Six of the best Spanish cruise ports to visit

Valencia: At the moment only small ships can dock in Valencia, but a new purpose-built cruise terminal could be on the way for Spain’s historic but innovative city.

In the atmospheric old quarter the Cathedral houses the city’s oldest museum and you can climb the bell tower for a fabulous view of the narrow streets and plazas.

The liveliest part of the old town is el Carme, which has cafes, bars, restaurants and good nightlife, but the city also has superb modern architecture in the City of Arts and Sciences quarter.

This was built on a former riverbed that is now a park winding through the city.

The science museum – Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe – looks like the sun-bleached bones of a whale while the Bioparc is an ecofriendly and very modern version of a zoo.

Alcudia: Majorca’s main cruise port is Palma, but some ships are now docking at Alcudia which, as well as offering action-packed days cycling, parasailing, jet-skiing and swimming from the 7kms of sandy beach, also has a medieval walled town with narrow cobbled streets and handsome squares.

You can walk the length of Alcudia beach to Ca’n Picafort, a resort with seafront bars and cafes plus of snorkeling and more, or jump on a local bus to visit Parc Naturel de S’Albufera, which offers good walks among the sand dunes and lagoons and is free to visit.