you 're in town on a Thursday , catch the enactment of a tradition almost as old as the grail . The Tribunal de las Aguas , or Water Court , is the meeting of the city 's elders , who gather outside the cathedral 's Plaza del Palau for around twenty minutes . It generally involves a number of old men sitting down not doing very much , while one pronounces what has been decided , and it 's a bit of a tour-group hot spot . On the other side of the plaza is the octagonal Miguelte Bell Tower , where you can climb 207 steps for a panoramic view of the low-rise old city . Not far through the old city 's happy tangle of narrow streets is the Lonja : a fifteenth-century trading house , studded with a fine collection of mugging gargoyles now preserved under UNESCO Heritage status . Bringing yourself out of the city 's medieval landmarks , you can feast on modern culture at IVAM , the city 's cheap and excellent modern art gallery . But for a vision of the future as designed by local superstar architect Santiago Calatrava , wander
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It 's not as achingly hip as Barcelona and it 's more manageable than Madrid : Spain 's third city has plenty of flavor , an urban edge and uniquely Valencian oddities . From medieval cathedrals to Calatrava 's futuristic City of Arts and Sciences , Valancia packs in plenty . Where else could you glimpse the Holy Grail in the morning , gorge on paella on a Mediterranean beach for lunch and then wander along a old river bed transformed into a park and visit architectural blockbusters that look like a Star Trek vision of a colonized planet ? After an early morning shot of coffee and , depending on your sugar tolerance , churros , the Cathedral in the heart of the old city is the best place to start the day . Located on the Plaza de la Reina , the cathedral is an impressive mix of gothic , baroque and Romanesque architectural styles . As striking as the many parts of the cathedral are , the sight of the Holy Grail my leave you underwhelmed -- to the unenlightened it resembles something closer to a plastic mug circa . 1973 . If