Built in the late 15th century, this commodity exchange is the most beautiful building in Valencia and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe (declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1996.) The vaulted ceiling of the main hall – the Sala de Contratación – reaches almost 18 metres at its highest point. A sermon is etched on the main entrance of the Llotja: the Puerta de los Pescados (Gate of Sins.) However, some of the etchings that surround it slyly compromise its pious effect, depicting Adam and Eve caught in flagrante delicto and creatures performing all sorts of other transgressions.

If you’d like a taste of the buzz that must have animated the Llotja 500 years ago, when the Sala de Contratación echoed with the competing bids of merchants, visit the popular stamp and coin market that is still held there on a Sunday morning.