Valencia’s location on the east coast of Spain makes driving on the open road a delightful experience. Head north and you’ll skirt the coast on the way to Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona before hitting the border with France. Drive south and you’ll find popular resorts such as Alicante, then on to Elche, Murcia, Cartagena, Almeria and Malaga.

As in most of mainland Europe, you’ll drive on the right and speed signs are in kph. Seatbelts are essential for the driver and all passengers. There’s a limit of 120kph (around 75mph) on freeways, 100kph on 1^st category roads, 90kph on 2^nd category roads and 50kph in urban areas. If you see ‘Peaje’ on a road sign, that indicates a toll road. Routes that avoid these can be more picturesque, but also more circuitous.

Street parking is scant in Valencia – your best bet is to use your hotel’s facilities or the numerous pay car garages and lots throughout the city center. You’ll find them at malls, adjacent to the cathedral or near the department store El Corte Ingles. It’s worth noting that some roads are closed to vehicles in the historic center, and that cyclists have right of way.

The main freeway skirting the city is the AP7 that, once out of the city, becomes the E15 heading both north and south (the ‘E’ prefix denotes it’s part of a wider European road network). You can access this from the center by taking the V21 north, the V30 west or the V31 south. The E15 runs the length of the eastern coast of Spain. Zaragoza is several hours north-west of Valencia on the A23, passing through Teruel. For Madrid, follow the A3 – it’s about a four-hour drive to Spain’s capital.

If you choose to drive outside of Valencia, you’ll find the ever-changing landscape of Spain a delight, but if you’re only staying in Valencia, you’ll find more than enough to fill your vacation there as well.

Spain’s third largest city has no inferiority complex – there’s a confidence about this place that’s born from its myriad charms. Running through it is the Turia – or rather it used to. The city’s river was diverted due to its frequent floods in the middle of the 20^th century, and in its place is a city park, still crossed by 18 bridges. It’s a sign of the city’s mix of restless reinvention and reverence for the past.

A city on fire

Visit in March and you might just catch Las Fallas, an annual festival of fire that involves partying, parades, processions and hundreds of ‘ninots’ – large puppets – being burned. It’s perhaps the least staid religious ceremony in the world, and a true one-off.

There’s a different kind of red brightening up the streets in the nearby town of Bunol every year. Held annually on the last Wednesday of August, La Tomatina is the world’s biggest food fight, where tons of tomatoes are hurled in a friendly festival of fun. It’s now ticketed, so apply in advance if you want to take part.

The future and the past 

Valencia does a great job of walking the tightrope of the old and the contemporary. You can amble a few hundred meters and see the best of both. La Lonja, for example, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was once an exchange on the famous silk trail and was built in the 15^th century.

The cathedral, meanwhile, is history in a nutshell, with the current 13^th century incarnation built on top of a mosque from a time of previous conquest. You’ll have to pay to enter, but it’s worth it to see the brace of Francisco Goya paintings, and to climb all 207 steps of the bell town for an enthralling view.

Make your next stop that incredible symbol of modern Valencia, the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencia – or the City of Arts and Sciences. Built on the riverbed where the Turia once flowed, it was designed by Santiago Calatrava and includes the largest aquarium in Europe, a 3D cinema, a highly interactive science museum, gardens and an opera house.

Pining for Paella?

There’s more to the Valencian diet than Paella, but it’s probably its most famous food export, oranges aside. Purists argue about the ingredients and about what is and isn’t authentic (note: adding chorizo and seafood isn’t)

Of course, you’ll find many places that will serve you a truly lovely Paella with either or both of these, but for the true experience, look for one combining rabbit, snails and tomato, cooked in the traditional pan that gives the dish its name.

Old customs and recipes, new buildings and modern life, Valencia bridges the divide like few other cities. Car rental in Valencia will afford you the opportunity to make the most of this sparkling city and the treats that sit along the great east coast of Spain.