7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Valencia, Spain's City of Arts and Sciences

Valencia tends to get overshadowed by Barcelona and Madrid in the conversation about Spain's most photogenic cities, which makes it more rewarding when you actually turn up: a Gothic old town sits a short walk from one of the boldest pieces of contemporary architecture in Europe, and both are wrapped in a long green park built where a river used to run. Here are seven spots worth planning around.

1. City of Arts and Sciences

Designed mainly by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava and built out from 1998, this cluster of white, curved concrete and glass structures includes a planetarium, an opera house and Europe's largest aquarium, and it photographs differently depending on the light, from stark white at midday to a lit-up blue after dark.

2. L'Umbracle's arched walkway

Part garden, part open-air gallery, this landscaped walkway within the City of Arts and Sciences complex frames the rest of the site through a repeating row of white arches, and works well as a foreground for wider shots of the surrounding buildings.

3. Turia Gardens

After a severe 1957 flood, Valencia diverted the Turia river around the city and turned its old bed into a nine-kilometre park that now runs almost the length of the city, linking the old town to the City of Arts and Sciences with a continuous stretch of green.

4. Mercado Central

One of Europe's oldest working markets still in its original building, this 1928 Art Nouveau and modernist hall is a genuine produce market rather than a tourist stop, with stained glass and ironwork overhead and stalls selling local jamón, cheese and citrus below.

5. Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete tower

The cathedral's bell tower, known as the Miguelete, can be climbed for a rooftop view over the old town's terracotta roofs, and the cathedral itself holds a chalice that is said by some to be the Holy Grail, a claim that has drawn its own share of visitors over the centuries.

6. La Lonja de la Seda

A UNESCO World Heritage Gothic silk exchange dating to the late 15th century, La Lonja's twisting stone columns in its main trading hall are one of the old town's most distinctive interior shots.

7. Malvarrosa Beach

Valencia's city beach, backed by a promenade of paella restaurants, gives a straightforward sea-and-sand contrast to the rest of the city's architecture, and is easily reached by tram from the centre.

Traveller tips

• Valencia's airport is around 8km from the city centre, connected by metro.
• The City of Arts and Sciences is best photographed either early morning, before crowds build, or after dark when the buildings are lit.
• Climbing the Miguelete tower involves a narrow spiral staircase with no lift; check opening hours before planning around it.
• Trams and the metro connect the old town, Turia Gardens and Malvarrosa Beach, making a car unnecessary for this itinerary.