Valencia is the perfect holiday for a Spanish getaway

Looking for a Spanish getaway without falling into the usual tourists traps? Valencia and its surrounding regions might be the perfect holiday for you, writes Dean Van Nguyen.

Many holidaymakers have become accustomed to the foil-wrapped tourist traps that welcome scores of northern Europeans every summer, but Valencia and its surrounding regions – located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea – feels half a world away from that comparatively soulless package holiday resorts.

The beaches are unspoiled, the architecture is a dazzling mix of Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque stylings, and the nightlife is relaxed.

Like many cities dotted throughout the mainland Europe, café culture is prominent throughout the picturesque town centre, where relaxed locals don’t let the glowing sunshine stop them from enjoying their favourite caffeine-laden hot beverage.

Valencia may be Spain’s third largest metropolitan centre (after the more famous Madrid and Barcelona) and a key economic centre, but the atmosphere is far from bustling.

I arrived into Valencia airport as part of press group of five, all but one of us had come to run the city’s famous half marathon - an event that meant the excessive food and drink we had little hesitation in indulging in would have to wind down somewhat as the week went on.

Our trip did not start in Valencia City, however. Instead we bypassed it upon arrival and headed to the province of Castello.

Located some 70km north of Valencia, the area features 120 kilometers of beautiful coastline, while main town Castellon de la Plana – a sleepy paradise away from tourist season – is a lovingly-constructed area boasting casinos, pokey bars (where a bottle of beer will set you back as little as €1.50) and a wide variety of restaurants and cafes.

To escape the urban setting, we took a 20-minute drive to Benicàssim, a municipality, beach resort and one-time home to Ernest Hemmingway which is today best known for its annual summer music festival, though you wouldn’t have known it from our mid-October visit.

The area is ideal for sunbathing, swimming in the sea and water sports, but I counted just a handful of people sitting out on the beach, despite it being a sunny day.

For lunch I recommend the Voramar, a rather stately looking hotel and restaurant perched on a hill overlooking the sea.

Nothing tickles like eating great seafood as you gaze into the deep blue water, and this restaurant offers simply cooked fare in a bright, simply dressed dining room. Perfect to wind down with a glass of wine after an energy-sapping walk down the sun-drench coastline.

Our traversing of Valencia city continued with a morning visit to stunning Vilafamés, also located in the province of Castellón.

Aside from a couple of museums, there’s little to do in this hillside village other than wandering the quiet streets (the town’s population is only around 2,000), but what a collection of streets. The stunning and historic visuals resemble an exotic Game of Thrones set and are more than enough to hold the attention, assuming you can reverse some of the steep lanes and pokey sections.

The eldest part of the town dates back to around 1375. On its highest point sits a well-preserved castle, which crowns the hill, and it’s surrounded by a layout of narrow streets and charming dwellings that, despite their age, are still inhabited.

As impractical as living in these pokey corners seems to be (I wouldn’t fancy walking up and down that hill every day to fetch the milk), it’s a real journey back in time for residents.

Elsewhere, a visit to Valencia’s underground river is one of the region’s real natural beauties. The subversive caves at first have a slight ring of the Father Ted about them – seemingly not super interesting for those of us who aren’t rock enthusiasts – but the longest navigable underground river of Europe allows you to delve into the depths of the Earth in a boat.

The water is calm and soothing, allowing you to sit back and picture the growth of various stalactites and stalagmites that you’ll stumble upon.

And when you’re done investigating the deep valleys, lunch is available at La Gruta restaurant, which has been built right in the caves themselves. The natural stone walls contrast the contemporary decor and warm lighting (compared to the dark river caves anyway), providing one of the most original surroundings you’ll ever experience in an eatery.

After a couple of days circling the city, it was Valencia itself proved the high point of the trip. The best way to see most of it, we found, was to rent bikes.

Large parts of Valencia are accessible on two wheels thanks to the conversion of dry riverbeds into parks, while sections of the Old City (Ciutat Vella), where many of the key sites are located, are far easier to access on a bike than in a car.

An afternoon spent taking in the visuals doesn’t disappoint. Among others, there’s the audaciously futuristic City of Arts and Sciences building, and the Torres de Serranos, one of 12 gates that formed part of the ancient city wall.

We also took time to check out one of Europe’s biggest and oldest markets, the Mercado Central. Situated inside a jewel of pre-modernista architecture, the building itself was constructed in the beginning of the 20th century in authentic Valencian style.

The cycling also serves as a nice way to build an appetite, and what better way to appease your hunger than perhaps the region’s most famous delicacy: its paella.

We went to the Casa Carmela, where the paella is slow cooked to perfection on wide pans to ensure its spread thin (as opposed to stacked high) and cooked on wood - the ideal conditions for the temperamental dish.

Although the restaurant was again close to the sea, we broke from the seafood and ordered the rabbit and chicken paella. The meat was tender and unspoilt, while the rice was creamy.

The rich eating and robust drinking would have to be curbed for the half-marathon though.

Pasta was on the menu the night before the big race (for the Glycogen, I’m told) and Italian restaurant La Pappardella – which mixes art, vintage style and vibrant jazz – proved to be just the right final evening meal before an early night in the Hotel Primus Valencia, a slick, modern hotel located minutes from where the big race was due to kick off.

The 25th edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half-Marathon was won by Abraham Cheroben. It was the Kenyan’s second consecutive victory at the event and he broke his own course record, romping home with a time of 58:48. The Ethiopian Netsanet Kebede also smashed the women’s record on the circuit by nearly half a minute with a time of 1:07:30.

While the Olympic-level athletes stormed off from the start, the energy was palpable for us amateur runners at the back. There was a buzz around the busy streets as we waited to line-up, though the weather could have been kinder to those of us accustomed to a more northern climate.

The first rain of our trip had fallen the night before giving the air an unwelcomed humidity we’d not previously experience on the trip. As we took off from the starting line at 9am, the temperature hit 20C. At its hottest, it rose to an uncomfortable 27C.

It was a minor distraction, though. The atmosphere was palpable as locals came out in force to cheer on the runners.

Huge speakers were set up at certain points of the run, blasting out the famous theme from Chariots of Fire of extra motivation.

And with a route that passed many of the city’s key locations, it’s really a good way to take in all of Valencia’s glory.

The race made for tired legs but we quickly showered back at the hotel and headed straight for the airport.

It has been a rapid few days in the region that appears so low down on regular globetrotters’ bucket list of dream destinations.

I was already plotting my return.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Fly direct from Dublin Airport to Valencia Airport with Ryanair on Wednesdays and Sundays. See www.ryanair.com

WHAT TO SEE:

The Mercado Central (Central Market) takes place inside one of the most iconic examples of Gothic architecture in Europe, the Lonja de la Seda.

Browse food stalls, restaurants and souvenir shops at what is one of the oldest running markets in Europe.

WHERE TO EAT:

Restaurante Casa Carmela (Carrer d’Isabel de Villena, 155, 46011 Valencia) offers authentic paella just a stones throw from the sea.