Valencia has completely won me over the past few seasons — what used to be a "sleepy" port is now one of the hottest calls in the western Mediterranean, averaging 4.7–4.9 stars across cruise reviews. But here's what the ratings can't capture: this is a city founded in 138 BC by Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus as "Valentia Edetanorum" — "Valentia" meaning "strength" or "valour" — to honor veteran soldiers who'd fought across Hispania. That ancient strength still pulses through the streets, even as the city races confidently toward the future.

My perfect day begins with a 10-minute tram ride from the ship straight to Santiago Calatrava's jaw-dropping City of Arts and Sciences — and yes, Calatrava is a native son, born right here in Valencia. His futuristic whale-skeleton buildings seem to rise from another century entirely, yet they rest on land that once knew Pompey's fury (he razed the city to the ground in 75 BC), Muslim scholars (who ruled from 714 as "Balansiya"), and the triumphant armies of Aragon (who reclaimed it for Christendom in 1238). The Oceanogràfic — Europe's largest aquarium — offers a shark tunnel and dolphin show that never fail to take my breath away.

Then I rent a bike and cruise the 9 km of gardens along the old Turia riverbed — the very river that flooded catastrophically in 1957, prompting the city to divert it and transform the dry channel into this astonishing linear park that now connects past and future. I pedal straight into the historic center for the Central Market, where the best orange juice on earth and fresh oysters await, then on to La Lonja de la Seda — the Silk Exchange, built between 1482 and 1533, now a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. Standing beneath those soaring Gothic columns, I'm reminded that Valencia financed Columbus's 1492 voyage during its 15th-century Golden Age, when Valencian merchants commanded trade routes across the known world.

Lunch is always authentic paella valenciana (rabbit and chicken, never seafood!) at La Pepica on the beach, where I savor every saffron-kissed grain of rice and remember that this humble countryside dish has become one of Spain's most iconic exports. Horchata and fartons in Alboraya or a sunset catamaran sail offer the perfect ending to a day spent wandering through two millennia.

Valencia feels young, innovative, and delicious — easily one of the most underrated cities in Europe. Spain's third-largest city with over 824,000 residents, it was named European Green Capital in 2024 and World Design Capital in 2022, honors that reflect its bold commitment to sustainability and beauty. The blend of futuristic architecture and medieval old town shouldn't work, but it absolutely does, creating a city that honors its past while racing toward its future with courage, creativity, and — yes — that ancient Roman valour still beating in its heart.