08 Valencia in the Springtime - podcast

Podcast Episode 8 takes us to the coastal city of Valencia, Spain that I visited with my family in April 2008. Hear me talking to my local Valencian friend, Angel, about the best things to enjoy as a visitor to Valencia. You can hear the dancing and folk music of Valencia, about the pyrotechnical Fallas festival that takes place in March, and about the other places to go such as the beach, Turia Gardens and Mercado Central. In the podcast we covered the following; Meeting other travellers through the travel networking website Hospitality Club, either for accommodation, to meet for a drink or a meal or just for tips on things to see. The Fallas Festival that takes place in March, when different neighbourhoods of the city club together to create wooden and paper sculptures, set off fireworks and bangers, eat Paella,  parade through the streets and then set alight the sculpture at the end. The best sculptures from each year's festival are preserved in the Fallas museum that you can visit at any time of year. The Mercado Central in the centre of Valencia where you can look at all the different food stalls and buy a picnic - don't miss the fish section at the back and you can also try some tapas at the small bar in the Mercado. The Turia River Park where we spent the day cycling with Angel. The park was created from the bed of the river that used to run through the city but was diverted in the 50s due to flooding. You can hire bikes from several different bike shops in the centre and then ride along as far as the port and the beach. Going to the city beach which is a favourite place for Valencians to go at the weekend and is the best place to eat seafood or Paella in the restaurants along the boardwalk - you can cycle as we did or take the tram from the centre. Walking around the centre at night, especially the area around the Cathedral and the Plaza de la Virgin that is close behind it - you'll also find plenty of nightlife in the Bario Carmen Visiting the modern leisure complex of the Cuidad de las Artes Y Las Ciencias or City of Arts and Sciences, where you'll find museums, cinemas and concert halls as well as the Aquarium or Oceanographic where our kids enjoyed the Dolphin show when we were there. Best time to visit is spring and early summer or autumn - you'll probably find it too hot in July and August when all the Valencians head for the coast and the beach.