Escapes - Come & Cook in Valencia

Day 1 Arrival
You will be met at Valencia airport by our local representative who will take you to your accommodation in Partida de la Mar in Almàssera.

You will be welcomed to Partida de la Mar by Rustic Escape’s concierge, who will offer you a welcome drink and give you an overview of all the places and experiences you can enjoy during your stay.

You can take a walk across the huerta to a local horchata bar to savour the horchata and fartones, a refreshing tiger nut drink and a delicious pastry or take the bicycles and cycle down to the beach, restaurants and bars in nearby Saplaya or around the huerta, which can take you for 20 km across the largest agricultural plains in Europe. Catch a tram into the city of Valencia and see this vibrant city with its markets, squares and beautiful, historical buildings. Or simply relax in front of the open fire or in a hot bath and watch the sun set over the fields full of artichokes and oranges.

A welcome hamper will be waiting for you including local produce for you to enjoy during your stay.

In the evening guests can decide to visit the city for dinner. The local representative will provide a drop-off service at a restaurant of your choice and collect you when you are ready to return home or simply stroll through the Mercado de Colon area, and enjoy an evening tapas.

Day 2
Your local representative will collect you at your leisure and take you into the city of Valencia for a visit to the renowned central market , taking your purchases back to the farmstead for you , leaving you free to stroll at your leisure, through the city centre. Our Local Expert Concierge can provide you with a city tour. We can can reserve a table in a typical Valencian restaurant or, with notice reserve you a table for a fourteen course gastronomic experience at the Ricard Camarena restaurant, the project of a double Michelin starred chef, passionate about the zero km approach to local, ‘slow’ food.

In the city visit the gothic Lonja and the Cathedral and Miguelete towers or spend time strolling through the old town. A refreshing drink can be enjoyed on Virgin square before walking though this vibrant city, past the town hall, station and bullring to a tree-lined avenue typical of the modernist period which Valencia enjoyed in the early part of last century. There are a variety of restaurants offering a good selection of tapas and lunch menus. After lunch make your way to the Serrano Towers on the riverbank.   As soon as you are ready your concierge will be waiting to take you back home.

In the evening you can choose to either

• enjoy a hands on workshop with a local expert concierge,  cooking the fresh produce bought that morning in the market, alongside either a Spanish omelette and a typical ‘Esgarrae’ (a salad made from pepper and dried fish) or a seafood or vegetable paella.

Or

• enjoy a drop-off service to a restaurant of your choice. Our local representative can help you choose a restaurant, deliver you to the door and be ready to collect you at the end of the evening.

Guests should remember that dinner does not start until at least 9.30 in the evening, which allows for a good late afternoon rest or siesta in readiness for your night out.

Valencia enjoys a vibrant nightlife from Thursday to Saturday and you can ask your concierge to pick you up after a final Aqua de Valencia drink in the hundred year old San Jaumes in Barrio del Carmen. Valencia’s ‘water’ is a potent mix of Cointreau, gin, local cava and of course, orange juice. You will really appreciate our optional evening drop-off service when you decide to go home!

Day 3
Your concierge will collect you at your leisure and take you for breakfast at a local bar which specializes in almuerzo (many people in Spain enjoy this snack between 10 and 12, which can be anything from an enormous baguette filled with pork loin, potato omelette or luscious cheese and tomatoes to little plates brimming with squid and fresh green beans, artichokes and garlic picked from the fields that morning). All this is washed down with local wine and brandy and guests always find it curious when, even before ordering breakfast at even 9 in the morning, nuts, olives and an open bottle of wine are placed in front of them. These local bars are well off the tourist route and an experience not to be missed.

After breakfast guests on a 3 night stay can opt to either:

• drive 40 minutes to the south of Valencia to visit the rich fertile orange growing area of the province,   Enjoy an outdoor workshop amongst the orange trees of Partida del Toro, where the farmer will show you how to cook a traditional Valencian paella. On the way home guests will drive over the wetlands to see where the rice comes from and can either visit the lake or the beach for a swim.  OR
• enjoy an evening paella workshop on your terrace after a visit the local Albufera lake, where you can enjoy an optional boat ride to see the many migratory birds that live there, visiting a small village in the middle of the mudflats to try the local speciality tapas ‘All i Pebre’. Guests can visit the beach for a swim if they wish, either prior to lunch on the lake or in the afternoon.

