Hire bikes for a morning (try Orange Bikes at Calle Santa Teresa, 8, in the Carmen) and take a leisurely ride though the Turia river gardens – it’s too far to walk the full 10km length. The river Turia, which used to flow here, was diverted around the city after a flood in 1957 that killed dozens of people. For a while, the city authorities debated whether to turn the dry riverbed, still with its grand bridges and embankments, into a giant car park. Thankfully, they opted for a more environmentally friendly option. Today, “el río” is full of beautiful and varied sights, from landscaped gardens to leaping fountains, childrens’ adventure playgrounds, grassy picnic areas and civic spaces such as sports fields and exhibition areas. Kids will also love the little white train that carries visitors to and from the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, at the river gardens’ end. (Resist the urge, if you have one, to take a pony and trap from the Plaza de la Virgen around the old town. Exposed for hours in the suffocating summer heat as they wait for punters, the horses are often visibly distressed, and you probably will be too after trundling around the dark and narrow streets of the old town inhaling petrol fumes.)

Buses: 95, 80

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