When summer like this rolls in and Valencia says „beach", most people think of Benidorm or Calpe. But seventy kilometres south of the city of Valencia, in a low piedmont between the Sierra de Mondúver and the Mediterranean, sits Gandia - a town whose summer has been quietly humming along since the 1960s. 80,000 residents in winter, 180,000 in summer. A steady rhythm, no overload - a brand of the kind Benidorm long since lost.

But Gandia is not just beach. Francis Borgia was born here in 1510, a former duke and later Catholic saint, member of the current family line of the famous Borgia dynasty from Italy. The duchy left these estates behind - and today the Ducal Palace, built in the 14th-15th century, is the heart of the old town centre. The Hall of Arms, the Hall of Crowns and the baroque Golden Gallery are open to visitors.

For those with an interest in art - the Santa Clara Museum holds the „Virgin of the Milk" and works by Jusepe de Ribera. The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria and the Santa Clara monastery round out the architectural route. The Archaeological Museum and the Faller Museum - smaller, but authentic, with low tourist overhead.

And the food? This is the birthplace of fideua - 1920, a version of paella that uses fideos (thin pasta) instead of rice. From then to now: Casa José and Vins i mes are the two restaurants the locals recommend. Don't expect a tasting menu with grand pretensions - expect seafood from the same day, olive oil from the foothills, and a waiter who will tell you honestly whether the menu of the day is any good.

The best time? Early October - that is the Fira i Festes de Gandia, with „Tio de la Porra" - a figure who leads percussion troupes through the streets in a centuries-old tradition that goes back to 1310. Seven centuries later, that still means something to the people who live here year-round. Not for the tourists - for themselves.

Gandia is not a town for Instagrammers looking for an „undiscovered gem" for the next post. It is a town for those who want to spend a week in a place where the locals live as if they were not on holiday. The quiet satisfaction is noticeable.