🇳🇱 Amsterdam → 🇪🇸 Valencia · 1 week

Eat paella at La Pepica on the Malvarrosa beachfront — order the arroz a banda (rice cooked in fish stock, served with aioli). Go for Sunday lunch, when Valencians themselves eat here. Avoid anywhere near the cathedral that has photos on the menu.

Visit the Mercado Central right when it opens at 8am — vendors are friendliest then, the produce is freshest, and you can grab a coffee and a farton pastry at the bar inside before the tourist rush hits at 10am.

Cycle the Turia park (it's free) from the Torres de Serranos medieval gate all the way to the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias — rent a Valenbisi city bike for €1/day with a transit card. The park is completely car-free and locals use it like a highway.

Take the tram (line 4) from Pont de Fusta to El Palmar village in the Albufera nature reserve — the lagoon where paella was actually born. Rent a flat-bottomed boat for €10 and watch the rice fields at sunset. Skip the tourist buses.