Valencia is definitely one of the cities I’d pick if I ever decided to live in Spain. I’ve spent over a month here at a time, been here three times in total, and I really hope to be back soon. One of the things I love about it is that Valencia is actually the healthiest city in Spain – people here live to be 83.5 on average. They say the work-life balance is great, there’s very little pollution, the sun shines over 300 days a year, and you’ve got that Mediterranean cuisine. What more could you ask for?
- In Valencia, you definitely want to taste paella because this is exactly where it comes from. Another local specialty is the white drink called horchata.
- Valencia has a long and wide sandy beach, definitely one of the best city beaches in Spain, and it’s about 5 km from the center.
- The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex is the most iconic part of Valencia – even if you don’t want to visit the museums inside, the buildings themselves are amazing to look at from the outside.
Tickets in Valencia
If you want to save time and plan better, get your tickets in advance so you don’t waste time in lines once you’re there. I’ve put together the tickets you’ll most likely be looking for right here:
- Oceanogràfic – the largest aquarium in Europe.
- Valencia Cathedral and Lonja de la Seda – entrance to the cathedral.
- Guided bike tour – see 25 sights with a guide.
Where to stay
The centre and the beach are about 5 kilometres apart, so it depends on how much you want to spend your time by the sea. But you’re there in no time on a bike. Anywhere in the area between the center and the beach is a good option, I think.
My favorite neighborhood full of great restaurants and cafes that aren’t as touristy as the downtown area is Cabanyal, it’s the part of town right by the Playa de Cabanyal beach of the same name. Ruzafa is also nice, from the train station towards the center, there are a lot of cool cafes here too.
Tips for accommodation in Valencia
- Only YOU Hotel Valencia is a modern hotel with a perfect location right in the city centre. It includes a fitness room, restaurant and bar.
- Welcomer Apartments Valencia is an equipped apartment with a kitchen and washing machine, a short walk from Valencia Cathedral.
- Home Youth Hostel by Feetup Hostels – cheap shared hostel accommodation right in the centre of La Lonja. The beds here are not bunk beds.
Things to see in Valencia
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. Along the whole centre, from the zoo to the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències next to a 7 kilometre long park full of greenery and occasionally some fountains. Valencia is by the sea on the Costa del Azahar.
There’s a lot going on in Valencia. There are actually 3 main areas of interest: the historic centre with its monuments, the modern park and the City of Arts and Sciences and the long beach. I would recommend a minimum of 3 days to explore all that Valencia has to offer.
Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences)
The most iconic part of Valencia is definitely Ciudad de las Artes i las Ciencias. The modern complex designed by architect Santiago Calatrava includes several buildings that serve as museums, concert halls, aquariums and other cultural spaces.
The white futuristic buildings give the impression of a modern, almost space-like environment. They are pretty nice in themselves, with water areas in between, a park around them, lit up in the evening and at night it looks even different. It’s beautiful. It’s all fairly new, it was completed in 2005.
It’s my favorite place to just sit on the lawn or on a picnic bench or read. There is also a 3D Valencia sign located here.
The main buildings of the complex are:
- Hemisfèric – there’s a Planetarium, an IMAX cinema and a laserium.
- Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe – interactive science museum.
- Umbracle – a promenade overlooking the complex, surrounded by gardens, which also serves as an exhibition space.
- Oceanogràfic – the largest aquarium in Europe.
- Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía – an opera and cultural centre that is home to concerts, operas and ballet performances.
- Puente de l’Assut de l’Or – a bridge over the dry riverbed of the Turia River and has a great view of the complex.
- L’Àgora – a multifunctional space for various cultural, social and sporting events.
Hemisfèric
The building takes the form of a giant eye and is a planetarium, IMAX and 3D cinema and laser show all in one.
Hemisfèric is built in such a way that it creates a phenomenon known as the“whispering gallery“. Sound in one place can be heard quite clearly in a very distant place, so you can talk to a person far away on the other side of the vault as if they were standing next to you. This is because the sound waves travel along the walls, allowing them to travel further without losing intensity.
Oceanogràfic
The largest aquarium in Europe. It has several individual buildings that represent different marine environments from the Mediterranean, wetlands, temperate and tropical seas to Antarctica and the Arctic.
