Valencia City Guide

Valencia, Spain's third-largest city (~841,000 residents) and the birthplace of paella, sits on the Mediterranean where the diverted Turia River became the 9 km Turia Gardens, Europe's largest urban park, culminating in Santiago Calatrava's futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. It pairs a medieval old town (Ciutat Vella) anchored by the Cathedral, El Miguelete, the UNESCO-listed La Lonja and the Mercado Central with a working port, the Malvarrosa/Las Arenas beaches and a fast-growing tech, startup and international-expat scene that made it one of Spain's hottest markets (citywide prices up ~15–22% YoY through 2025). Foreigners can buy property freely with no nationality restriction, but Spain ABOLISHED its Golden Visa (residency-by-property-investment), which closed to new applicants on 3 April 2025, a purchase no longer grants residency. Short-term tourist-rental (licencia turística) rules are tightening across Spain, and a January 2025 government proposal of an up-to-100% surcharge on second-hand homes bought by non-EU non-residents remains a contested proposal, not law.