City Review: Valencia, Spain

Over Easter weekend, I had the chance to visit Valencia, Spain, for the second time! Back in 2019, I went with my friend Morgan during spring break — so, also in April — it was a great time of the year for a visit. Since Matt had never been, we decided to take a quick two-hour train ride up the coast from Alicante to Valencia to spend a few days.

I remember enjoying the city during my first trip, so I was curious to see what it was like on my second visit. Here’s my review of Valencia, Spain, and everything you’ll want to know before planning a trip of your own.

About Valencia, Spain

This might shock you — but Valencia is actually the third-largest city in Spain by population! Of course, the extremely famous Madrid and Barcelona take the top spots respectively, but I feel like there are a lot of other Spanish cities that get a lot of hype — Sevilla, Granada, Málaga, Bilbao — so that made me think that one of those was the next-most populous. While Valencia is third, it only has less than half of Barcelona’s population, and under 1 million residents, so the gap is actually pretty large.

Valencia is located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, pretty much directly in the middle of the country from a north-south perspective. And the city of Valencia is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia, and it’s also the capital of the province of Valencia. Are you confused yet? 😉

(In Spain, autonomous communities are kind of like U.S. states, and provinces are kind of similar to counties.)

Interestingly, the Community of Valencia has two official names: Comunidad Valenciana and Comunitat Valenciana. And that’s because it has two official languages: Spanish (Castilian) and Valencian. If you’re familiar with the Catalan language in Barcelona, Valencian will look really familiar — it’s actually a dialect of Catalan. And while the Valencian language is spoken more frequently outside the big Valencian Community cities of Valencia and Alicante, all legal signage, documentation, and even public services must be offered in both Spanish and Valencian.

One of the best things about Valencia is that it’s super easy to reach from both Madrid and Barcelona by train — about 2 hours from Madrid, and about 3 hours from Barcelona.

How Many Days Do You Need in Valencia?

We spent three days in Valencia, and we stayed busy the entire time! You could probably squeeze everything into two days if you really needed to, but I think you’d be pushing it.

Actually needing the three full days surprised me a bit — Valencia feels like such a walkable city that you might think it’s small enough to see and do everything in two days, but that wasn’t the case (in my opinion).

Things To Do in Valencia, Spain

So, what are these numerous things to do in Valencia?

Well, it would be insane to not start by mentioning Valencia’s most iconic site: the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, or the City of Arts and Sciences. This is a nearly 2-km-long cultural and scientific complex comprised of six major elements: the Hemispheric, the Umbracle, the Science Museum, the Oceanographic, the Arts Palace, and the Agora. Some of those names already sound pretty impressive, but the real star of the show is the fantastic architecture. The Hemispheric, for example, was built to resemble a giant eye; the Science Museum in the image of a whale skeleton.

Even if you only visit the outside, checking out the City of Arts and Sciences is a must-do. You can also buy tickets to the Hemispheric, the Science Museum, and the Oceanographic (aquarium) — either in a combo pack, or individually. Our top choice is the Oceanographic. It’s the largest aquarium in all of Europe!

Part of Turia Gardens

The City of Arts and Sciences sits near the end of probably my favorite thing in Valencia: Turia Gardens. I would go so far as to say that it’s the best park in Spain… even better than the Retiro in Madrid, which I do love! But the Turia is so unique in its shape and size — it’s 9 km (5.5 miles) long, and it snakes through the heart of Valencia, separating the old center from the newer neighborhoods. The park sits on the former sunken riverbed of the Turia River, which was diverted away from the city after a devastating flood in 1957.

The result is a lush, green, widely-accessible park full of people enjoying the weather, which is pretty nice most of the time. (Valencia gets an average of 300 sunny days per year.) And no matter how busy it is, it’s big enough that you can find a little corner of serenity for yourself. On this most recent visit, Matt and I rented e-bikes and rode the whole length of the park, out to the beach, and back. Thankfully, the Turia has good bike lanes, though some were under construction — I take that as a sign that they’re still working to improve the park and make it even better!

We started and ended our bike trip in Valencia’s historic city center — Ciutat Vella, or the Old Town. Spending a few hours wandering through the cobblestone streets will introduce you to more of Valencia’s famous sights: the Catedral de València, which is pretty to look at and allegedly contains the “real” Holy Grail; the Torres dels Serrans, remnants of Valencia’s medieval city wall, which was constructed at the end of the 14th century; and the Plaça de la Mare de Déu (or Plaza de la Virgen) with its massive fountain, representing the Turia River and featuring the Roman god Neptune at the center.

And as you explore the Ciutat Vella, there’s no way you can miss the Mercat Central, the city’s central market. Designed in Valencian Art Nouveau style, it’s one of the largest markets in Europe, with more than 250 stalls selling produce, meat, fish, and more. Just barely outside the city center, about a 15-minute walk away, you’ll find another market — Mercat de Colom. While also in the Valencian Art Nouveau style, it almost looks more like a cathedral from the outside. Both markets are worth a visit!

