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La Albufera

The most immediate excursion to be made from Valencia is to the nature reserve of La Albufera, a vast, freshwater lagoon only a stone's throw from the sea. The lagoon has suffered greatly from all kinds of pollution and the eels traditionally caught there have been severely depleted, but it is still one of the most important wetlands in Europe and a great birdwatching centre - it reminds English people of the Norfolk Broads. You can see it from a tourist bus, in which case you will be taken to the lagoon and to the adjacent Devesa, or do it yourself. If you have a car, this is simplicity itself, otherwise you are dependent on buses (not very frequent, ask for a timetable at a tourist office). One good plan is to catch the bus to the village of El Palmar in the morning. There, you can stroll down to the edge of the lagoon, where you should be able to find a boat to take you on a short, twenty-minute ride around it (the water heaves with fish and herons glide around you). Have lunch in the village (there is plenty of choice, though it gets busy at weekends) where you may be torn between the best paella in the region or the more exotic all i pebre, eels with garlic. In the afternoon, catch the bus to the Playa la Devesa, also a protected area, for an hour or two on the beach before returning to Valencia.


The Devesa

The Devesa, with its extensive pine woods and age-old dunes, is a strip of land which separates the Albufera lake from the Mediterranean sea. Its crystal-clear waters and its clean beaches have earned the Saler coast the Blue Flag award from the European Community. This is a good opportunity to have a swim by a beautiful beach without having to go too far away from the city. The Saler Golf Course, ranked among the best 50 golf courses in the world, is right next to the sea-shore.


El palmar

El Palmar is the setting for a long, ongoing, bitter soap-opera of a dispute, the kind tabloids describe as "dividing the community." Licences to fish in the lagoon are, logically, restricted and have been handed down over the centuries from father to son. Since the Spanish transición and the introduction of the constitution with its equal-rights provisions, a group of women in the village, daughters of fishermen, has been fighting a legal battle for the right to fish there. Time and time again, they have won their case in court, only to find that the community combats these legal decisions by simply ignoring them.

Sagunto

Saguntum was the starting point of the Second Punic War when it was taken by Hannibal after a long siege. The hill-top Moorish citadel is the site of ongoing excavations which can be visited, and the Roman amphitheatre has been restored. Twenty-three kilometres north-east of Valencia, Sagunto is a pleasant morning's excursion (by train or bus) and you can pop down to the beach for the afternoon.

Alto Turia

Much of this attractive valley has been flooded to make reservoirs, popular with Valencian weekend picnickers. It is also an important vine-growing area. Follow the Michelin route or ask at a tourist office for information about other routes or bus tours.


Any time is a good time to visit one of the nearby towns and villages. Only a few kilometres from the city, the Puig Monastery takes one back to the medieval era, when Valencia was conquered by King Jaume I. A little further north, the Castle of Sagunto towers above the Roman ruins lying all around Sagunto. The Roman Theatre and the Jewish Quarter are especially interesting.

If you have more time at your disposal, the towns of Cullera, Xàtiva, Requena, Lliria or Gandía are all worth a visit. The excellent cuisine, the extensive cultural patrimony and a walk through the Valencian countryside will all make for a memorable day

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