Valencia is the third biggest city of Spain and has been emerging rapidly from the dark shadows of Barcelona and Madrid.
During the last ten years, it has developed more than all other cities in Europe.
It is often described as the city for every season and no matter what your interests are, you will definitely find something that you can enjoy in Valencia.
It is a stylish and laid back city which gives the visitors the taste of real Spain, mixing its traditions of service, culture and tapas bars with the 21st century architecture.
The climatic conditions are fantastic all year round with more than 300 days of sunshine.
Valencia is in the Costa del Azahar which is a popular region of Spain with families staying in holiday rentals.
There are many holiday villas and self catering apartments to rent as holiday homes in the Costa del Azahar.
Families love to come to this part of Spain and stay in self catering holiday accommodation and use it as a base to explore Valencia.
One thing that families staying in holiday homes like to do in Valencia is to visit its caves and natural parks.
The Sierra Espadan hills rise behind the Segorbe, which is a renowned natural park accommodating the finest cork still harvested in this region.
The roads are quite narrow and take the visitors through several small villages, providing access to some of the most excellent walks.
Sources of mineral water are also found here which can be found in most of the local restaurants and bars.
The Sierra Calderona hills rise to the south of Palancia which is also one of the most renowned natural parks in Spain.
The landscape has been dominated by the pine trees and is slightly gentler than that of Espadan.
If you are lucky you will be able to rent a holiday cottage here and use it as a base to go hiking.
In the caves of San Jose, Vall dUixo, you will be able to explore the cave system.
Another thing to do on self catering holidays in Costa del Azahar is to visit the beaches ofthis region of Spain.
Canet d'En Berenguer is probably the best beach of the region and the fine sandy beach has been awarded the blue flag status.
It has been backed up by a range of protected dunes and there is a promenade along with a large selection of restaurants and bars.
The Ricardo Tormo racing circuit of Cheste is located at only an hour's distance from Valencia.
Here you can enjoy super bikes, Formula 1 racing and other motor sports which are charged with adrenalin.
There have been reports that Formula 1 has been planned to be brought to Valencia within a period of a few years.
When families are staying in holiday villas and apartments in Costa del Azahar they may take part in many of the great activities provided for tourists.
These activities include paragliding and hand gliding, along with other types of sports like sailing, trekking and windsurfing.