Valencia, Spain 5 days last week of April

Teruel is one of Spain's least-visited regional capitals. It's on the regional (slow) train line connecting Valencia to Zaragoza. Unfortunately, the first train is at 9:48 AM and takes 2 hr. 26 min. The 8 PM return train takes 2 hr. 19 min. Those are the only practical options on the Monday I checked. Teruel has interesting architecture, including some Mudejar towers, and would be enjoyable on a day trip from Valencia; I wish it didn't require so much train time.

Photos of Teruel and its province

The much closer town of Manises, a suburb of Valencia, has a history of ceramics production. There's a museum there, and some of the houses have exterior tile work (a bit like what you might see in Portugal). Line 3 of the subway goes there, and there's also bus service. I don't remember which mode of transportation I took.

Thanks I’ll look into these two suggestions further.

I'm sorry you haven't yet received additional suggestions. I hope there will be more. Maybe floating this thread back to the top will get it some attention. I imagine quite a lot of the folks here are still out of town for the holidays.

I'll be in Valencia in a few days, but I'm not there long, so will probably just stay in the city exploring. I did research the area though and came across these ideas. I didn't look into them much though, so please google them to make sure they're places you might enjoy. 1) Sagunto is a village with a castle about 40 minutes north by bus. 2) Albufera Lake and El Palmar about an hour south of the city. One blogger described El Palmar as a "village of restaurants" and apparently the best place to have paella. This area looked very damaged by the flooding a few months ago though, so I'm not sure what shape it's in now.

Although I'm only able to be in Valencia a short time this trip, I'm already starting to come up with a northern Spain, southern France trip so I can spend more time there at a slower pace, so please report back where you ended up visiting and how it was. Have a great trip!

The place for paella/rice dishes is a quick train ride from Valencia Nord station, or a 20euro taxi ride from the center. It's the village of Meliana and there are two of the best rice restaurants in spain located in that tiny town. NAPICOL and CA PEPICO. Well worth going, for lunch (paella is a lunch dish). You need to book in advance for both, NAPICOL is open only for lunch, when rice dishes are traditionally eaten in Spain (paella is just one of several rice dishes of the region). The village is charming..right on the train line and you might see horse-drawn carts passing by the main street. NAPICOL's menu is QR, or recited orally. CA PEPICO has a written menu. Order your rice when you book your table. Mimum serving is for two persons but many people take leftovers home.

I was in Valencia last month for about 10 days. Another GREAT rice restaurant is CASA SALVADOR, to the south of the city..it's open for lunch and dinner and has a great view of an estuary with birds and little boats passing by. I LOVED that restaurant! I think we paid about 6o euro for two people with appetizers and a paella.

Always order your paella in advance..the day before or the morning before your lunch.

There is a train ride of about an hour to Cuenca which is famous for its "hanging houses' and historic core. Very well worth a day trip. I believe it is UNESCO site......you need a taxi from the train station (a work of art in itself) to the historic core.
Astounding views of the gorge and rock outcroppings.... It's about midway between Madrid and Valencia. You can take IRYO or RENFE train..we like IRYO.

We also spent 5 nights in Denia, a small city on the sea south of Valencia, but not sure if trains run there due to flood damage.

I would not go to El Palmar to eat......it's not a very pretty area, despite what some guidebooks tell you. And the restaurants are not as good as the ones I mentioned, above. Or at least that's been my experience in several visits to Valencia.

There is a new modern art museum in Valencia center that opened last year: HORTENSIA HERRERA. You should buy tickets online ahead of your visit. It's small and has some fabulous light instllations and painting by the giants of 20th century art, and some less famous Spanish artists.......in a palace restored by businesswoman Hortensia Herrera, it's one of the gems of the city.

Do not miss the audio tour at the San Nicola church, known as the "Sistine Chapel of Valencia<" for good reason.

The main food market occupies a glorious building but due to hordes of tourists, there are many signs prohibiting photos, prohibiting touching of items (obvious no no at any food market) and the vendors are not welcoming like at most others markets in Spain that I've visited. But you might want to have a snack or drink at BAR CENTRAL, owned by one of the city's most respected chefs.
No reservations..put your name on the list. We did not have to wait at all when we arrived at 12pm. Try the ensaladilla and the Ricard Camarena pork loin and mustard sandwich! Inside the market..bar seating only.