A Valencia city break on about 55 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Ciutat Vella (Old Town), walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like City of Arts and Sciences / Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete, and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: 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..
Daily target
55 EUR
Sleep in
Ciutat Vella (Old Town)
Airport
Valencia airport
Free sights
6+
The picks under 100 EUR that do not feel like a compromise.
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
Check prices
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
Check prices
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
These cost nothing and carry a full day each. Build around them and the paid tickets become optional extras instead of a budget drain.
City of Arts and Sciences
FreeTipSantiago Calatrava's white futuristic complex fills the far end of the Turia riverbed with the Hemisfèric IMAX, the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, the Àgora, the Assut de l'Or bridge and the Palau de les Arts opera house. Walking the outside and the reflecting pools is free and open all day; the individual buildings are ticketed, so buy a combined ticket online if you plan to enter two or more. Come early morning or at sunset for the best light and the mirror reflections in the pools, and expect a good half-day if you go inside.
Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete
FreeTipThe Gothic cathedral on the Plaça de la Reina claims to hold the Holy Chalice, said by some to be the Holy Grail, in a side chapel, and its octagonal bell tower, the Miguelete or Micalet, is 207 steps up to the best rooftop view over the old town. Buy the tower ticket at the base of the tower and climb before midday to beat the heat and the crowds on the narrow spiral stair. The cathedral itself has separate entry hours and a separate ticket, so check both before you go.
La Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange)
FreeTipThis UNESCO-listed late-15th-century Gothic silk exchange, opposite the Central Market, is famous for its main trading hall of tall twisted columns that fan out like palm trees. Entry is cheap and it is free on Sundays, and a visit takes only 30 to 40 minutes, so it pairs well with the market across the square. It closes earlier on some days, so go in the morning to be safe.
Turia Gardens (Jardí del Túria)
FreeTipThe Turia Gardens are a 9km green park laid in the drained riverbed after the 1957 flood forced the river to be diverted around the city, curving from the old town all the way to the City of Arts, with the giant Gulliver playground for children along the way. It is free and open all day, and the easiest way to see its full length is to rent a bike and ride it in about 40 minutes. Go in the morning before the heat builds, especially in summer.
Torres de Serranos
FreeTipThese twin-towered 14th-century Gothic gates on the northern edge of the old town are the grand stage for the opening call of Las Fallas each March. There is a small fee to climb them, and it is free on Sundays, so go up late in the afternoon when the light falls warm over the Carmen rooftops. The climb takes only about 15 minutes, so pair it with a walk along the top of the Turia park nearby.
Mercado de Colón
FreeTipThe Mercado de Colón is a restored 1916 Modernista market hall in the Eixample, now given over to cafes and horchata bars rather than food stalls. It is free to walk through, so stop for a horchata and fartons, the sweet local tiger-nut drink with dipping pastries, at one of the counters. It is a 20-minute detour worth folding into any walk between the centre and Russafa.
Mercat Central
The vast Modernista Central Market gathers around a thousand stalls under stained glass and iron, one of the biggest fresh markets in Europe. It only opens in the mornings, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sundays, so go early for the produce, the jamón and a stool-side almuerzo at one of the bar counters. Avoid the last hour before it shuts, when many stalls are already packing up.
Authentic Valencian Paella
Valencia is the birthplace of paella, and the traditional Valencian version is made with chicken, rabbit and beans rather than seafood, and is eaten at lunch, not dinner. Book a lunch table at a proper arrocería, because real paella is cooked to order in the pan, so allow time and expect a 30 to 40 minute wait for it to arrive. The most authentic versions are out at El Palmar, the village by the Albufera lagoon where the dish was born.
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.
Now put it in order: the 3-day Valencia itinerary works on this budget with the swaps above.
A Valencia city break on about 55 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Ciutat Vella (Old Town), walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like City of Arts and Sciences / Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete, and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: 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..
The strongest free sights in Valencia: City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete, La Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange), Turia Gardens (Jardí del Túria). Several paid sights also have free or reduced windows; check the tips on each itinerary page.
Ciutat Vella (Old Town). 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.