Valencia

Valencia is Spain's third-largest city and arguably its most underrated. Situated on the Mediterranean coast between Barcelona and Alicante, it combines a magnificent historic old town with a futuristic arts complex, excellent beaches and the undeniable honour of being the birthplace of paella — still cooked here in the traditional way with rabbit, chicken and local vegetables. The City of Arts and Sciences — Santiago Calatrava's swooping, white, bone-like complex of museums, an opera house, an aquarium and an IMAX cinema — is one of Europe's most dramatic pieces of contemporary architecture, sitting in the old Turia riverbed that was converted to a park after flooding in 1957. The old town contains the imposing Cathedral (said to hold the Holy Grail), the Baroque Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas and the Central Market, an Art Nouveau masterpiece and one of Europe's finest fresh produce markets. Valencia's beach neighbourhood, La Malvarrosa, is a genuine urban beach where locals swim, cycle and eat. The Malvarossa promenade is excellent for seafood restaurants. Las Fallas, Valencia's spectacular March festival of enormous paper-maché sculptures that are ultimately burned, is one of Spain's most extraordinary celebrations. The city is significantly cheaper than Barcelona and Madrid, with excellent public transport. Spring and autumn are ideal; summers are warm but less intense than inland Spain.