Valencia
[Snapshot lead is brief — Valencia's defining salience is carried in the Culture, Cuisine and Architecture sections. The framing leans on paella, Las Fallas, the City of Arts and Sciences (Calatrava), and the Turia riverbed park.]
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
2winter
mild, occasionally rainy in autumn; mean 8.1-18.2 °C across the range; January mean min 4.0 °C; October-November wettest (1.6 mm/day)
- indoor cultural season: the IVAM (Institut Valencià d'Art Modern), the Palau de la Música, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Calatrava)
- the Central Market (Mercado Central) and the Silk Exchange (La Lonja de la Seda, UNESCO) carry indoor civic life
- Las Fallas preparation begins; the city is in papier-mâché-building mode
summer
hot and very dry; mean 22.0-26.1 °C, July mean max 33.1 °C; Jul-Aug precipitation 0.3-0.6 mm/day; daily peaks regularly >35 °C
- the Malvarrosa and Arenas beaches activate; the city becomes a beach city
- the Turia riverbed park (the diverted former river, 9 km of green corridor through the city) is at full use
- the Tomatina (Buñol, late August, 30 km west) and the La Tomatina-adjacent economy
- outdoor dining shifts to late evening; the city's Mediterranean schedule peaks (dinner 21:00-23:00)
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Las Fallas
- Valencia's defining festival
- ~700 giant papier-mâché fallas in the streets
- mascletà midday firecrackers
Tomatina
- tomato-throwing festival in Buñol (30 km west)
- international crowds
- citywide overflow
Feria de Julio
- month-long Valencia Fair — concerts, bullfights, fireworks
On the record
source-trackedThe Valencian Community is one of Spain's most popular domestic and international tourist destinations. As a result of excellent air, road and rail links and a hot Mediterranean climate in the summer, 9 million international tourists visited the region in 2017.
Rice dishes are particularly famous in the region, with Valencian paella (pronounced pie-ey-ya) being the most widely [known].
Visitors to the Valencian Community will have likely already eaten some of the region's signature dishes, due to the worldwide fame of its rice dishes and the export of local citrus fruits.
When dining in the region, it is common to be offered pan y aioli (Valencian: pan y allioli) with the meal - bread, accompanied by the garlic aioli sauce and a chopped tomato sauce.
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre.
Alicante-Elche Airport: The fifth busiest airport in Spain.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.