Café de las Horas

Café de las Horas has a lavish baroque look: flowers, candelabra, velvet, gilded mirrors and paintings evoking the 18th century, a step from the Plaza de la Virgen. It's half literary café, half cocktail bar, and its cosmopolitan, slightly eccentric feel has made it a fixture of the old town.

A salon out of time

It opened in 1994 as a literary café, at a time when there was barely anywhere like it in the city: a place for a quiet cup of tea or a cocktail in a relaxed setting. A later refurbishment strengthened the neo-baroque decor, blending the Parisian café, the English tea room and the American cocktail bar into one deliberately over-the-top space.

Its famous Agua de Valencia

Its signature is Agua de Valencia, the cocktail of cava, orange juice, vodka and gin that's been made here for decades and served in jugs to share. It's the city's best-known spot for it, so order a jug and take your time with it.

Practical tips

It's on Calle Conde de Almodóvar, next to the Plaza de la Virgen, in the old town, and easy to combine with a visit to the Cathedral. It works well in the late afternoon or evening; weekdays tend to be quieter.

LOCAL TIP: Agua de Valencia goes down easily but is deceptive: it carries more alcohol than it seems; order it to share and drink it slowly while you take in the details of the ceiling and walls. To keep exploring the city's monumental centre, see our guide on what to do in València and stop by the nearby Silk Exchange (La Lonja).