We spent a few days in Valencia and met up with one of our friends, Alexis. It was nice to see Lexi again and Valencia was a fantastic spot to spend a few relaxing days enjoying Spanish culture (and cheap prices!)
Valencia is a beautiful city with all the charm you’d expect from an old Spanish city. Gothic, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modern architecture all shine in this unique city; from Mercat Central, the Cathedral, to the Silk Market and the City of Arts and Sciences.
Naturally, there is much more to Valencia than architecture. The city has a unique crest that includes a bat. Once we realized it, we started seeing the bat all over town.
Valencia has a lot of green space and parks. We visited the Royal Gardens and Walnut was really intrigued by the aviary.
Of course, you can’t miss the amazing street art in Spain!
Valencia was fantastic and I would really like to go back. It reminded me a bit of Madrid, with it’s museums, architecture and green space. More relaxing than Barcelona, with all the good food, great prices and chill vibe that makes Spain what it is.
Hi Ryan, great post! Do you know where the bat symbol comes from? You will see it in many crest on or around the crown in municipal arms of the former Crown of Aragon in Valencia, Catalonia and also the Baleares. There are many legends around this bat, I heard one from a guide in Barcelona (where you can also see it) not long ago: during the war against the Muslims in the XIII century, while Jaime I “the Conqueror” and his soldiers were sleeping, one bat woke them up, only to find that the Muslims were attacking them during the night. That way they could be ready for the battle and win. From then on, the bat was the symbol of the Crown of Aragon and King Jaime I! Funny animal to choose!
Hi Raquel! We saw it all over town- it was interesting to see the different designs over time on things like sewer grates and caps as well.