Valencia Spain Travel Guide
Valencia was the first stop on our honeymoon and it’s where we stayed the longest during this trip. We absolutely fell in love with the city and highly recommend that you visit Valencia, Spain. I’m going to share my favourite things to do, places to eat, in this Valencia Spain travel guide.
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Is Valencia worth visiting?
Yes, absolutely. Valencia is an incredible city that often gets overlooked for more well-known cities like Barcelona and Madrid. It has the perfect mix of culture and history with modern architecture, events, incredible restaurants, and more.
Things To do In Valencia, Spain
Valencia Market
One of the things I love about most European cities is that they have central markets in the most beautiful and unique buildings. Valencia is no different. The Valencia Central Market is actually one of the biggest fresh produce markets in Europe. It’s the perfect place to observe and experience Valencia life like a local, and grab some fresh produce and snacks.
The building itself is beautiful and features really unique architecture and a glass dome. It’s stunning.
City Of Arts & Sciences Complex Valencia, Spain
The grounds of the City Of Arts & Sciences Complex (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències) are stunning and vast as they span almost 2km. I would definitely recommend visiting them. They have large ponds with fountains, incredibly unique architectural structures, amazing landscaping and lots of paths to walk along. It’s a beautiful modern park to enjoy completely free of charge.
Santiago Calatrava was the architect behind many of buildings within the City Of Arts & Science complex in Valencia. After designing buildings around the world including in the USA, Belgium, Greece (and more), he returned to Valencia where he was born to design and work on this project. Seems fitting to have a local behind one of the most impressive modern architectural areas of Valencia.
Within the City Of Arts & Science Complex are a variety of other attractions including:
Valencia Science Museum
The museum itself hosts a variety of exhibitions, workshops and events. The Valencia Science Museum (Museu de les Ciències) is located within the City of Arts & Science complex in an incredible architectural structure which you can see behind me in the picture below.
They host a variety of exhibitions, workshops and events. For example, exhibitions like “Metamorphosis: The Power Of Transformation”, “Leonardo Da Vinci: 500 years of genius” or workshops & activities like a science musical or a high voltage demonstration. You can learn more about what’s going to be happening at the museum when you visit on their website.
Umbracle Gardens Valencia
I highly recommend visiting the Umbracle Gardens in Valencia, Spain (Jardín de Astronomía). It’s another structure within the City Of Arts & Science Complex that’s designed by architect Santiago Calatrava.
Part of what makes it so neat are the arches that span over 320 meters. When you stand on one end of the Umbracle and look down the middle, it truly is a stunning modern architectural structure. Within this open-air structure are art installations, hundreds of plant varieties, palm trees, cute cats sleeping in the sun & more.
Hemisfèric
Another really neat building within the City Of Arts & Science complex is the Hemisfèric. This was the first building to open within the complex in 1998 and is also designed by architect, Santiago Calatrava. It contains an IMAX theatre.
What makes this building really neat is that it’s shaped like an eye and is set within one of the artificial lakes (where you can rent kayaks!). The design of this building is pretty impressive and really neat to see in person.
Visiting the IMAX theatre within the Hemisfèric would be a great activity for a rainy day in Valencia. You can find out what’s playing in the theatre here.
Some of the other buildings are the Oceanogràfic – Europe’s largest Aquarium and the Palau de les Arts – an Opera & theatre space.
All in all, I highly recommend visiting the City Of Arts & Science centre in Valencia. Even if you don’t actually go into any of the centres or buildings, simply taking in the incredible grounds and architecture is an afternoon well spent.
Rent Bikes
When we visited the City Of Arts & Science Complex (see above), we came across a bike rental booth. On a whim we decided to rent these vintage-inspired turquoise bikes complete with a basket (could it get any cuter?). It turned out to be such a fun afternoon and I highly recommend it.
You can bike around the beautiful grounds of the Arts & Science Complex or you can easily jump on the two-lane bike path that runs parallel to many of Valencia’s main roads.
Although we maybe cut our time a little short to get our bikes back in time (aka we had to hammer hard on our way back), we decided to head to the beach to check it out. Renting these bikes on a whim was truly a highlight of the trip and honestly, it was fun to ride on the bike path just like the locals do.
Valencia Bikes & Beers Tour
If the thought of biking around Valencia with a local and visiting craft beer bars makes you say “hell YES I want to do that” then you need to book the Valencia Bikes & Beers Tour with Passion Bike.
This was such a fun experience for my husband and I and I highly recommend it. You get to enjoy biking around the city, hanging out with a local (your guide) and checking out different parts of the city and local craft beer bars. Highly recommend!
Valencia Art Museums
Centro Del Carme Cultura Contemporània
Visiting the Valencia Contemporary Art Museum (Centro Del Carme Cultura Contemporània) is a great activity. When we visited there was some really unique art and furniture on display. If funky and eclectic art is your thing, you’ll love it here.
Even if you aren’t into contemporary art, the building itself is gorgeous. It’s actually listed as a National Historic Artistic Monument so it’s worth checking out. I’ve always loved the mix of different eras – combining old and new, and this building mixed with the contemporary art checked all the boxes.