As you stroll through the markets… are you getting hungry? If it’s lunchtime, find a restaurant nearby that offers Paella Valencià, Valencian paella. Paella is probably one of Spain’s most recognizable dishes, and the “true” paella actually originated right here in Valencia! The traditional Valencian version has round-grain rice, a few different types of beans, rabbit, and chicken. The locals would only ever eat paella for lunch — never dinner! — but you can do whatever you want. 😉

To wash it down, try one of Valencia’s two specialty drinks: Orxata or Agua de Valencia. Orxata — which might be familiar to you as “horchata” — is a sweet, milky-looking beverage made of tiger nuts. This is a difference from Latin American horchata, which is made from rice. Agua de Valencia is basically a boozier version of a mimosa. Instead of just orange juice and cava (Spanish sparkling wine), it also includes gin and vodka. The problem is that you can’t taste the gin or vodka…

Finally, while there are certainly 100 more things to do in Valencia and it would be impossible to mention them all, I’ll address one question that a lot of people probably have: what about the beach? La Malvarrosa is probably the most accessible beach from the city center, though it still takes a bit of work to get out there if you don’t have a car. We rode the e-bikes through the Turia Gardens all the way out to the beach, and it was worth a visit! More than 1 kilometer long, La Malvarrosa is very wide as well, which means there’s plenty of space for swimming or just relaxing on the sand.

How Expensive is Valencia?

Compared to Alicante, where I live now, Valencia was a little bit more expensive. It shocked me when I saw a menú del día offer for €25. (Menú del día is a weekday lunch concept throughout Spain that typically gets you bread, a first course, a second course, a drink, and a coffee or dessert for a set price.)

About 10 years ago, you could find a good menú del día, even in expensive Madrid, for around €10; these days, even in smaller cities, you’re lucky if you find one for €14. But as we got further outside the city center of Valencia, we did eventually come across those in the €15 range.

In general, Valencia is not a very expensive place to travel when compared to many cities in Europe. The cheapest glass of wine we’d have at dinner would cost around €4.50, compared to maybe €3.50 in Alicante, but still not bad when you compare it to the minimum $8 USD in the U.S. 🥲 We did a lot of tapas in Valencia, and most items were between €8-18. We’d order about 3 things to share and about 2 glasses of wine per person, putting us at just under €30 per person for dinner.

The most expensive thing we dealt with in Valencia, though, was finding a place to stay — it was much more expensive than we were expecting, and much more expensive than we thought was fair for the lodging we stayed in. More on that in a bit!

Where To Eat in Valencia

I have celiac disease, so my eating experience is forever going to be different than a “normal” person’s. But Valencia actually had soooo many gluten-free-friendly places, so I was in heaven!

Here are a few places we ate that had decent gluten-free options and were also delicious — for both me and Matt, who is a gluten eater. 😜

LALOLA Restaurante: I was a little sad about the prospect of not being able to have a traditional Valencian paella during our visit, but… LALOLA to the rescue! They have a 100% gluten-free kitchen (though I believe they bring in pre-made bread, on request) so we were able to order anything we wanted from the menu without worrying!

Pro tip: Their patatas bravas were like nothing I’d ever experienced before, even after nearly 4.5 years living in Spain, so you have to try them.

LALOLA can get busy, so it’s probably best to make a reservation. Also, it seems like they have a second location, Colmado LaLola, which is only a couple blocks away — I’m not sure whether they are gluten-free or not, but I highly recommend these restaurants!

LALOLA Restaurante
Pujada del Toledà, 8
Ciutat Vella, 46001 València

Cafe Infanta: Located right off the busy Plaça del Tossal, this is a great spot to enjoy traditional Spanish tapas and people-watch at the same time! There is lots of outdoor seating that faces out toward the plaza, but when it’s a beautiful spring Saturday night and all the outdoor spots are taken, the inside is still cozy and full of interesting decor. Here, the great news for me was that the potatoes are fried separately from everything else, so patatas bravas were once again on the menu — luckily, I love them and I never get tired of them!

Cafe Infanta
Plaça del Tossal, 3
Ciutat Vella, 46001 València

Where To Stay in Valencia

If you can, I recommend trying to stay in the old town/Ciutat Vella. Both times I’ve visited Valencia, I’ve stayed within a few blocks of the Mercat Central, which makes getting anywhere in the city on foot super convenient! The train station is only 10 minutes away, the Serrans towers and entrance to the Turia Gardens are only 10 minutes away, and some of the best shopping on Carrer de Colón is only 15 minutes away.

We actually only planned and booked our trip to Valencia about 5 days in advance. (That is the advantage of only living 2 hours away, lol.) And by that point, most of the affordable lodging still available — in pretty nice hotels, actually — was out by the City of Arts and Sciences.

Though we considered staying out there, we decided that it was just too far away from everything else we wanted to do. From there, it would be a 45-minute walk to the city center, and that wasn’t something we really wanted to spend our time doing. While we aren’t afraid of public transportation (actually, we love it), we also weren’t sure how it being Easter weekend might affect bus routes and traffic — I had gotten stuck on a bus in Alicante the week before due to both parades and protests that were happening.

So we sucked it up and paid nearly $350 USD for two nights in a tiny private room with a private bathroom in a hostel near Plaça Redona. I would like to thank an Airbnb gift card we got for Christmas a few years ago for financing this stay. If we’d had to pay the full cost on top of the lack of towels, weird smelling bathroom, paper-thin walls, inconsiderate fellow guests, and being on the fourth floor with no elevator, I probably would have cried. 🥲

What’s the lesson here? I think it is: stay central, but book early.

Is Valencia Worth Visiting?

Now that I’ve gone back for a second time and with a fresh perspective, I can confirm: Valencia really is a great city! 

Between the city’s size — big enough, but not too big, and really walkable — and everything there is to see and do and eat, you can visit Valencia and be guaranteed to stay busy the whole time. And even if you did absolutely nothing else but explore the Turia Gardens, I think it would be well worth a visit!

I’m looking forward to many more trips to Valencia in the future… I’m just going to make sure I book my hotel well in advance. 😉

Plan Your Valencia Trip

Have you ever visited Valencia, or are you planning a trip? What do you want to know? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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