Friday afternoon in the El Carmen neighborhood. A group of young people of different nationalities meet to drink beer on the private roof of the coworking space where they work. We have views of a golden sunset in which we can see the dome of Valencia’s Central Market, framed by the characteristic light that Sorolla spent his entire life painting and to which he gave his name about 100 years after his death a famous Instagram filter. “A friend did her Erasmus here, I visited her and fell in love with the city,” explains a chatty Englishwoman who left rainy London for this corner of the Mediterranean. “I can’t tell you what it has, it has everything: it’s big and manageable at the same time, you have classic and modern architecture, you have a beach and good weather, you have nightlife and you have the best food in the World.” The opinion is shared by those gathered here who have chosen this city as their place of residence for similar reasons. They are the so-called expats or digital nomads, young people who have the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world and about have enough money to maintain their own identity that lies outside the traditional immigrant label.
A little over 30 years ago in Valencia there was a sign at the entrance to the city inviting tourists to visit the city in two hours because it was a transit point and of little interest. Today, international media such as the New York Times and CNN recommend the city as a fashionable destination, always with the slogan “an alternative to crowded Barcelona”. Paella, sun and beach, which highlight these media with little originality, have always existed, but in recent years Valencia has positioned itself as more than just a simple alternative in all areas.
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“When our former mayor Joan Ribó arrived in the city, he said he wanted Valencia to be the Copenhagen of the south: now Copenhagen wants to be the Valencia of the north,” explains Miguel Ángel Pérez, brand director, on a sunny September morning. and markets of the Visit Valencia Foundation, dedicated to promoting the municipality in the tourism sector. “We have created a better city for its residents and that has provoked a response from those who visit us.” Pérez points to everything that contributed to Valencia being chosen as the European Green Capital in 2024. This award is given by the European Commission and recognizes the city’s efforts to improve the environment and quality of life. These are: the pedestrianization of several areas of the central district or the creation of a cycle path of more than 175 kilometers that not only passes through the streets but also takes us to the beach and the orchard. In addition to everything that already existed: the Turia Garden, a route of more than nine kilometers long with gardens and sports areas where the ancient riverbed once stood; and two natural paradises: less than 20 minutes by car from the historic center, the Albufera Natural Park, where you can take a boat trip among the rice fields or be amazed by its sunsets, and 45 minutes away, the Turia Natural Park. with more than 8,000 hectares of Mediterranean forest. And of course the famous Valencian orchard, the only peri-urban agricultural area in the world, which extends within 15 kilometers of the city and was declared a World Agricultural Heritage Site by the United Nations in November 2019.
End of the day on Malvarrosa beach in Valencia, the most famous and well-known in the city, on October 5, 2023. Mònica Torres
The Green Capital of Europe is, as Pérez claims, one of the city’s newest achievements, but there is more. “There were a few years when a policy of major events was implemented that we all remember, such as Formula 1.” [2012] or the Copa America [2017]. Here everyone has their personal opinion, but it is undeniable that they have helped us put the name of Valencia on the world map.” Something similar happened with the City of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated in 1998 and designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, a place about which Valencians have ambivalent feelings, like Parisians about the Eiffel Tower, but which is a major tourist attraction and the setting for various film productions, which in turn attracts more tourists. In addition, Valencia has been in full swing in recent years: World Capital of Design in 2022, attracting travelers and media from all over the world, or host city of the Goya Awards in the same year. Also on a gastronomic level: in 2022 the gala of the Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal took place here and last June the ceremony “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” took place.
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“You cannot talk about Valencia without mentioning the importance of its gastronomy and the success it has achieved in recent years,” explains Belén Arias, president of the Gastronomic Academy of the Valencian Community, during a meal at the Lienzo restaurant (Plaça of Tetuan ). , 18), who received his first Michelin star in the same year, which serves as a perfect example of his argument. “Tourists are increasingly understanding good food as an essential part of their travels, and what this city has to offer is second to none, offering quality dining options to suit all budgets,” explains Arias, “and I think that what is over, at the reception is over.” With the view from outside, the Valencian looked at himself and was proud.” He proudly explains in his product: “To a garden that has been the pantry of Europe for years, to a Mediterranean, which provides us with excellent fish and seafood, and rice grown nearby.” And also products that in the past were not particularly prominent in Valencia, such as the wine from the so-called Valencian Tuscany, the Terres dels Alforins , a valley full of wineries west of the city, or the increasingly valuable olive oil from the community. He is also proud of his know-how: “See, in recent years everything that is fashionable is market, seasonal and product cuisine… what Valencians have been doing all their lives, wow. In the end, what is a paella other than a good product and good technology?” he argues.
A fruit and vegetable stall in the Central Market of Valencia.Mònica Torres
Across the Turia River, in the Bombas Gens art center (Av. de Burjassot, 54), is the Ricard Camarena Restaurant, awarded two Michelin stars, one green star and three Repsol suns. It is one of the five restaurants that the Valencian has spread throughout the city, suitable for all budgets: at its stall in the Central Market (Pl. de la Ciutat de Bruges, s/n) you can eat an octopus sandwich and aioli for 7.50 euros, here the cheapest menu costs 165 euros. The chef himself (he refuses to be called “chef”) gives the key to the advantages of this gastronomy: “What is happening in the city is not a current merit, it is the legacy of history and the passage of time: we met .” Place of numerous civilizations, from the Phoenicians to the Arabs, and they all came, stayed and left their mark on our gastronomy, which is a melting pot of all of them and has produced a very significant wealth.” And also on this resurgence: ” Ultimately, we have better access to information, trends and what is happening in every corner of the world.” We have traveled more in the last 15 years than in the previous 150 years. It’s easy to go to New York or Hong Kong, see something and reinterpret it in a Valencian way, put it through the sieve of our pantry and check the quality of our product.”
