Valencia - Spain Travel Guide

A bohemian mixture of old and new, Valencia's open minded personality has something for everyone

The third largest city in Spain, famous for Paella, renowned for nightlife, and with easy access to Mediterranean beaches - Valencia has it all!

• Valencia, pronounced bal-len-syah in Spanish, is located on the east coast of Spain about 350km south of Barcelona. With its idyllic coastal location, Valencia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, warm dry summers, mild winters, and beautiful beaches. Holidaymakers can enjoy the culture and energy of Valencia without forgoing the chance to enjoy a beach holiday.
• Here are some of Valencia's best beaches: Playa las Arenas and Playa de Cabanyal- these white sand beaches are easily accessible from Valencia's city centre and are complemented by a variety of relaxing bars and restaurants. Sit back and enjoy! Playa de Malvarossa - Valencia's main beach, very popular with the locals. 1km from the port and accessible by bus, metro, and tram. Playa de Patacona- This tranquil stretch of beach is a bit further from the city than its counterparts. With fewer crowds, more un-spoilt beach, and stunning views of the coastline, this is a great place to spend the day.
• Authentic: Valencia has been surprisingly unaffected by tourism in the way that many coastal Spanish destinations have. As a result, visitors enjoy a city with an authentic atmosphere. On the other hand, Valencia also exhibits many attributes of modern Spain, with cutting edge architecture, efficient transport, and bustling shopping districts.
• Famous Nightlife: The Spanish know how to have fun and this is apparent anywhere you go in Spain. So to say that Valencia is recognized throughout Spain as a 'party city', is no passing comment. Nightlife in Valencia is simply something that must be experienced. It is the fun-loving energy of Valencians themselves that brings the already vibrant bars, clubs, and beach parties to life. After a day basking in the Spanish sun, and a meal at one of Valencia's al fresco restaurants, a long warm evening spent enjoying Valencia's bars and clubs is a perfect way to end the day.
• Dining in Valencia: The cuisine of Valencia is just as famous and enjoyable as its nightlife. Valencia is the home of Paella and every year the locals compete to see who can create the best version of this delicious dish. Make sure you sample the delicious seafood available in most restaurants as all seafood is freshly caught. Be prepared for Spanish meal times with most cafés and restaurants opening for lunch around 2pm. Valencians generally have their evening meal between 9pm and 11pm.
• Las Fallas: Las Fallas (in celebration of Saint Joseph's Day) is Valencia's annual fiesta held in March. Throughout the year representative groups of each of the city's neighbourhoods fundraise in order to fund the construction of massive puppets and cardboard monuments called Fallas. These celebratory Fallas are usually constructed in accordance to some satirical theme (political leaders etc) and are stuffed with fireworks, paraded through the city streets, and eventually burned during two week long festival. To put it into context, imagine a two week long Guy Fawkes day, add sunshine, music, and Spanish food and wine...
• La Tomatina: With the two week long Las Fallas festival to start the summer, what better way to end the summer than with a food fight. Yes that's right, on the last Wednesday of August thousands of revellers gather in the nearby town of Bunol for La Tomatina, the largest and maybe the only organized tomato fight in the world. Apparently, this is an efficient way to dispose of hundreds of tons of overripe tomatoes. After the epic battle, a week long festival ensues with music, dancing, and fireworks.
• Plaza de la Virgen is a marble-paved square located in the centre of Valencia's old town. This historic square is dominated by two churches: the city Cathedral and the Real Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados (the church of Our Lady the Forsaken). This is the best place to begin your exploration of Valencia's old town.
• Valencia's Cathedral: Inside this gothic church is the Chapel of The Holy Grail. On the altar an agate cup is displayed, believed by many to be the cup used by Christ at the last supper.
• La Lonja: La Lonja del la Seda is an old silk exchange building constructed in the 15th century. The interior of the building, once the central trading hall of the city, with its high vaulted ceilings, is simply incredible. La Lonja is a UNESCO heritage site and one of the most revered buildings in Spain.
• Where to begin?: Plaza del Ayuntamiento right in the centre of the city, is a great place to get your bearings and soak up the atmosphere of the city. The tree lined square is overlooked by an impressive group of buildings, one of which is the city town hall. The buildings and fountain are lit up at night and many Valencians come here to cool off in the evenings and visit the many restaurants and bars in the area.
• Estadio Mestalla Valencia's football stadium, home of Valencia C.F. is the fifth largest stadium in Spain. Check out a Valencia C.F. home game! Tickets range in price from 20-75 Euros.
• The City of Arts and Sciences: In stark contrast to Valencia's historical districts, this futuristic development of architecturally impressive buildings and public space, houses a series of cultural and educational attractions. The tallest building is the city's opera house (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia) which is an amazing venue for modern dance, opera, and classical music concerts. Next there is L'Hemisferic a large white dome located on an island surrounded by water. This building doubles as a planetarium and IMAX cinema. Nearby is the science museum (Museu de les Ciencies Principe Felipe) which contains an impressive array of interactive exhibitions (most information is translated into English). Continuing on you'll reach L' Oceanografic, Valencia's world-famous aquarium, where you'll find dolphins, whales, walruses, penguins, and an incredible diversity of fish. Finally, there is L'Umbracle, a gigantic indoor area made up of 109 fixed and floating arches, which is a sort of indoor garden, home to an array of different plants, flowers, and trees. This structure acts as an entry way into the City of Arts and Sciences district.
• One of our customers sent us the following feedback upon her return from Valencia: 'The city is absolutely fantastic, the food is wonderful, the people freindly, and the nightlife crazy- ill be back next year!' - Felicity Meerloo.
• Holidays to Valencia: We have an excellent choice of holidays in Valencia.
• Hotels in Valencia: We have excellent hotels in Valencia, all with our lowest prices guaranteed.
• Cheap Flights to Valencia: We have cheap flights to Valencia. The flight takes around 2 hours 20 minutes from UK airports.
• Car hire in Valencia: There's so much to explore, you may want to hire a car. Travel Republic can offer great deals on car hire in Valencia so check us out when completing your holiday booking.
• Transfers to your hotel in Valencia: We can book your transfers from the airport to your hotel in Valencia. We can also book UK airport car parks online, plus travel insurance and currency exchange for your holiday.
• Valencia Hotel Reviews: Written exclusively by genuine customers who have booked and stayed in the hotel.

Did you know? Every Valencian community has its own unique recipe for Paella.

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Top Tips you shouldn't miss

• Be sure to make it to the beach. It is hard to find a table in the sun at one of the many restaurants but once you do you will stay there all afternoon..we did!more Beaches & Sights Top Tips
• Resturant - Sargidi, on left hane side of road leading from the plaza to the catherdal square Tapas downstairs - tapas on a stick - you pay for the number of sticks you have at the end of the meal, lots of cold items on the bar for you to help yourselves to, also hot tapas brought round to your table. Resturant upstairs - expensive but a wonderful meal (140 euros two people, including bottle of wine). Really excellent food, meats and fish flame grilled the flavours were outstanding, excellent wine list and the staff could not be more helpful (french and english menus available) would love to go back more Food Top Tips
• For a truly continental football experience visit the Mestalla Stadium to see Valencia play. A ground with a South American feel - people all friendly as well. If you are on the top tier, you'll need a head for heights, and it's very steep looking down. Just stroll around the old town - beautiful Placa's and narrow streets brimming with atmosphere more Entertainment Top Tips
• Get the Metro into the old centre and enjoy the cafes, restaurants, the activity, the night life of Valencia! A great city!! (no wonder they start slowly in the morning). We wished we stayed longer. more Bars, Pubs & Clubs Top Tips