Pushing boundaries without losing its soul, Valencia delivers one of the finest culinary landscapes in Spain: deeply traditional, hyper-local, and still just a tad under-the-radar. What can beat savoring a perfectly cooked paella in situ, overlooking the Albufera rice fields where the dish was born, using local ingredients and the right pan? Spain’s third-largest city thrives not just on rice, but on livability: leafy bike paths, the Huerta (a fertile zone of market gardens surrounding the city), and dishes lost to the outside world. Valencia’s heart wraps around the land; whether fishing in the lagoon or winemaking in the highlands, its people are perfectly at home in the outdoors. Scenic beauty is everywhere: the vast Albufera National Park, quiet beaches lapped by the gentle waters of the Mediterranean, scrublands scattered with herbs – striking in spring – and the Serranía mountains with their hiking trails.