Valencia is also not far behind culturally: the aforementioned Bombas Gens art center was inaugurated in 2017; in 2022, inside the Ágora building, the CaixaForum (by architect Enric Ruiz-Geli); To this list of new openings will be added this November the Hortensia Herrero Art Center, the private collection of the businesswoman and wife of one of the most famous Valencians, the founder of Mercadona Juan Roig, in the former Valeriola Palace. , and which features works by artists such as Andreas Gursky, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Anish Kapoor and Mat Collishaw. “But we also have the second largest art gallery in Spain after El Prado, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia and the parish of San Nicolás, christened the Valencian Sistine Chapel because of its impressive frescoes,” explains Miguel. Angel Perez. “In addition to everything new that comes our way, we use what we already have.” In recent years, historical places have been renovated to give them new life: this happened with the aforementioned Central Market or, more recently, with the Mercado de la Imprenta (C/ de la Mascota 17), a new gastro area in the old Imprenta Vila, which was built in 1908. The well-known Plaza de la Reina, La Lonja and Los Santos Juanes were also converted into more walkable locations.
Sunset atmosphere on the roof of Atenea Sky in the city center. Monica Torres
All the Valencians interviewed for this report highlight, in addition to the climate and the 330 days of sunshine a year, also the architecture, the culture or the gastronomy, which are much more intangible and therefore more difficult to explain in any guide: Attractive lifestyle of La Terreta. “I would say that one of the fundamental characteristics of Valencians is that they are naturally cheerful: we like to be on the street, eating and prolonging dinner, the noise, the music and, even if it may sound cliché, the party,” says Vicent Marco, journalist and author of books about the local character in a humorous way such as De Categoria (Sargantana, 2016), the comic Bestiario valenciano (author-editor, 2021) and the essay Almuerzos valencianos ( Llibres de Drassana, 2022). “There is a Valencian concept that is ADSL: Asmorçar, Dinar, Sopar and whatever comes. We have a hedonistic and generous culture: that’s what everyone who comes here is amazed by.”
Marco fears that part of this lifestyle, which characterizes the city’s culture, is being lost due to mass tourism: “In the historic center there are few places left where you can eat a good asmorçaret because they are starting to open places that do “They serve avocado toast and coffee for three euros, shops selling frozen Argentine dumplings are open everywhere, while in Valencia we have traditional ovens with cola, dumplings and products made on the day, but they are closed,” says the journalist as an example. . “Valencia is more than beach, sun and paella and all this intangible heritage we are talking about is in danger of extinction if we do not claim it with the same force with which we claim the most expensive wedding photo session in the world” , he says, referring to the City of Arts and Sciences.
The Printing Market, a new gastronomic space in the old Villa print shop from 1908. Mònica Torres
A balance must be found. Camarena himself clearly admits that his restaurant in Bombas Gens could not exist without tourism. “In Valencia, around 70% of the GDP depends on the services sector and a very important part, directly or indirectly, on tourism,” says Miguel Ángel Pérez of Visit Valencia. But “an alternative to crowded Barcelona,” as CNN pointed out, risks becoming the new Barcelona or the new Málaga. “This is the point that is currently being discussed the most in all the meetings and conferences we attend,” responds Pérez. “We want Valencia to be a center of attraction, but at the same time able to attract tourists and spread them throughout the country.” Province. to avoid overcrowding.” It refers to the fact that the tourist does not stay in the historic center, but moves and discovers beyond what is depicted on the postcards: “The historic center of Valencia is one of the largest in Europe . You have the City of Arts and Sciences and the river, but also the Valencia Marina and the Malvarrosa Promenade, the Natural Park of El Saler and l’Albufera and half an hour from all this is the Castle of Xátiva or the Castle of Sagunto “.
With all these benefits, it’s worth asking why it took so long for a place like Valencia to flourish. The Valencians themselves have their theories about this: “We Valencians are Meninfots.” [adjetivo que se define como una mezcla de pasotismo por lo propio, unido a una falta de autoestima] that we didn’t know how to appreciate and see what we have until others from the outside pointed it out,” says Miguel Ángel Pérez of Visit Valencia. “Fifty years ago we lived under a dictatorship. Until recently there were only two major airports: Madrid and Barcelona. And until recently, Valencia did not have an infrastructure that made it accessible to the world. From my point of view, we ended up in the slipstream of the big cities, but that was a coincidence,” says Camarena. Vicent Marco agrees: “Valencia was not sold because there was no interest in selling it. And we were doing quite well. It became known when this national will was given and a network was created that, in addition to the international impact with the politics of major events, also connected us very well with Madrid. It was probably the most expensive advertising in history, but in the long run it is advertising.” The question is whether the Valencians will, as always, be able to control the flames and pyrotechnics that result from this very complete package that Search foreigners in your city now. Yes, Valencia will be able to burn, but without burning.
Ten essential things in the city
- A traditional sweet: Horno San Bartolomé (C/ Duque de Calabria, 14).
- A monument: the Lonja de la Seda (C/ de la Llotja, 2).
- An authentic Asmorçaret: Beluga Restaurant & Cafeteria (C/ de l’Arquebisbe Mayoral, 16).
- A walk: Turia Gardens.
- A museum: CaixaForum (C/ d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1A).
- Now a paella: Casa Carmela (C/ d’Isabel de Villena, 155).
- A café with a view: El Faro del Sur, in the marina (Carrer Marina Real Juan Carlos I).
- Some dances: The Ice Factory (C/ de Pavia, 37).
- A snack: Mercado de la Imprenta (C/ de la Mascota, 17).
- A drink: Atenea Sky (C/ de Moratín, 12).
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