Valencia

Valencia has a split personality: a Gothic and Moorish old town on one side and the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences on the other. The old town's narrow streets hold the Valencia Cathedral, which claims to house the Holy Grail, and the Lonja de la Seda, a 15th-century silk exchange and UNESCO site. The Central Market, one of Europe's largest, sells fresh produce, cured meats, and spices under a modernist iron-and-glass roof. The City of Arts and Sciences, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is a campus of white, curved buildings along a drained riverbed, including an aquarium, a science museum, and an opera house. Paella was invented in the Valencia region, and the local version uses rabbit and chicken rather than seafood. Horchata, a cold drink made from tiger nuts, is sold at the horchaterías. The port is about 20 minutes from the centre by shuttle or taxi. The euro is the currency.