Northwest from the university is the café-rich Plaza de la Reina, which is overlooked by the florid spire of the church of Santa Catalina and octagonal tower of Valencia's Catedral (Mon– Sat 10am–5.30pm, Sun 2–5.30pm; €3). The fee covers the museum (see below) and an audioguide in a language of your choice, but if you're averse to paying for entry to God's house, you still have the option of attending Mass outside tourist hours. The cathedral, founded in the thirteenth century, embraces an eclectic combination of architectural styles, with the lavishly ornate Baroque main entrance leading to a largely Gothic-built interior. It's an exhausting climb up the cathedral tower, known as the Miguelete (daily 10am–7.30pm; €2), but the spectacular views of the city and its many blue-domed churches more than compensate.

An increasing number of visitors, however, come for the cathedral's most celebrated religious icon: a gold and agate chalice (the Santo Cáliz), said to be the one used by Christ at the Last Supper – the Holy Grail itself, and no mean asset in an era of post-Da Vinci Code fever. It's certainly old and, hidden away throughout the Dark Ages in a monastery in northern Aragón, it really did inspire many of the legends associated with the Grail. Other treasures include the two Goya paintings of the San Francisco chapel, one of which depicts an exorcism (the corpse was originally naked, but after Goya's death a sheet was painted over it). The cathedral's museum contains more paintings and also a 2300-kilo tabernacle made from gold, silver and jewels donated by the Valencian people. Above the structure's crossing, the cathedral's fourteenth-century lantern is another fine feature, as are its soaring windows glazed with thin sheets of alabaster to let in the Valencian light.

Leaving the cathedral through the Puerta de los Apóstoles, you enter the Plaza de la Virgen. Here, close to the doorway, the Tribunal de las Aguas, the black-clad regulatory body of Valencia's water users, meets at noon every Thursday to judge grievances about the irrigation system of the huertas. The practice dates back to Moorish times, and Blasco Ibáñez (1867–1928) describes their workings in detail in his novel La Barraca, which is about peasant life in the Valencian huerta and remains the best guide to the life of the region at that time.

Two footbridges allow the clergy (only) to go straight from the cathedral into the archbishop's palace and on to the domed basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados (daily 7am–2pm & 4.30–9pm; free), also on the Plaza de la Virgen, where thousands of candles constantly burn in front of the image of the Virgin, patron of Valencia.

From the plaza, c/Caballeros leads to the Palau de la Generalitat, which dates from the fifteenth century and today is the seat of the Valencian autonomous government. Security is understandably tight, however, and to see inside you'll need to make an appointment (963 863 461, lopez_artgar@gva.es; English-speaking guide available). It's worth the effort to see the beautifully painted ceilings and frescoes depicting a meeting of the assembly (1592) in the Salón Dorado and the tiled Salón de Cortes.