with two kids in one day, especially since you also want to see everything. That's why we rented a family bike, the kind with a roof and 4 wheels, where the kids can relax and the parents can cycle 🙂

This was super pleasant, and we were able to ride up and down within a few hours. The park borders the harbor to the east, more or less, and ends at the „Bioparc“ zoo to the west. We absolutely recommend the park for kids, as there are tons of playgrounds, which provides the necessary variety. We also came armed with a huge picnic basket and enjoyed a delicious lunch under mandarin trees.

A green city with great parks and playgrounds

For example, you can get to the park via the „Alameda“ metro station. This station was designed by the same architect who designed the City of Arts and Sciences. The metro station is very chic and, according to the newspaper, cost nearly a billion euros. Nevertheless, there are buckets everywhere catching water, as it rained a few days before *lol*

A highlight for kids is the large Gulliver Playground, located quite near the bottom of the park, in the east of the city. You can spend half the day here with slides and climbing. Our oldest is having a great time and finds every imaginable sliding opportunity. Entrance is free, although some information signs tell us that access is restricted in the summer. 400 children is limited. So prepare for a lot of action. Here, by the way, is an aerial view where you can see Gulliver.

A visit to Turia Park is worthwhile for anyone visiting Valencia. If you simply walk east from wherever you are in the city, you will inevitably reach the park. Good luck! 🙂

Excursion to Xàtiva

Xàtiva is located about 45 minutes west of Valencia by train. We set off for Xàtiva to visit the castle ruins and, of course, the city. Actually, we only went there for the castle, but we were very surprised to find an equally beautiful and picturesque small town.

We're taking the first Metro on Line 4 at 5:54 AM. This time, it's not taking us to the beach, but to the central station. Okay, it can't do that itself, but it will take us to Line 3, which will then take over. We arrive at the station early and have breakfast first, so we're energized for our excursion. We set off punctually at 7 AM for Xàtiva. By the way, this is pronounced with Dschatiwa off. Since I only made a rough plan, we'll just get off at the right platform by chance. But whatever, we made it. Now the only question is: Where is the castle?

In front of the train station, a school class is standing, and we ask the teacher for directions. He asks us, quite astonished, if we really want to walk up. He points out that there are taxis there and we have two kids with us, and it's quite a climb. Regardless, we're early. Less than 45 minutes later, all four of us are standing in front of locked castle gates. Like almost everything in Spain, the castle doesn't open until 10 am. Perfect! Enough time for a mid-morning snack, to rest, and to look around the area.

Xàtiva Castle

Xàtiva Castle or Spanish Xativa Castle or Valencian: Xàtiva Castle is a great sight. The view from the very top is breathtaking. You look out over Xàtiva and the green, hilly surroundings. We spend some time at the highest point, enjoy the view, and have a good time. Then we walk back down into the city. This, too, with its small alleys and many great shops... little shops, is worth a visit. There are also playgrounds here, and the kids still have enough energy for them 🙂 The playgrounds here are almost always in the shade, which is super practical. Unfortunately, that's not the case in Switzerland.

After a good ice cream at the Italian restaurant, we then make our way home. It was a long day, but beautiful and eventful.

Tour of the Bullring

We regularly go on a "Daddy Day" - just my oldest daughter and I. This time we decided to visit the bullring or Plaza de Toros de Valencia It was impressive. Apart from the fact that I would never watch a bullfight myself, the museum and especially the arena were super exciting. The feeling when you stand in the middle of the arena and grasp its size is impressive. For her, it was more of a giant sandbox, surrounded by seating for 12,000 people. After the arena, we visited the museum, but apart from a few bullfighter costumes and a stuffed bull, there wasn't much else cool to see. So we headed to the beach 🙂

Fireworks by day and night

The people here in Valencia love fireworks. Hardly a day goes by without seeing fireworks or at least hearing a few firecrackers in the neighborhood. At first, you still think of gang wars and shootouts and don't dare to go out on the street after 9 p.m. But over time, we learned that they were just harmless firecrackers, so-called Traca Valencia. But those things make noise endlessly and cost a lot of money.

But there are also completely normal fireworks here, and they're set off during the day! Why during the day? It's quite simple: here, people are more concerned with the noise than with the colors and light. On every happy occasion, a small firework is set off which lasts maybe two minutes. For example, at a child's birthday party, at a communion (there were a lot of fireworks a few weeks ago *lol*), and even when the favorite soccer team wins. There doesn't seem to be a rule here that private fireworks can only be set off on New Year's Eve.

In any case, we're venturing out onto the streets again and enjoying the fireworks in the evening from our apartment. The bigger, official ones are really cool, and you have the perfect view from here. (see gallery below).

What else is there to do here?

In the second week of May, there was a fantastic kite festival on the beach. It wasn't just interesting for the kids. There were huge kites that were positioned on the beach for two days, peacefully soaring in the air. Is there anything more beautiful than lying on the beach, enjoying the peace, and watching these kites fly? Yep, especially when you're sitting at the beach cafe and licking an ice cream cone at the same time! 🙂

Those who love cats will find themselves in Valencia's first Cat café Correct. With a total of 18 cats, you can eat delicious snacks here and at least drink good tea. However, you have to like the cats drinking from your glass. I did it for my girls, and they were super happy with it. The next two hours were less pleasant for me, but Tempo earned well from me because of it. *lol*

As a break from the cat cafe, we went to one of the best Japanese restaurants in town. The Kaori Ruzafa It's currently ranked 5th out of over 3,500 restaurants in Valencia on TripAdvisor. You absolutely must make a reservation here. Even on a Thursday afternoon at 2 PM, the place was packed! We only booked after our first attempt because we didn't want to go all the way there for nothing again. The sushi variations are exceptional. There are no standard dishes there; even the miso soup tastes different than anywhere else. We also had Torrijas there, the ’Spanish French Toast.„ You can get it almost anywhere for one euro, and it's basically like a cinnamon bread. It already tastes delicious in normal bakeries, but here, at the Japanese place, it was Michelin-star worthy. If you're in town and don't feel like tapas, check it out.

Otherwise, we've experienced a lot in the past few weeks by simply wandering through the city, taking different routes each time and discovering beautiful things. From our apartment, we've not only seen great fireworks, but also fantastic rainbows and hot air balloons drifting by cozily.

We live on a fantastic world that is so beautiful and has so much to explore. We'll continue on! 🙂