You mustn’t miss this if you’re (soon) going to Valencia
When the green light is finally given for us to travel again, we’ll dart through the streets of our favorite cities like frolicking foals. Eating, tasting, having drinks, meeting lovely people and getting to know other cultures: we can (almost) hardly wait! At the very top of our list? Valencia!
Because you can eat and drink incredibly well in Valencia, there is an enormous amount to do and see in the area around the city (the province where the city is located is also called Valencia), and if you give your culinary batteries a proper recharge here, you’ll be set for months. A wonderful outing in the middle of the city? The Mercat Central.
Fairy-tale-like
If you’ve ever been to a Mediterranean market, you’ll know that you’ll be taking in an incredible amount and will probably leave absolutely stuffed. Start by looking up: that food is coming right up… The building itself, the market hall, is a magnificent monumental structure dating from 1928. Before that, this was already the location of a fresh market, and even in Moorish times this was where commerce took place. Now, when you look up, you can still see that Arab influence in the fairy-tale-like domes and vaults, with the characteristic architectural style of iron, glass and ceramics all around you.
Bite, click, gone
It wouldn’t be Spain if you couldn’t sit down and enjoy the tastiest bites and drinks at various spots in the market. There are several restaurants and bars – the Central Bar, run by local chef Ricard Camerena, may well be the best known. Here they make the best cod croquettes. But be sure to try something from several different spots! Naturally, they cook with the best the market has to offer, and another option is for you to do your own shopping and then have your haul prepared by one of the participating restaurants. The Mercat Central is very much keeping up with the times, by the way: it was one of the first markets in the world where you could place online orders, as early as 1996!
Head outside
Almost all of these delicious products come from very nearby. The freshest fish, shellfish and crustaceans from the sea on which the city lies, and juicy, radiant fruit from the Huerta, Valencia’s vegetable garden. By the sea, you can eat incredibly delicious dishes such as paella de marisco (seafood), but be sure to head inland at least once too.
That ‘orchard of the city’ is where the oranges, beans, rice, most delicious aubergines, artichokes and many other wonderful products for which the region is known come from. Tiger nuts; another special local product – the basis for the ubiquitous refreshing drink horchata.
This kind of trip is also made very easy for you: you can take a guided tour from the city, which takes you to the Huerta (or L’Horta), where you can pick vegetables and fruit yourself, which will later be prepared for you during the catered lunch. Also included: a paella-making workshop, featuring, among other things, the vegetables you have just harvested. A local wine to go with it, relaxing with a full stomach while looking out over those beautiful gardens, and then being driven back to the city muy tranquilo.
Tempted? For more information, visit visitvalencia.com
Read also:
- Hotspot: SAGARDI is even tastier than your Spanish holiday romance (and completely corona-proof)
- These are Europe’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants
- The Spanish afternoon snack merienda