There are more than 500 different species of aquatic animals, including dolphins, sharks, jellyfish, sea lions, walruses, penguins and many other fish and crustaceans.
It also includes the largest dolphinarium in Europe, which hosts educational and entertaining dolphin shows.
Due to the size of the aquarium, I recommend to reserve about 3 to 4 hours of time for the visit.
Umbracle
Umbracle is up above the dry riverbed of the Turia, as if above Hemisfèric and Oceanogràfic, serving as an observation deck and covered promenade. The garden of Umbracle is not very big, there are Mediterranean plants and flowers and palm trees. It’s a nice walk in a quiet place. Entrance is free.
Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe
You won’t miss this building either, it resembles a huge reclining whale skeleton. It’s an interactive science museum. Exhibits focus on different aspects of science and technology, from physics and biology to history and space.
One of the installations located outdoors (and therefore free) is the sundial.
Valencia’s La Seu Cathedral
The historic 13th-century Catedral de Santa María de Valencia is one of Valencia’s most important monuments. Inside you can see the famous Holy Grail, which is believed to be the true cup of Jesus Christ, from which he drank at the Last Supper. It is on display in the Chapel of the Holy Grail (Capilla del Santo Cáliz).
El Miguelete
In Valencian, Torre de Micalet is the bell tower of the cathedral. It is accessible (entrance fee 2 euros) and has a beautiful view of Valencia from the top.
Plaza del Ayuntamiento
A square where important events take place in Valencia. There is the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) with its ornate interior and the Museum of the History of Valencia. You can also go out onto the balcony from where you can see the whole square, although only from the first floor. Entrance is free.
Also in the square is the Palacio de Correos y Telégrafos, the post office building with its magnificent dome and stained glass windows. In the centre of the square is a fountain surrounded by flowers.
Torres de Serranos
Gothic gates that once served as the main entrance to the city. It offers spectacular views of Valencia’s historic centre. The entrance fee is 2 euros.
Plaza de la Virgen
The square in the historic centre of the city from the back of the cathedral. There is the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados and the large Turia Fountain.
The square is the site of many events, with processions passing through for various events. This is the key place for the Ofrenda de la Flores during Valencia’s biggest festival, Las Fallas, when processions bring flowers to the square, which are used to decorate the huge statue of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the square.
Lonja de la Seda
The Silk Exchange is one of the most important and beautiful historical buildings in Valencia and Spain, and is listed by Unesco. The building also includes the Torreón Tower, which was used as a prison for bankrupts and commercial offenders, and the Patio de los Narajnos, where orange trees grow.
Bioparc Valencia
This innovative zoological park focuses on African animals and offers the opportunity to observe them in a very realistic “natural” environment.
Things to do in Valencia
You won’t be bored in Valencia. Rather, you’ll be busy making sure you get everything done.
Jardí del Túria
My favorite place in all of Valencia. And it’s so big that I could come here every day and always go somewhere different. This long park created on the site of the former Túria River is a great place for a picnic, a run or a bike ride. I loved coming here on my bike with a snack from the bakery or market and just reading a book.
Mercat Central, Mercat Ruzafa and Mercat Colón
Mercat Central is one of the largest markets, you can get mainly fresh food, but there are also a few options for eating out, with a wide range of baguettes, ham cones and salads. The Mercat Ruzafa in the Ruzafa district is similar.
Mercat Colón has only small restaurants and bars, you can’t find anything to buy there. Central closes at 3, Colón is alive in the evening. All the markets are in really nice buildings.
Horchatería Sata Catalina
One of the oldest and most traditional horchaterias is right in the city centre, offering traditional Valencian horchata. It offers fartóns or churros with the horchata. There’s often a line outside, but it moves quickly.
Malvarrosa beach
The most popular beach in Valencia, it’s incredibly wide, so you’ll always find plenty of space. People come here just for a picnic, too. There’s a bike path running alongside it (which you can take all the way from the city).
