Destinations

The birthplace of paella, with a strong arts and gardens scene and a long urban beach.

A photogenic peninsula town crowned by a historic castle and flanked by Mediterranean beaches on both sides

A 13th-century cathedral in Valencia housing a chalice venerated as the Holy Grail.

Valencia's 1859 neo-classical bullring beside the Norte station — active in the July fair, with a small bullfighting museum.

Valencia's expansive city beach, famous for its lively promenade and authentic paella restaurants

A futuristic complex in Valencia's old riverbed, holding science and aquarium halls in white concrete shells.

A grand 14th-century Gothic gatehouse offering the best panoramic views over Valencia

An architectural masterpiece of Gothic design and a monument to Valencia's silk trading heritage

A long, wide sandy beach with a developed promenade in Gandia, Valencia.

A 13th-century Templar castle set atop a rocky peninsula in the coastal town of Peñíscola.

A twin medieval fortress complex above the town of Xàtiva, used historically as a royal prison.

Europe's largest palm grove, planted by the Arabs in the 10th century and still irrigated by its original channels.

A palm-forest city inland from Alicante, with a UNESCO palm grove, a mystery play and two millennia of layers.

A reservoir of green water in the mountains behind Benidorm, with a castle and a village on the rock above it.

A market town under a double castle, the birthplace of the Borja family and of two popes.

A wine town above a network of medieval cellars dug under its streets, with a Gothic quarter above them.

An inland industrial city of Modernist buildings and steep streets, home of the Moors and Christians festival.

A white-washed hill town on the northern Costa Blanca, with a blue-domed church and cobbled stairs down to the sea.

A vast fortress on the hill above Alicante's harbour, with ramparts built by Philip II's engineers and free access.

A working Mediterranean city under a castle, with a palm-lined esplanade, an archaeological museum and a good beach.

A wide, high-rise-backed urban beach in central Benidorm.

A lagoon and rice marsh south of Valencia, where paella comes from and the sunsets are the best in the region.

A small cliff-lined cove near Xàbia with a distinctive rock arch just offshore.

A walled hill town under a castle on the Castellón border, with aqueduct arches and a Gothic basilica.