Couple photoshoot in Valencia

Because the city faces the sea to the east, an evening couple photoshoot in Valencia has to turn its back on the coast to find the sunset. There are two good ways to do that. The first stays in town: the Turia, where the old stone bridges cross overhead and the riverbed runs under plane trees, so the last hour arrives as soft, broken light and there are arches to walk beneath. The second leaves town for La Albufera, where the sun goes down across a freshwater lagoon and the flat-bottomed boats of El Palmar sit on the water. The Turia is a walk you could take any evening of the year; the Albufera is an outing, with a drive and a fixed sunset to meet. Couples who live here usually pick the first and visitors the second. If you prefer mornings, the sunrise belongs to the Cabanyal.

When to book in Valencia

At the Albufera the session is timed backwards from sunset, so it starts about an hour before and finishes as the sun touches the water; in June that means arriving after eight in the evening, in December before five. The paddies change the look across the year. From November to April they are flooded and reflect the sky, which is the version most couples have not seen before; in early summer they are green; after the September harvest they are bare. In the Turia the hour is more forgiving, but the last hour before sunset is still the warmest light. Mornings by the sea are for anyone happy to set an alarm, and in July and August they are the only comfortable hour on the coast.