A way to discover the city from the centre, the sea and the vegetables garden
Valencia is often discovered without looking for it.
A meal that lasts longer than expected, a post-lunch conversation that ends up looking at the sky, a table facing the sea that changes the rhythm of the day. Small gestures that, almost without noticing, end up defining the city experience.
Those arriving for the first time are usually surprised by how easy it is to enjoy life here. Those who live here, on the other hand, take it for granted. Eating well, sharing time, moving naturally between neighbourhoods and landscapes. In Valencia, gastronomy and leisure do not work as a lure, but as part of everyday life.
It is no coincidence. Valencia has historically been the pantry of the Mediterranean, not only for what it produces, but for its daily relationship with produce, landscape and enjoyment. Eating well has never been an exceptional event, but a habit. And this naturalness is today one of its greatest attractions for both visitors and locals.
In this context, gastronomy and leisure have become one of the best ways to explore the city. Not as a fixed route, but as a continuous experience: changing scenery, rhythm and atmosphere without leaving Valencia. In other words, travelling without leaving it.
The historic centre: looking at the city from above
The urban heart is concentrated in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, a space that brings together daily life, history and constant movement. From here, looking upwards becomes revealing.
Atenea Sky has become the most emblematic rooftop in Valencia, with 360º views over the city, an agenda and a leisure offering that combines sunsets, culture and gastronomy. In the same building, Ateneo Restaurant offers Mediterranean cuisine based on local produce, ideal for those who want to eat well in the centre of Valencia.
It is a type of experience that connects with visitors, but also with locals who rediscover their city from another privileged angle.
La Marina de Valencia: contemporary gastronomy by the sea
The journey continues towards one of the most transformative areas of the city: La Marina de Valencia. A setting that represents the most innovative, open and sea-connected Valencia.
Here you find FRONT in The Terminal Hub building, a restaurant and leisure space located in front of the port, where brutalist architecture, contemporary design and creative Mediterranean cuisine define the experience. It is a reference point for those looking for where to eat or have a drink in La Marina de Valencia, surrounded by boats, sea and distinctive architecture.
Front not only looks at the Mediterranean, but also at the future: it is a space where gastronomy meets creativity and contemporary lifestyle.
The vegetables garden and the sea: returning to the origin
There is a less visible but essential Valencia. The one born from the land. The one explained through rice, the orchard and the proximity of the sea.
With the opening of Maravella, the map expands towards La Albufera and Pinedo, a key territory for understanding Valencian gastronomic identity.
Maravella is presented as a contemporary Valencian farmhouse, where the experience is built from the landscape, local produce and slow time. There is no artifice or rush here: well-executed rice, natural surroundings and tables that invite long conversations.
For those arriving from outside, it is a way of accessing the most authentic Valencia. For local audiences, a return to familiar codes, reinterpreted naturally.
A way to explore the city
What connects these spaces is not a common aesthetic or a uniform discourse, but a single idea: experience matters as much as the place. Attention to flavour, sound, music as atmosphere and the table as a space for gathering are part of a coherent way of understanding gastronomy and leisure.
This vision, driven by Grupo El Alto together with Groovelives Team, allows Valencia to be explored through different moments and landscapes. Unique spaces where visitors integrate and locals recognise themselves.
Valencia Best Places: a city to be lived
Under the Valencia Best Places concept, this vision becomes a clear invitation to travellers: to discover Valencia through restaurants in unique locations, where gastronomy and leisure become the best guide to the city.
Because Valencia is not just a destination to visit.
It is a city to be tasted, heard and shared.
And today, more than ever, it is also discovered from the centre, the sea and the orchard.
More information
Atenea Sky: Rooftop in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, with open views over the city, cultural programming and Mediterranean gastronomic offering. https://www.ateneasky.com
Ateneo Restaurant: Mediterranean restaurant based on local produce, located in the same building, in the historic city centre. https://www.ateneorestaurant.com
Front: Gastronomic and leisure space in La Marina de Valencia, facing the harbour, where contemporary design and the Mediterranean surround it. https://www.fronttheterminalbar.com
Maravella: Contemporary Valencian farmhouse located between the orchard and the sea, in the La Albufera and Pinedo area. https://www.maravellarestaurante.com
More points of interest on Valencia Best Places: https://linktr.ee/valenciabestplaces