There are a great many things to be thankful for when you are in Valencia, among them the fact that you are not in Benidorm. Valencia is a city of great culture, of great architecture - both ancient and brilliantly modern -and it is the city where one of the world's great dishes had its genesis. Nowhere, but nowhere, will you eat better paella.
Just as fish and chips came about because of a profusion of cod and the plentifulness of the potato, so paella was created in the Valencia area because of the vast paddy fields that lie just outside the city. For centuries, La Albufera, an enormous inland lake, has produced some of the finest rice in the world.
Hence paella and hence what the guide book calls the "infinity of manners" in which it is served. Arroz al horno is the version with which most visitors to Spain are familiar, coming in variously-sized pans that have baked the food in an oven. But it also comes cooked in fish stock ( a banda ); with baby squid and ink ( negre ); with spinach ( amb bledes ); or even with beans and turnip ( amb fesols i naps ). It is rarely served with the mixture of meat, fish and shellfish that has come to be regarded by most Brits as traditional.
This whole area is one of the most extraordinary in Europe. Regular visitors to Spain will know that the motorway, which runs the length of the east coast, has attracted strip development of the most hideous kind and it is no better as it skirts Valencia than anywhere else. But if you were driving from the north, departed the main road just to the south of Valencia and turned right, you would instantly find yourself amid orange groves stretching for further than the eye can see. If you turned left, you would find the Albufera and, on the other side of that, a thin strip of land that locks in the fresh water and keeps out the sea. These are incredible natural assets and it is just marvellous that they have not been exploited nearly as much as they could have been.
For instance, despite the fact that the low-lying dunes have been held in place by pines, thus making the terrain perfect for golf courses, there is only one, El Saler. That it is certainly the best in Spain, and one of the best in the world, only makes it more unusual that it hasn't been replicated the half-dozen times that would certainly be possible.
For the golfer, or indeed the rambler or the bird-watcher - the lake attracts 250 species of birds -this is heaven. You can indulge your pastime and then within minutes be inside any of the first-class restaurants that dot the shores.
In addition to any fish dish, or, of course, paella, try patatas amparin (spicy potatoes), or all i pebre (eel in garlic and pepper sauce), and wash them down with something like a bottle of Castillo de Almansa Blanco, made just down the road.
The golf club is also served by a parador , which produces magnificent food. It matches the quality of golf once played by Bernhard Langer, in the 1984 Spanish Open, when he got round the course in 62, a score that left the golfing world flabbergasted and is not likely to be repeated. It also won him the title.
Valencia is a good spot for winter golf. The weather is likely to be kind and in addition to El Saler there is El Bosque, inland and set among pines, and neither is yet beset by the European hordes that bring about the six-hour round.
But for everyone there is the bonus of the city itself. Valencia is Spain's third largest city, after Madrid and Barcelona, and the city centre is old, beautiful and huge. There is some serious shopping to be had amid the ancient architecture and it is worth getting up early to experience the full flavour of the mercado central, the biggest market in Europe, with more than 1,000 stalls selling fresh produce.
Cathedral visiting is not for everyone, but Valencia's is impressive if only for the fact that the over-elaboration common to so many is absent here. It was built between 1262 and 1426, but in later years a baroque overlay was added to the gothic interior. It has now been removed, to the building's great benefit.
Architecture is revered in Valencia and to the plethora of ancient churches and museums has been added some of the most brilliant modern buildings anywhere in the world. They are the work of Santiago Calatrava and these soaring glass palaces, in fantastical shapes, serve a variety of purposes, lumped under the general title of the City of Arts and Sciences. There is a planetarium, a science museum, an oceanographic park and a palace of the arts, all of which, quite literally, have to be seen to be believed.
They are sufficient reason to visit Valencia on their own and unlike their counterparts in Sydney, who almost to a man objected to the building of the Opera House, this development - paid for wholly out of the public purse - has been welcomed by the tax-payers.
"Madrid is Madrid," said a Valencian, "Barcelona had the Olympic Games, Seville had Expo -but this is what we can do."
Where to eat
La Riuà Calle del Mar 27. Tel: +391 4571.
This city centre restaurant, close to the cathedral, is a widely acclaimed for its paella.
La Matandeta Carretera Alfafar - El Saler. Tel: +211 2184.
This is a little out of the city centre on the banks of the Albufera. Run by a local family, paella is cooked by the father outside on a wood fire.
Restaurante Ocho y Media Plaza Lope de Vega, 5. Tel: +392 20 22.
This trendy, upmarket restaurant is centrally located. Good for an evening meal.
Bar El Pilar Moro Zeit, 13. Tel: +391 04 97.
One of the oldest tapas bars in town, dating from 1912.
Bodega Montana Calle Mariano Denlliure, 69. Tel: +367 2314.
A rustic bodega serving good tapas. Particularly good for its fine wines from around the world.
Where to drink
Hanax Calle Caballeros, 36. Tel: +391 8101.
Disco, pub, restaurant, art gallery and piano bar set around a courtyard. Expect expensive cover charges.
Café Sant Jaume Calle Caballeros, 51. Tel: +391 2826.
A good place to begin the evening with an alfresco copa. Sample the local drink, Agua de Valencia, which is a twist on bucks fizz.
A Fuego Lento Calle Caballeros 47. Tel:+392 1827.
A candlelit bar for a relaxing drink and tapas.
Johnny Maracas Calle Caballeros 39. Tel: +391 5206.
A funky salsa bar, designed in a vibrant Cuban style.
Carmen Calle Caballeros, 38. Tel: +392 5273.
A bar with interesting décor, juxtaposing sleek modern tiling with parts of the original 11th-century city wall.
Fox Congo Calle Caballeros, 35. Tel: +329 55 27.
Pumping tunes and a bar made of onyx, reputedly the most expensive in the world.
Way to go
Getting there: Longshot Golf Holidays (reservations: 01730 268621, brochures: 01730 230370) offers seven nights at the five-star Sidi Saler, near Valencia, from £499 per person. This includes return flights with GB Airways (0845 7733377, britishairways.co.uk) from London Gatwick, car hire and B&B accommodation in a twin/double room. Year-round fares with GB Airways start from £134 return to Valencia and £154 to Alicante including all taxes and charges.
Further information: Spanish Tourist Office (tourspain.es), Valencia Region Tourist Board (landofvalencia.com). Country code: 00 34 96. Time difference: GMT + 1 hour. £1= 1.57 euros.
