I recently spent a month in Spain, and one of our stops was Valencia. We spent it with one of my wife's friends, who married a Spaniard. We spent four days there, and it was wonderful. I was curious before we left on the trip why Rick doesn't cover Valencia in his Spain Book. And now, after visiting it, I wonder even more. There was a lot to see, and the City of Arts and Sciences was especially fascinating. Plus there were some nice little towns close by, Peniscola and Segunto, that were also quite interesting, and great to see. I guess you can only cover so much, and since there is so much to see in Spain, he had to leave something out. But anyone spending a good amount of time in Spain, in my opinion, should include Valencia.
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
I think Valencia is one of the most underrated cities in Spain. So much more laid back than the overcrowded hit cities and amazing food and architecture.
RS focuses his guidebooks on the most popular destinations and then covers those really well. So by that very nature, he has to leave a lot of good destinations out.
I'm also glad you went and loved it and shared as much. Whenever I try and suggest Valencia here to people, often when it makes FAR more sense in their itinerary than they realize, people seem to just ignore it. As if RS doesn't mention it so it must not be that great...
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
362 posts
Agreed! Spent 6 nights there in 2015 on our 2nd trip to Spain. Bonus was being able to fly directly to TO on Air Canada.
Posted by
northern CA
2456 posts
Shush! Stop letting the gato out of the bolsa about Valencia.
Did it occur to you that maybe RS wants to help some places retain their back door qualities?
And for anyone who haps upon this thread, Valencia is not worth space in your itinerary -- there's too many people who are speaking some poor substitute for authentic Spanish, and not nearly enough laminated menus. /s
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15582 posts
Well, I think Rick chooses places that [1] he's been to and [2] he liked. Also, his books often follow the itineraries of his tours. So if a place isn't on (or near) the RS tours in that country, it's not on his radar.
His Greece book is subtitled "Athens & the Peloponnese" when that should be the title. Of over 500 pages, only 40 cover places that aren't on his Athens & the Peloponnese Tour. And don't get me started on what he leaves out of his Italy guide!
His books are very good for practical information on a first visit and the walking tours and sight tours are interesting. For in-depth sightseeing and repeat visits, you need to supplement RS with another guide book.
I was in Valencia last year during Las Fallas. There was so much going on because of the festival that I didn't spend much time sightseeing, but what I saw was great.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I once purchased the RS Spain book only to find out that absolutely NO place I was intending to go was included in it. I have a friend in northern Spain and have spent quite a bit of time up there - one of the areas that RS ignores almost entirely. I'm just going to say it - buy a different guide book. :)