Valencia

Valencia is the capital of the Valencian Community, on the banks of the Turia on the Mediterranean coast, and with 824,340 people the third-largest city in Spain, 1.6 million in the urban area and 2.5 million across the metropolitan region. It was founded as the Roman colony of Valentia Edetanorum in 138 BC. Its most distinctive feature is modern: the Turia was diverted after a flood and its old bed turned into a park that runs right through the city, which is why Valencia is the easiest large Spanish city to cross on foot or by bike.