What to taste in Valencia
Valencia offers great Spanish cuisine and is the birthplace of Spain’s most famous dish – paella. You should taste it here not only because it originated here, but also because in other parts of Spain, it might not even be on the menu. Traditional Valencian paella contains large white beans (garrofó) and rabbit meat. It’s probably the meatiest paella of all types, which is why I like it the most. Even outside of Valencia, you’ll find it on menus listed as paella Valenciana. A great experience you can enjoy in Valencia is taking a paella cooking class.
For a typical Valencian drink, try horchata, a sweet refreshing drink made from ground chufa nuts, water and sugar. Horchata is traditionally served with fartóns, sweet pastries ideal for dipping into the drink.
Valencia also has its own cocktail – Agua de Valencia. Although it sounds like Valencia water, don’t be fooled. As well as juice from fresh Valencia oranges, the cocktail also contains cava (Spanish sparkling wine), vodka and gin.
Where to eat in Valencia
Besides the city center, I find two neighborhoods most interesting gastronomically: Russafa, located behind the Valencia train station, and El Cabanyal near the beach.
El Cabanyal is a nice, quiet neighborhood even just for a stroll, and it’s full of restaurants, so you can’t go wrong by just heading there, walking around, and picking whichever place you like best.
I personally liked La Sastrería, a tapas bar with an interesting selection of fish and seafood tapas and a cool atmosphere at the bar; a small café called Tallat with excellent specialty coffee and a few sweet treats; or Kaide Coffee, which is also great for breakfast. A very famous tapas bar here is Casa Montaña, offering traditional tapas and an authentic atmosphere, but you usually need a reservation.
You can also find traditional-style tapas at Bar Lapaca. And finally, there’s La Llimeria Cabanyal (easy to spot thanks to its “lemon design”), where they serve both traditional tapas and Spanish cuisine, as well as great desserts—especially their famous lemon pie with meringue.
In the Russafa area, I loved the cafés with great breakfasts: Blackbird, Bluebell Coffee Roasters, and Los Picos Café. And for the evening, The Jungle cocktail bar. In the center, besides visiting the Mercado, Cult Café is lovely for specialty coffee, breakfasts, and desserts. There’s also Milberg, a small bar on a tiny square next to the narrowest house in the city, where they have good Agua de Valencia and empanadas, but mainly a great atmosphere.
Mestizo is good for coffee, breakfast, or a bigger brunch. For specialty coffee, Retrogusto Coffeemates, located right inside the Mercado, is also super. For traditional tapas, head to Tapeando.
Excursions outside the centre of Valencia
If you’re in Valencia for more than a few days, you can venture beyond the city centre and explore the surrounding area.
Port Saplaya
Port Saplaya is a town about 8 kilometres from Valencia. It is also called “Little Venice” because it is built entirely on a canal. The town centre is thus made up of beautiful colourful houses built around the water, with smaller boats tied to the pier. It has a very nice atmosphere, there are restaurants, but it’s not crowded with tourists, it’s very peaceful.
I walked to Port Saplaya from Valenbisi, the last bicycle stop on Malvarosa beach, which I reached by bicycle. However, bus 32 will take you to the same place. It’s a little over 3 kilometers from here, most of the way goes around the beach, so it’s a nice walk. For maybe a kilometer the path turns away from the beach and goes past fields, the Ermita del Miracle dels Peixets church and holiday cottages.
Lake Albufera
A large lagoon south of Valencia. As well as beautiful scenery, birdwatching and fishing villages around the lake, you can also take a boat trip here. It’s mainly for sunsets. It takes about 40 minutes by bus 25, from the Amèrica – Marqués del Túria stop near Túria Park (or some other stop along the way).
Horchatería Daniel
If you’re into horchata, you can visit one of the best horchaterias. It’s a large terrace and indoor area where horchata, granizada, fartóns and a few other sweet things are served. The place is famous and it tends to get pretty crowded. You can get there by bike or it’s near the Alboraya-Palmaret metro station.
Where is Valencia
Valencia is located in Spain, on the eastern coast by the Mediterranean Sea, in the Costa del Azahar gulf. If you were to drive south along the coast from Barcelona, it’s about 350 kilometers. It’s a similar distance from Madrid in the interior. About 170 kilometers south of Valencia lies another popular destination, Alicante. To the east of Valencia, you’ll find the Balearic Islands.