The Albufera lake is the largest wetlands in Europe. Paella originated from this area of Spain and was originally made with duck from the lake with green, butter beans and artichokes. The restaurants on this island specialise in seafood paella and guests can learn about the many different types, from Arros a banda and garlic allí olí to black, squid ink rice or a soupy lobster rice broth. You will wish you could stay for much longer!

Guests on a 5 or 7 night stay visit the local lake, after the typical Valencian breakfast, enjoying a boat ride across the wetlands to a small village where they can taste ‘All i Pebre'(a local speciality tapas) and enjoy a seafood paella. (The tapas and a drink is complimentary; guests then choose from a variety of price ranges and restaurants; lunch optional.)

Day 4
A free day. Guests can opt for a further day with full concierge service and choose from the list of  Additional Experiences as described on our webpage.  Alternatively they can simply enjoy relaxing at the farmstead or use  the complimentary bicycles to explore the local seaside resort of Saplaya (1 km form the farmstead) or join the dedicated cycle lane only  (half km from the farmstead) which was built to follow the ancient Roman road of El Cid and stretches over 20 km over the agricultural plains. Seasoned cyclists can bike up into the hills to the village of Serra and the hilltop views of el Garbí. Or take a tram into the city.

Day 5
Guests are picked up at their leisure and driven 40 minutes south to the orange growing area of Valencia, enjoying a typical Spanish ‘bocadillo’ snack washed down with wine, amongst the orange trees followed by  a visit to a local farm where you will see how olives and dates are cured and enjoy a hands-on workshop helping the farmer prepare a paella lunch on the open fire. You will also learn to make oven rice and            ´ Puchero, a typical Valencian soup made in a traditional wood burning stove. Guests may swim in the farmer’s pool if they wish.

In the late afternoon you can be dropped in the city, at a shopping centre or the City of Arts and Sciences or be returned directly to the farmstead. Your local representative will be on call should you wish for a drop-off collection service from the city.

That evening you can have a warming bowl of soup, cooked during your workshop at the farm.

Day 6
Free day. You can opt to choose from any of the list of Additional Experiences found on our website or take the bicycles and visit a typical restaurant 2 km from the farmstead, Ca Xoret. Guests can taste a variety of local wines accompanied by traditional yet innovative dishes created by this impressive yet welcoming local restaurant.

In the early evening guests can enjoy either:

• a tomato and wine tasting experience with one of our local expert concierges
• a Tiger Nut Tour; accompanying a local farmer to a drying barn where the local speciality crop, ‘chufa’ (tiger nuts) are processed. You will enjoy a hands on workshop learning to make ‘horchata’, a sweet almond like drink unique to Valencia, accompanied by a sweet pastry.
• a hands on workshop learning to make either ‘Arroz al Señoret’, a seafood paella or a cauliflower and fresh garlic paella with either fish or ribs.

Day 7
Your local representative will drop you at the City of Arts and Sciences where you can visit either the Science museum, the Aquarium or the Hemisferic ( an architectural complex specialising in special effects nature films) or simply stroll around the artificial lake and buildings enjoying the architecture of the renowned local architect, Santiago Calatrava. When you are ready we will take you to the port area where you can visit the Rice Museum, to learn more about how it is harvested and treated and then you can stroll through the port, seeing both the nineteenth century loading bays and the modern Veles y Vents buildings, built to host the America’s Cup early this century, enjoying lunch in one of the many restaurants on the Malvarrosa beach.

The above experience can take place either in the morning or the evening and guests can opt to choose any number of Additional Experiences and further hands-on workshops to arrange alongside the above.

At the end of your stay the local representative will provide you with a drop-off service to the local airport.

