The Central Market
A bustling food market with lots of stands selling everything from jamón and cheese to olives, nuts and more. It's lively all morning until lunchtime, when it closes. A great place to grab snacks, have lunch at Central Bar (see below) or one of the other stands, or just take photos.
Radio City
This is a bar and live music venue. Every Tuesday is flamenco night. While flamenco really is more of a Southern Spain specialty, this place is legit. If you're there on a Tuesday, I totally recommend checking it out. It's in Old Town, but a little off the beaten tourist path. We grabbed dinner before the show at Sorbito Divino, a wine bar right around the corner in a super cute small plaza.
Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar
This is a local jazz club that was highly recommended by Joey's Spanish family. We ran out of time and never made it there, but it's supposed to be great.
Institute of Modern Art
Founded in 1989, IVAM (Institut Valencià d'Art Modern) was the first modern art museum in Spain and is still extremely well regarded. The permanent collection focuses on 20th-century Spanish artists — especially the sculptor Julio González and the Valencian painter Ignacio Pinazo — alongside rotating contemporary exhibits. There's also a really cool basement room built around the remnants of Valencia's medieval city walls.