27 Hours in Valencia...

27 Hours in Valencia may sound like the title of a book or film, but this was in fact our recent mini-break within a holiday (is a holiday within a holiday the best kind of holiday, or just a bit meta?).

When booking our holiday to Spain, to stay with my husband’s dad and stepmum at their villa near Pinoso, I thought it would be wonderful to see a bit more of Spain. And Valencia is about a two-hour drive from where we were staying.

Although I love holidays, I don’t really enjoy researching them. I’m too easily distracted and overwhelmed by the sheer choice of hotels on offer.

I always feel like there might be something better/cheaper out there, and I get bored quite easily with endless holiday research.

So, it’s both a blessing and a curse that as a family of five, it’s actually surprisingly tricky to book one hotel room, or an apartment without the cost being prohibitive.

It was fine when the youngest could go in a travel cot, but now it usually means we only have the choice of two rooms (camp bed, anyone?) and the price doubles.

As I searched for suitable accommodation near the heart of Valencia, one hotel stood out -Soho Valencia Hotel (well, to be fair it there weren’t many to choose from, but it still looked the nicest of the small selection).

Here we could get one apartment, which consisted of essentially two/three bedrooms - one of the bedrooms was a sofa bed in the open-plan living room-kitchen, for around 300 euros.

The only thing I’d checked was that it wasn’t too far from the Oceanarium, the biggest in Europe, as we all wanted to go there.

The location turned out to be ideal - we could walk through the beautiful old town and enjoy the sights of stunning architecture, the buzz of market stalls and al-fresco eateries, and the party atmosphere of breakdancers dancing in the street. We even saw a street performer transforming into…well, a Transformer’s character (Bumblebee)!

Walking around Valencia was a feast for all the senses, and we made the most of eating at as many places as we could, stopping for ice cream, pizzas and cocktails, and at a little bakery for pudding, and to pick up some pastries for breakfast.

The hotel itself included lovely touches, such as Easter chocolate gifts for the children and a bottle of fizz for us grown ups. Although there’s no hotel restaurant, as mentioned above, we were completely surrounded by eateries and spoiled for choice. It was also great to have a good-sized fridge - to stop the chocolates melting and store bottled water. The rooms were clean, simple and spacious and easy to cool with the air-con systems. The beds were comfy too.

We made the most of our short time in Valencia by exploring the city on foot, after a somewhat disastrous attempt to drive to the beach upon arrival in the city. We arrived in Valencia on Good Friday, and as well as normal city traffic there were Easter processions taking place, with large groups of people of all ages in costumes, with drums and one person carrying a large crucifix. After struggling to find parking and nearly getting a parking ticket we managed a quick beach-picnic, got sand in our sandwiches and then checked in at our hotel and left the car parked for the entirety of the trip.

Gardens

From our hotel we walked - although lots of families were enjoying cycling through the Turia Gardens, which is one of the largest urban parks in Spain, with over 9km of green space. The gardens are built on a former riverbed (the course of the river was changed in 1957 to prevent frequent flooding of the city). Palm trees, orange trees and a green gym added lots of interest for us and the kids. And lots of bridges - there are 18 in total, which would have once been used to cross the river - added plenty of character and a reminder that you were walking along a riverbed. We walked to the Jardines Del Real - which are opulent and secluded, and enjoyed a drink in the sun.

Oceanogràfic Valencia

The next morning, we hopped on an early tram to the Oceanogràfic. For us, this was hands down one of the biggest highlights of the trip.

The journey there was easy, and getting the tram with the kids felt like an adventure. The Oceanogràfic is located in the City of Arts and Sciences, a cultural hub full of avant-garde architecture - there are buildings that represent a giant eye, a skeleton of a Whale and the Oceanogràfic itself is built in the shape of a water lily. Walking around this whole area was amazing!

We arrived 15 minutes before opening (I had booked tickets online), and I’m glad we did, as the queue of people who had pre-booked was already forming!

Arriving before opening meant that we didn’t have to queue for too long, and we all had the most amazing experience of being the only people in the Beluga Whale enclosure, which was magical.

The Beluga whales (there are two) are housed in an Arctic tank that mimics their habitat and standing in the chilly environment hearing them use their echolation whilst gliding around each other, was an experience I will never forget.

The centre itself is dedicated to conservation and marine research and outreach - the dolphin ‘show’ demonstrated methods of marine animal conservation and research and was educational and informative as well as entertaining.

Other highlights were seeing octopus, jellyfish, seals and spider crabs. There are over 750 species of animals, and we could have spent the whole day there.

Overall, we loved Valencia and would love to go back. Although we managed to fit in loads, there’s still so much more to explore.

Valencia is a vibrant and stunning city with so much to see and do, and a fabulous party vibe. Even though it was a short stay it felt like we made big memories, and that this mini-break stole the show from our main holiday!