Modern Valencia: A City Reinvented

Valencia is often introduced through its medieval streets, Gothic monuments, and centuries-old traditions. But the city we see today is also the result of constant reinvention. Beyond the old town lies a story of expansion, political change, urban ambition, and transformation, a story that shaped modern Valencia.

Join us on a journey through a different side of the city, where markets, squares, public institutions, elegant buildings, and green spaces reveal how Valencia evolved throughout the turbulent twentieth century. This is not only the Valencia of merchants and medieval guilds, but the Valencia of republics and dictatorships, civic life and urban planning, civil war and democracy.

Beginning beside the Central Market, one of the great symbols of Valencia’s commercial life, we follow a route through streets and landmarks that reflect the hopes, conflicts, and transformations of modern Spain. Along the way, discover how Valencia experienced political change, social transformation, the trauma of the Civil War, decades of Franco’s regime, and the country’s eventual transition to democracy and constitutional monarchy.

Walk through Plaça dels Porxets and Plaça de l’Ajuntament, where civic life, public celebrations, and political power have shaped the city’s identity. Explore the area around El Patriarca and La Nau, connected to education, culture, and intellectual life.

Admire the institutional presence of the Palace of Justice and the elegance of Colón Market, one of the finest examples of Valencian modernist architecture and a symbol of the city’s bourgeois expansion beyond the medieval centre.

Few places illustrate Valencia’s capacity for reinvention better than the former Turia riverbed. Once associated with devastating floods, it has been transformed into one of Europe’s largest urban parks, a green artery running through the city and a symbol of Valencia’s ability to reshape itself.

Far from a simple walk through the historic centre, this route reveals hidden corners, everyday spaces, and layers of history often overlooked by visitors. Through markets, squares, monuments, and public spaces, the city itself becomes a map of modern Spanish history.

Join us and discover Valencia beyond the postcard, a city shaped not only by its monuments, but by the ideas, conflicts, and reinventions that continue to define it today.