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Did a week in Girona last year, loved it and could happily go back, several routes left unridden.
Friends discussing Valencia though, doesn't seem far enough away to feel all that different, plus decent hills all appear further from the city and smaller?
It's potentially irrelevant as my wife doesn't know we're discussing it yet...
Calpe (just south of Valencia) is well regarded for road riding, there's a few teams head out that way for early season training.
Easy flights to Alicante although you will have to share the airport/flight with the hoards of great unwashed heading out on party weekends to Benidorm...
Best bit is actually further west, in the Sierra Nevada region. It’s Girona on steroids with better weather and quieter roads.
A friend lives in Valencia and does a lot of road riding there. He's on Strava, pretty sure it's open to browse: https://www.strava.com/athletes/4915034?oq=de I'm pretty sure that if it's a decent local ride he'll have done it.
Just back from Calpe 3 weeks ago , the roads are tremendous and the place is beautiful. Astana , CCC , sunweb and loads of others are there just now. The Col Du rates is the famous climb in the area but to be honest its pretty short as is the col du Tuldon. You can fly to Alicante and get the train / tram to Calpe as Its about an hour away.
Good stuff. Doing some more research and realising that there are loads of climbs around Valencia of similar or bigger size than Els Angels above Girona.
Obviously Els Angels is pretty small, but point being I enjoyed it and the descent that followed, so a selection of similar sized or bigger climbs would be perfect.
Best bit is actually further west, in the Sierra Nevada region. It’s Girona on steroids with better weather and quieter roads.
That's where I go to. Just on the southern side of the actual park boundary is a valley that runs from Lanjaron in the west all the way up to Almeria in the east which is amazing for road riding. Head into the hills at the southern edge of Sierra Nevada or down towards the coast.
Easiest travel option is flying into Malaga.
Alternatively southern Catalonia at Cambrils and head inland from there. Downside you're flying into and out of Reus, upside the back country riding is great, roads are very quiet and it's dry for around 320 days of the year.