Albufera Natural Park

The Albufera is a freshwater lagoon 11 km south of Valencia, separated from the Mediterranean by a strip of pine forest and rice paddies. It is the largest lake in Spain, a critical stopover for migratory birds (herons, egrets, flamingos, ospreys), and the cradle of Valencian rice cultivation. The boat ride from the village of El Palmar at sunset is a Valencian classic.

Make a day of it: drive to El Palmar, eat paella at lunch in one of the village's many rice restaurants (Casa Salvadora, Nou Racó), take the flat-bottomed boat out among the reeds in late afternoon, watch the sun go down behind the western shore. Buses 25 and 24 run from Valencia city centre.

things to do sight nature
A story
The Albufera is where paella was actually born — local rice farmers, working the irrigated paddies that surround the lagoon, would cook lunch in shallow pans over a wood fire using whatever they had: chicken, rabbit, snails, beans, sometimes eels from the lake. The seafood version came later and is, strictly speaking, not paella but arroz a banda.

Other places in Things to Do