In the heart of Valencia's old town, a Gothic building with crenellated walls and gargoyles looks more like a castle than a market, and that was rather the point. The Lonja de la Seda, the silk exchange, was built in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries when Valencia was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean, and it was meant to show the power of its merchants. Its great hall, the Sala de Contratación, is one of the masterpieces of late Gothic architecture, with slender columns that twist like palm trunks up to a ribbed vault. It was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
The architect Pere Compte designed the main hall, and the building also includes a tower that served as a prison for debtors, a courtyard with orange trees and a hall where the city's maritime tribunal met. Inscriptions on the walls urge merchants to honesty and fair dealing. Directly opposite stands the Mercado Central, a vast modernist market hall with a glass dome, where you can buy fresh fish, fruit, ham and spices, and nearby the church of Santos Juanes and the cathedral, with its octagonal bell tower, the Miguelete, complete the picture of a city that has always been busy and proud.
Riding in Valencia is city riding: dense traffic, scooters everywhere, numerous traffic lights and a ring of motorways. The old centre has restricted traffic zones and limited parking, so leave the bike at the edge or in a public car park and walk in. The surrounding region offers excellent riding, with the Albufera lagoon and rice fields to the south, the mountains of the interior to the west, and the coast to the north and south, though summer traffic can be heavy along the coast.
Fuel stations are plentiful around the city. Valencia is the home of paella, which locals traditionally eat at lunchtime and never with chorizo, and of horchata, a sweet, cold drink made from tiger nuts, served with fartons, soft pastries for dipping. In March, the Fallas festival fills the city with giant satirical sculptures, fireworks and noise, which are then burned on the final night.