The old fishing-village neighbourhood squeezed between the centre and the beach — and easily Valencia's most distinctive piece of urban texture. Long, narrow streets run in parallel grids toward the sea, lined with low single-storey houses faced in glazed tiles, some of them painted explosively in pastel reds, blues, and yellows.
Recently a wave of renovation has brought small bars, design shops, and Airbnbs without (yet) destroying the residential character. The beach is at the end of every street; the morning fish auction at the Lonja del Pescado still happens at the working port behind the neighbourhood. The best paella beach restaurants are along Paseo Neptuno, between El Cabanyal and the Malvarrosa.