The birthplace of paella, with a futuristic City of Arts, a 9km park in a drained riverbed, a Gothic old town and a city beach.
Valencia works best as a 3-day city break. Valencia is Spain's third city and the home of paella, a coastal capital that mixes a medieval core with some of the boldest modern architecture in Europe. The old town, the Barrio del Carmen, packs the Gothic cathedral, the bell tower called the Miguelete and the UNESCO-listed Lonja silk exchange into a walkable tangle of lanes. To the south, Santiago Calatrava turned a stretch of the old riverbed into the white, futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, with its opera house, science museum and the largest aquarium in Europe. That riverbed is the other surprise: after a catastrophic flood in 1957 the Turia was diverted around the city, and the old channel became a 9km green park that curves through the centre. Add the Malvarrosa city beach, the Albufera rice lagoon just south where paella was born, and the fireworks and burning statues of Las Fallas in March, and there is plenty to sort through. This guide splits two or three days so you get the old town, the City of Arts and the beach or the Albufera without wasting time crossing the city twice.
Ideal stay
3 days
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Mid budget
100 EUR/day
Airport
Valencia airport
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Design palace hotel · Ciutat Vella (Old Town)
A design hotel inside a restored 19th-century palace in the old town, built over a stretch of Roman city wall and Arab-era remains that are on show in the public areas. You are steps from the cathedral and the Lonja, sleeping on layers of the city's history.
from ~190 EUR/night
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Couples€€Old town boutique palace · Ciutat Vella (Old Town)
An intimate boutique hotel in a restored palace on a quiet old-town square near the Plaça de Manises, so the noise stays outside. It is a short walk from both the cathedral and the Central Market.
from ~130 EUR/night
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First visit€€Central mid-range hotel · L'Eixample
A comfortable, well-located mid-range hotel in the Eixample between the town hall square and Colón. It is an easy walk to both the old town and the Modernista Mercado de Colón, which makes it a practical first-visit base.
from ~95 EUR/night
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Budget€Old town hostel · Ciutat Vella (Old Town)
A friendly, well-run hostel in the heart of the old town, with both dorms and private rooms. You are minutes from the Central Market and the Carmen nightlife at the cheapest central prices in the city.
from ~20 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Valencia was founded by the Romans as Valentia in 138 BC, a colony for retired soldiers on the river Turia. Under Moorish rule it became Balansiya, a prosperous city of gardens and irrigation channels, until James I of Aragon took it in 1238 and folded it into the Christian kingdoms. Its 15th-century golden age was built on the silk trade, which paid for the Gothic Lonja where the merchants met. The Great Flood of the Turia in October 1957 drowned much of the city and led the authorities to divert the river around it entirely, turning the old bed into the 9km Turia Gardens; four decades later, Santiago Calatrava filled the far end of that riverbed with the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, begun in the late 1990s.
Valencia is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days is enough for the heart of Valencia. The old town is compact and walkable, so the cathedral and the Miguelete tower, the Gothic Lonja, the Central Market and the lanes of the Carmen fill a comfortable first day, with an evening of tapas over in Russafa.
See the itinerary →
3
days
Three days is the comfortable amount for Valencia: the same walkable old town and the City of Arts as the two-day trip, taken at a slower pace, plus a full third day for the Albufera lagoon or the beach. Day one covers the cathedral and the Miguelete tower, the Lonja, the Central Market and the Carmen, with tapas in Russafa; day two takes the City of Arts and Sciences, the Oceanogràfic and a ride back through the Turia Gardens.
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Valencia has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Ciutat Vella (Old Town)
First visit
The walkable historic core gathers the cathedral and the Miguelete tower, the Gothic Lonja, the Modernista Central Market and the tangled lanes of the Carmen into a few blocks you can cross on foot.
Russafa (Ruzafa)
Local life
Russafa is the hip neighbourhood just south of the centre, a grid of brunch spots, indie bars, small galleries and the covered Mercat de Russafa, buzzy in the evenings and a local favourite during Fallas.
L'Eixample
First visit
L'Eixample is the elegant grid around the Modernista Mercat Colón and the Gran Via boulevards, lined with smart cafes, shops and calmer residential streets.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Valencia on a budget: same trip, around 55 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
Pairs well with
3 days is the sweet spot for Valencia. Day one covers the cathedral and the Miguelete tower, the Lonja, the Central Market and the Carmen, with tapas in Russafa; day two takes the City of Arts and Sciences, the Oceanogràfic and a ride back through the Turia Gardens
The best months are May, June, September. Think twice about August: The hottest, most humid stretch at around 31C, when many family-run places shut for the holidays and the city can feel airless inland. The beaches are packed, and La Tomatina fills nearby Buñol on the last Wednesday of the month; come only if you build the day around early starts and the sea.
Valencia sits around the European average. Plan roughly 55 EUR per day on a tight budget, 100 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 190 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Ciutat Vella (Old Town) is the safest first-visit base. The walkable historic core gathers the cathedral and the Miguelete tower, the Gothic Lonja, the Modernista Central Market and the tangled lanes of the Carmen into a few blocks you can cross on foot. It is the most atmospheric part of the city and the obvious base for a short trip, with sights, tapas and squares all on the doorstep. Base here on a first visit when you want everything within a ten-minute walk and do not mind some night noise.
Yes. Valencia has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Valencia airport, also called Manises, sits about 8km west of the centre, and the metro is the easy way in. Lines 3 and 5 run straight from the terminal into the middle of town, stopping at Xàtiva by the north station, and at Colón, in about 20 to 25 minutes for around 4.90 EUR including the airport supplement; buy the ticket from the machine at the platform before you board. A taxi from the rank outside arrivals is a fixed fare of roughly 21 to 25 EUR to the centre, a little more at night and on Sundays, and takes about 15 minutes off-peak. Both metro lines share the same track from the airport, so you can take whichever comes first and change later if you need to.
Valencia airport, also called Manises, sits about 8km west of the centre, and the metro is the easy way in. Lines 3 and 5 run straight from the terminal into the middle of town, stopping at Xàtiva by the north station, and at Colón, in about 20 to 25 minutes for around 4.90 EUR including the airport supplement; buy the ticket from the machine at the platform before you board. A taxi from the rank outside arrivals is a fixed fare of roughly 21 to 25 EUR to the centre, a little more at night and on Sundays, and takes about 15 minutes off-peak. Both metro lines share the same track from the airport, so you can take whichever comes first and change later if you need to. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Valencia is best known for Paella, City of Arts and Sciences, Las Fallas, Turia Gardens, Central Market, Horchata. Valencia was founded by the Romans as Valentia in 138 BC, a colony for retired soldiers on the river Turia.