Valencia is one of the tourism capitals of the world and it has a very interesting history that dates all the way back to when it was the Old Kingdom of Valencia. It is now a province in Spain and has a capital city with the same name and if you are interested in visiting some of the most beautiful areas in the world then Valencia definitely needs to be a part of your traveling experiences.
Valencia, at the current moment, could quite accurately be referred to as a city in transition. This is because it is one of the oldest cities on the world, yet in many other ways is also one of the newest. People that are interested in visiting Valencia will of course have seen postcards that show that the city architecture is centuries old, but something that they might not know as well is that Valencia has a relationship with the newly constructed City of Arts and Science. It is at one of the hubs of modern thinking of today's world and this in combination of its hosting of the 2007 America's Cup shows how committed the government of Valencia is to modernizing the city. It is this melding of old world and new that makes Valencia such a charming place to visit.
If you are interested in visiting Valencia, then you should visit in either the Spring or the Fall months. Valencia tends to have somewhat extreme temperatures in the other two seasons and those extreme temperatures also tend to remove the possibility of a number of activities that you might be able to do in the Spring/Fall months. This includes things like sun-bathing (too cold in winter, possibility of massive sunburn in the summer) and hiking (too cold in winter, larger possibility for heat stroke in the summer) and generally other outdoors type activities. Being outdoors is a big part of getting the full Valencia experience so for that reason it is best to visit outside of the Summer and Winter months.
There are two primary languages spoken in the area and those are Valencian and Spanish. If you are in the urban areas of the province such as the city of Valencia, then you can get away with speaking Spanish and to some degree English most of the time. However, if you are in the rural areas of the province then Valencian is the language of preference and some locals will even take offense if you address them in Spanish. Therefore, it is a good idea to learn some Valencian before you happen to visit this area of the world. The younger generation of Valencians does speak English, but if you visit Valencia within the next five to ten years you will probably be called on at some point to use your Valencian language skills.
All in all, this is a very beautiful city with a very rich history that gives rise to many tourist attractions that you will enjoy. The trip to Valencia is definitely worth the price you pay for it and many people eventually do come back because they enjoy their first time so much.
