Valencia

About

Dating back to 138 BC, Valencia flourished thanks to its port, and was even the capital of Spain from 1936 to 1937. The city’s UNESCO-listed “Silk Exchange”, embodies its long-running mercantile success. Built in the late 15th century, traders would come from all corners of the Mediterranean to do business in its halls. Within its crenellated-facade are marvelous twisting columns and an incredible vaulted ceiling. The massive Gothic cathedral was originally erected in the 13th to 14th centuries, and received Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical updates made over the centuries. Inside are Renaissance paintings commissioned by Pope Alexander VI, and fascinatingly, in the Chapel of the Holy Chalice, a chalice claimed to have been used by Jesus at the last supper. The city is also famed for its modern architecture, such as City of Arts and Sciences, a 2km complex with everything from an opera house to greenhouse.