Ciutat Vella is Valencia's walled heart, though the walls mostly live in memory. Narrow streets open onto plazas where oranges drop onto stone. The cathedral mixes Romanesque and Gothic, ringing bells over café terraces serving horchata and Agua de Valencia in heavy-stemmed glasses.
Mercado Central erupts every morning with fish on ice, mountains of citrus, saffron tins, and locals negotiating over tomatoes. The Silk Exchange (Lonja) stands nearby as a UNESCO reminder that trade built the city long before tourism. Baroque facades sit beside street art; Valencian tiles gleam in doorways.
At night, the center softens into conversations drifting from balconies, the smell of wood-fired rice rising from kitchens, and cyclists gliding over car-free streets. It is historic without feeling frozen.