What is wonderful about Valencia, is the lack of urban sprawl, so just south of the city, lies the largest body of fresh water, the L’Albuferra lagoon with gorgeous views and its on microclimate. Seeing the farmlands of Valencia, the rice paddies and the natural park, gives you a much better perspective on our history here and a fuller view of Spanish life.

L’Albueferra lagoon is only 10km south of the city of Valencia, but worlds away. The wetlands are a hard to reach area filled with rice paddies, sand dunes and over 300 bird species in this protected natural park.

This visit can be added on as just a picture stop or it can be a half-day or full-day tour outside the city of Valencia. You may opt to bike through the flat biodiversity of this area, ending in a small town, El Palmar, that is quintessential Valencian, as it is an island that wasn’t always connected to the mainland, so the traditions and language have been preserved like no other. Here, is the origin town of paella and it is always traditional to have a paella or other ride dish here, especially on the weekends.

With a local Valencian, we take a boat ride through the tall reeds and canals to see the majesty of Valencian nature on the largest ‘lake’ of Spain and hear stories of the importance of this area to Valencia city through their Roman, Moorish and medieval past and gain an understanding of just how climate change is affecting areas like these.

If our visit is in the morning, we will stop at the bird sanctuary to see some of the over 300 birds, among herons and wild flamingos. At sunset however, birds can be spotted feeding and the romantic vibe in this area is famous throughout Spain, with many wedding venues here. We can always arrange for some wine or cava to be sipped on the boat, while watching the sun go down!