How to get to Valencia
Valencia has its own international airport (Aeropuerto de Valencia). Direct flights from Prague are operated by Smartwings and from Vienna by Ryanair. From the airport to the city centre, there is a metro line 3 or 5 to Xàtiva station. A ticket costs 4.80 euros and the journey takes 25 minutes. You can also take the L150 bus for the normal fare of €1.50.
By train
Another option is to fly to Madrid, which is about 2 hours by train (plus an hour to get on the train). Alternatively to Barcelona, from where it’s less than 4 hours by Alsa bus (runs directly from terminal 1 at the airport), about 3 hours by train (plus half an hour to get the train). Prices always vary quite a bit depending on departures (and luggage).
It’s about 3 hours from Alicante. So it makes sense to combine it with a visit to one of these cities, but given the travel time and ticket prices, I’d opt for arriving at one destination, transferring to the other and flying back from there.
Valencia has two main train stations, Estación del Norte and Joaquín Sorolla, where many trains connect Valencia with the rest of Spain. Both stations are next to each other and within walking distance of the city centre and right next to a metro station.
Ferry to Ibiza
From Valencia you can also get to the Balearic Islands by sea, specifically to Ibiza the ferry takes just over 5 hours, to Mallorca around 8 hours.
How to get around Valencia
Valencia has buses and a metro. The metro feels like it has a bit longer intervals than I’m used to from other cities, and the buses have a lot of stops, so they’re not as fast. The city centre and the main things can be done perfectly fine on foot, for trips to the beach or out of the centre for example, I’m more used to cycling.
Anyway, you can get a preloaded card for the metro and bus (paper card costs one euro, plastic card costs two euros), and each ride costs 1.50 euros.
Valencia by bike with Valenbisi
I can’t think of a city better suited to cyclists than Valencia. There are bike lanes everywhere, including all through Turia Park, so it’s easy to get from the centre to the beach.
I used Valenbisi bike share, which has 275 stations around the city and almost 3 thousand bikes. A weekly use costs 13 euros, a yearly use costs less than 30 euros. For that price, you can then use the bikes unlimitedly, but you always have to return them within 30 minutes (but then you can rent again immediately).
It works on the card, but also completely through the Valenbisi mobile app. I stayed mobile – just walk up to the racks, pick a bike, unlock the bike in the app by number and go. When returning, just park (put it in the rack) and the ride will complete itself. The app measures the time, so I can always see if the bike needs to be returned.
What’s on in Valencia
In Valencia, I felt like they were always celebrating something. And in a big way, for the first time I really saw what it looks like when traditions are really observed. On holidays, shops tend to be closed like on Sundays. What are some of the main celebrations here?
- Las Fallas – large statues all over the city, the daily pyrotechnic show, the fire parade and the parade in traditional costumes and finally the lighting of the statues, this is what Valencia lives for every March. The pyrotechnic shows take place in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the large statue decorated with flowers brought by the parade is in the Plaza de la Virgen. There are statues all over the city.
- Semana Santa – Holy Week, Easter. On the Friday of the week before Good Friday, the parade starts in the evening from the Church of Santa Maria del Mar and passes through the Cabanyal district. The procession includes musicians, people in hoods and is topped by a throne with a statue of the Virgin Mary, Virgen de los Dolores.
- Sant Vicent Ferrer – the feast of the patron saint of Valencia is always on the Monday after Easter Monday. In the afternoon, a pyrotechnic mascletà show is set off in Plaza Tetuán, and several altars are set up around the city, in front of which performances depicting the miracles of Saint Vicent are held towards the evening. The colours black and white are widely used as a symbolism of the Dominicans, the black and white brothers.
- Festa de la Mare de Déu dels Desamparats – the second Sunday in May is dedicated to the patron saint of Valencia, Our Lady of the Desamparados.
- La Nit de San Juan – June 23 is celebrated all over Spain, it means lots of fire and fireworks, celebrated a lot on the beach.
I am the author of this blog. I have been traveling several months a year for more than 15 years. I love tasting local foods, from street food to Michelin stars. I get lost in the alleys, visit local markets, and admire the views. I prefer comfort and great experiences over low prices.