Any of the experiences on the itinerary can be altered to suit each guests preference. We want to ensure that the escape is entirely personalised and we are able to provide every guest with a wealth of culinary and cultural experiences which give them a flavour of local life and the gastronomy of Valencia. Prior to arrival our Reservations Advisors will ensure that our guests’ dietary preferences are fully catered for. During your stay your local representative will be on hand 24 hrs a day to ensure that you make the most of your stay.

Our alqueria in Almàssera, Valencia opened in 2019. An alqueria is a typical Valencian farmstead on the agricultural flat plains (called la huerta) between Valencia city and the sea. Surrounded by fields of artichokes and chufa (used for the local drink called horchata) and orchards of orange trees, our guests will be able to immerse themselves in this unique and important farming region and enjoy its rich culture and history.

Partida de la Mar, Almassera, is a traditional Valencian farmstead, located in the centre of the huerta, the largest agricultural plain in Europe, 10 km from the centre of  the historic city of Valencia. Valencia is situated on the east coast of Spain, known as the Costa del Azahar, or Orange Blossom coast. The farmstead  is only one km from the beach and the harbour of Port Saplaya, which has restaurants and bars and a shopping centre.  A five minute walk takes you to a tram station in either the nearby town of Almassera or Meliana, with quick access to the city centre and between these runs a cycle and pedestrian track which spans the length  of the huerta, for over 20 km. This runs along the ancient highway,  Camino del Cid, which, in Roman times, linked Valencia to Tarragona and on, to Soria and Burgos. A bicycle ride away are several bars serving the local speciality drink called horchata, made from tiger nuts. Also nearby are several excellent restaurants serving local farmers’ breakfast and lunchtime tapas and paella, which originated in this area. In the nearby village of Roca, a short bicycle ride away, there is a station which offers direct access to Valencia, Sagunto and Castellón, then Barcelona.

The alquería is surrounded by agricultural land, growing oranges, artichokes, potatoes, onions and tiger nuts or chufa which, in the summer months sways in the breeze like a sea of green in front of the farmstead.  It is important to note that this is an agricultural rather than a tourist area and guests can enjoy feeling part of the everyday life of the farmers surrounding them.

The house has been tastefully restored with all modern conveniences including air conditioning and wifi,  yet has retained much of its original charm with open fires, wood burning stoves and an authentic drying loft originally used to dry tobacco and silk, now the master suite. While keeping the stonework and original beams, the bathrooms have been restored to the highest specifications with top of the range luxury fittings.

The sleeping accommodation comprises:

The main suite, with a queen size bed and ensuite bathroom with a beautiful copper and antique silver roll top bath and a state of the art La Cage shower. The room also offers two additional beds, built as nests within the wooden walls which housed the drying racks and could allow the suite to be used as a family room while also serving as  large sofas for relaxing in front of the glass doored wood burning stove.

The second bedroom is small and cosy, with a double bed and furnished with traditional mahogany furniture and a pretty shuttered window. It has its own bathroom across the hallway with a top of the range antique roll top bath and shower.

The third bedroom offers a single option for five guests or can be used for two children. It was originally the donkey’s stable and retains its wooden trough and many agricultural features, along with its own antique wood burning stove, while having been totally refurbished with pretty floral prints and white wood cladding. It opens out onto an inner patio which leads into a shower and bathroom. This room is ideal for any guest with reduced mobility.

The living area has a large open plan kitchen, dining and sitting room with an open fire. The working kitchen has been fully integrated into the original farmhouse kitchen. Throughout the property there is an eclectic mix of antique furniture and artefacts all helping to enhance the guests´authentic farmhouse experience.

The outside area comprises 2500 square metres of seasonal agricultural crops with an area dedicated to a kitchen garden, with a range of vegetables and fruit for the guests to pick as required.  There is a small terrace with a table and benches and a traditional barbecue/paellero, with an outside sink. Between May and October a natural swimming pool/alberca runs along the side of the house and is filtered by a specialised pump and natural filter, without the need for chemicals.  The farmstead is surrounded by irrigation channels which regularly fill with fresh water on its way to irrigate the crops. Originally water for the farm was pulled from the irrigation channels by bucket and only recently has running water been installed.