EVERY region has its 'day' in Spain, some with more pomp and circumstance than others, and pretty much all of which are bank holidays in the territory they pay tribute to – unless they land on a Sunday, when they're written off; but the workforce is generally not too bothered, since barely a month goes past on Spanish soil without a well-earned public holiday.
For Valencia, its 'day' was yesterday, October 9 – not just in Spain's third-largest city, but its wider region, comprising three provinces in an area roughly the size of Wales about halfway down the east of the mainland on the Mediterranean coast (if you still can't place it, it's got Benidorm in its southern third).
Usually a lowish-key affair, and even more so this year with the traditional parade in Valencia city called off due to the pandemic, its closeness to 'National Festival of Spain' on October 12 means it becomes a bit of an Antipodean Easter week for most employees – a chance to get some proper rest and relaxation, visiting, cleaning or decorating done. On those rare, welcome years when 'Valencia Day' falls on a Friday, such as this year, it's also a chance to get away for a short holiday without eating into your annual leave.
As a tribute to 'Valencia Day', we've decided to thrust the region into the spotlight in the most glamorous and roaring-twenties' way possible: Listing its favourite locations according to social media influencers.
We didn't do that yesterday, because we didn't want to interrupt your annual October 9 'R&R'. We're generous like that, you see.
Social media ambassadors
Influencers – models-cum-advertising agents, who include professional Instagrammers and YouTube vloggers, among others – are paid to put things, people, places and products on the map, which also provides a service to the general public by making them aware of what's out there. The key App for doing so right now is Peoople (no, that's not a typo. Get with the programme), where everything you needed or wanted is recommended and commented on, your commercial research done for you before you make a purchase.
Local influencers are good news for their home territories, too: They're popular and modern ambassadors for them, in the same way as F1's Fernando Alonso is for Oviedo (Asturias), tennis stars Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer for Mallorca and Jávea respectively, and arts celebrities like Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Rosalía are for Spain as a whole, as well as for Madrid, Málaga and Catalunya.
To mark their regional day, a handful of influencers from the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Castellón have revealed their top 20 locations, either for photographing, visiting, or simply being.
In Valencia city
As the biggest municipality in the region – around 775,000 inhabitants – it's hardly surprising that the majority of the 20 favourites are somewhere within the city; and the great news is that if you visit it yourself, practically all of them are within close walking distance of each other.
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