Tickets for the first opera season at the Palau de les Arts, Valencia's futuristic new opera house go on sale October 16. The season begins on October 25 with Beethoven's Fidelo, conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Tickets from lesarts.com/03tick;i.htm.

Stay at the the boutique Palau de la Mar (0034 96 3162884, hospes.es), weekend rates from €165 per night, or the Hotel Ad Hoc Monumental (+963 919 140, adhochoteles.com) from €119. EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, Thomsonfly and BA fly to Valencia from a range of UK airports.