National Museum of Ceramics & Decorative Arts
Another Valencia art museum to explore is the National Museum of Ceramics & Decorative Arts (Museo Nacional De Cerámica Y Artes Suntuarias González Martí). The building itself is stunning (see my picture below) and full of incredible details that will have you asking yourself “how did they build that?” at every glance and around every corner.
If you’re interested in ceramics and decorative arts, simply want to take in another one of Valencia’s museums, or looking for something to do in Valencia on a rainy day – head to this ceramics museum.
- Admission is 3 Euros for adults
Valencia Fine Arts Museum
Another popular arts museum is the Valencia Fine Arts Museum (Museu Belles Arts Valencia). This museum is popular among visitors and is located in a beautiful renovated Baroque building (just look for the grand blue mosaic dome). It’s home to a variety of different styles of paintings, including many from Valencia artists, sculptures and archeology finds from years past.
- Admission is free
- You can’t bring large bags in. There are lockers to put your things for 1 Euro.
- Google Maps Link
Walk The Turia Riverbed
After a devastating flood in 1957, Valencia decided to divert the Turia river that originally ran through the city so flooding couldn’t happen again. They’ve completely converted the now dry riverbed into a beautiful park with trails and gardens. It’s really neat to walk along as its still lower than the street and you walk under bridges where the water used to flow. It’s definitely a popular spot among locals.
Explore Valencia Plazas
There are many popular plazas in Valencia that both visitors and locals enjoy. I definitely recommend grabbing a snack, finding somewhere to sit and simply taking in your surroundings. On many occasions we heard some of the best music by Valencia locals while in these plazas. Definitely a highlight for us.
Some of the popular plazas in Valencia are Plaza de la Reina, Plaza de la Virgen and the Miguelete Tower.
Valencia Sunset Cruise
Although we normally steer clear of super touristy type activities, we decided to book a Valencia Sunset Cruise. We thought it would be a great way to see the city from the water and give it a try. It was a fun activity and included a glass of champagne. It was neat because you could sit out on the nets and drink your champagne while lounging watching the sun set. It turned out to be a great night.
Visit A Valencia Beach
Being a coastal city, Valencia is home to some great beaches. Pictured here is the Valencia beach Playa de las Arenas. There’s a great walking path along the beach that has restaurants and shops.
Valencia Silk Exchange
If you love history, exploring Gothic architecture and want to see inside a building that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll want to go to The Silk Exchange (La Lonja de la Seda).
Valencia Coffee Shops To Visit
Dulce De Leche Boutique
If you’re looking to treat yourself and indulge in a baked good, head directly to Dulce De Leche Boutique. It was obvious this was the place to be because of the line-up of locals outside.
It didn’t take long to order and we found a great spot to sit outside on the cutest yellow chairs. This chocolate croissant (pictured here) might be one of the best treats I’ve had. I was completely content sipping my coffee, taking in the Valencia city vibes and making sure I eat the croissant before my husband realizes what he’s missing out on.
The have two locations in Valencia:
- San Vicente Mártir 52 – Google Maps Link
- Pintor Gisbert 2 – Google Maps Link
Goat Coffee Store
Grabbing a coffee to-go (they call it “take-away” in Spain) isn’t the norm. I do love sitting in cafés in Spain and slowing down but sometimes grabbing a coffee and wandering the streets is preferred. If you’re in Valencia and want a delicious take-away coffee from a young talented barista, head straight to GOAT Coffee Store.
There’s a small walk-up window where you order. They have some great options including lattes and chai lattes which I’ve found isn’t always an option at cafes in Spain.
We went there a few times and as I walked up he said “another chai latte?” and I was thoroughly impressed he remembered our orders from the day before.
Valencia Restaurants
Le Favole
Le Favole is a great Italian restaurant in Valencia. We didn’t have reservations so the only spot they have available for us was bar seating. We were perfectly ok with that, and sometimes even prefer it, because we got to see them make the pizzas and interact with the chefs and servers even more. Their wood fired pizza is delicious!
La Pappardella
If you have a craving for Italian food, I can highly recommend La Pappardella in València. It’s located in an amazing spot in València’s Old Town right between Plaza de la Reina and Plaza de la Virgen, with great views of the Miguelete Tower. The location is centrally located without feeling touristy and it’s still tucked away enough to feel like an intimate dinner spot.
We were lucky enough to grab a seat outside on the patio without a reservation but reservations are recommended. We both loved our meals – I ordered the Rigatoni Trapanese. YUM!
Hundred Burger
I love a restaurant with a unique theme and a little mystery to it. That’s exactly what Hundred Burger in València is. The restaurant is designed to look like a library and it really does. It’s a great spot for a burger or other pub-like food.
It’s pretty enjoyable drinking a beer and eating a delicious burger in a place that makes you feel like you should be studying for finals…but you don’t have to.
All in all, Valencia is definitely worth visiting. It has the perfect mix of culture, European vibes, modern and historic architecture and is a vibrant Spanish city.
