What to see in Valencia: 9 tips from Milan Bez Mapy

I think Valencia is worth it: it pleasantly surprised me, even though I hadn’t expected much. Don’t miss the cathedral and the view from its tower, Mercado Central, the El Carmen district and the Turia Gardens with the City of Arts and Sciences. If you have time to spare, take a trip out to the Albufera nature reserve.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

Airport to city centre

The metro runs from the airport into the city; I paid €11 for an unlimited 48-hour travel card

Where I stayed

Ibis Budget near the City of Arts and Sciences; only the breakfast was good, next time I’d stay closer to the historic centre

Cathedral tower

Walk past the cathedral queue; the tower has its own ticket, cash only

Oceanogràfic

Pricier but worth it; buy your ticket online, the queues on site are pointless and the price is the same

Watch out

Don’t go to El Carmen at lunchtime, when everyone is having a siesta

Agua de Valencia

Not mineral water but a cocktail of gin, vodka and cava or champagne

What to see in Valencia? Valencia is the new Barcelona. Or so you told me in your Instagram messages, and after my visit I’m inclined to agree. Valencia is famous for being the birthplace of paella, for the La Tomatina festival in a nearby town, for the City of Arts and Sciences and for its signature drink, Agua de Valencia. And no, it isn’t mineral water, although that’s exactly what I assumed at first.

Valencia is also known as the City of the Holy Grail and the birthplace of several famous people. It’s home to the largest fresh produce market in Europe and is Spain’s biggest orange producer. Here’s what to see in Valencia, according to Milan Bez Mapy. I travelled there with my mum.

Tip from Milan I’d recommend booking your accommodation as early as you can, because rooms in a good location at a fair price go first. Here you’ll find accommodation offers in the area valid today.

Visiting Valencia: the sights worth seeing

Flights to Valencia, the airport metro and getting around the city

You can fly here direct from Vienna, Budapest and Kraków. I like that the metro runs straight from Valencia airport into the city: I’m a fan of cities with an easy public transport link to the airport.

The city has an excellent public transport network, and I recommend downloading the Google Maps app, which plans your route from A to B by metro or bus.

TIP: Buy an unlimited travel card right at the airport. My 48-hour card cost just €11. Valencia isn’t an expensive city.

Where to stay in Valencia

Stay in the centre, where most of the sights are within walking distance. My mum and I stayed at the Ibis Budget near the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias). It wasn’t bad, but next time I’d book us somewhere closer to the historic centre.

Actually, scratch that: the only good thing about the place was the breakfast. The room was small, the bed was soft, and the window wouldn’t open because of the air conditioning, so we couldn’t let any fresh air in. Dreadful.

Fun fact: Valencia has its own language, Valencian (valenciano). I had no idea until it struck me as odd that I couldn’t understand a word. I speak Spanish fluently and keep learning it with the Preply app (here’s my review), but Valencia does its own thing. Just as well everyone here speaks English too.

You’ll find tours of Valencia and day trips from the city here:

Things to do in Valencia: Milan Bez Mapy’s picks

1. Valencia Cathedral and the view from its tower
2. Plaza de la Reina
3. Mercado Central de Valencia
4. Torres de Serranos
5. The Turia Gardens (Jardín del Turia)
6. The El Carmen district
7. A trip to the Albufera nature reserve
8. Oceanogràfic, the largest aquarium in Europe
9. The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

Valencia Cathedral, the view from its tower, Plaza de la Reina and Plaza de la Virgen

Plaza de la Reina is the very heart of old Valencia, and there’s always something going on. It’s lined with cafés, restaurants and souvenir shops. Pretty touristy, right? You can’t avoid the square, though, because right on it stands probably the most important building in Valencia. The cathedral.

I’m not religious, but I love visiting cathedrals and churches, precisely because their architecture blows me away. I’m always fascinated by what people are capable of. There’s a queue in front of the cathedral, but if you only want to go up the tower, walk straight past it. The tower has its own ticket, and please don’t miss the climb, if only for the sheer number of steps. You can only pay for the tower in cash.

Valencia Cathedral was declared a historic and artistic monument in 1931, but a fire during the Spanish Civil War damaged it, and it lost many of its decorative features, such as the organs. Work to restore the Gothic exterior began in the 1970s, and since the 1990s it has once again been protected as a cultural monument.

Mercado Central de Valencia

Mercado Central de Valencia is the largest market in Europe, and the BBC has named it one of the most beautiful markets in the world. The building is just over 100 years old, but trade here goes back to the days when the city was under Muslim rule.

At more than 300 stalls (known as ‘paradas’) you can buy just about anything, from the most traditional produce to ingredients for alternative cooking. Fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, seafood, and salted and pickled foods are just a small sample of what’s on offer. Locals like to say that if you can’t find it at this market, it probably doesn’t exist.

Torres de Serranos and the Turia Gardens (Jardín del Turia)

Torres de Serranos has (so I’m told) a lovely view over Valencia, but my mum and I had already ticked off the view from the cathedral tower. What is worth a mention, though, is the Turia Gardens. Ing. arch. Eva Putrová, CSc. taught me about them back at the Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. Why are they such a big deal? Architects get a little orgasmic about them.

Valencia used to suffer from frequent floods, so the authorities decided to divert the river that kept flooding it, drain its old bed and turn it into a long park that runs right across the city. Look at a satellite image of Valencia: doesn’t that long green line look like an old riverbed? That’s no coincidence. It is the old riverbed.

The El Carmen district

El Carmen is a Valencia district well worth a wander. Just don’t go at lunchtime, when everyone is having a siesta. That’s exactly when my mum and I went. Its narrow streets hide cafés, tapas bars, fashion boutiques and souvenir shops. The terraces and dance floors of its many late-night bars are always packed, though only after dark.

A trip to the Albufera nature reserve and the beach

What does the word albufera mean? It’s a shallow, semi-enclosed coastal lagoon connected to the sea or the ocean and protected by some kind of barrier, usually a sand dune, with a regular, cyclical or occasional inflow of fresh water. So says the internet.

On average, the lagoon near Valencia is only a metre deep. A narrow strip of sand and dunes along the coast, protected by pine forest, separates it from the sea. La Albufera is a stopover for many species of migratory birds and an ideal place to spend some time outdoors or on a bike.

The Itinerario Botánico nature trail

TIP: Walk the whole Itinerario Botánico, a nature trail that guides you through all the flora and fauna of the area. It starts right by the bus stop. Finish your walk on the beach, or on the nudist beach.

The Oceanogràfic aquarium and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia

Europe’s largest aquarium is in Valencia

I can’t recommend Oceanogràfic, the largest aquarium, highly enough. It isn’t cheap, but my mum and I agreed that it’s definitely worth a visit. Who would have thought we’d see so many turtles, a beluga whale and dolphins all in one place, and in Valencia of all places?

TIP: Buy your ticket online. The queues on site are completely pointless: buying online takes a few minutes and costs exactly the same.

Valencia’s aquarium is a great place to spend an afternoon or even a whole day. There’s a lot to see, so I’d set aside a morning for it. Opening hours vary with the season, so check them on the aquarium’s website.

The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

This part of Valencia is one of the largest science and cultural complexes in Europe, made up of striking buildings such as the Hemisfèric and Oceanogràfic. What makes it stand out is the avant-garde architecture by the renowned architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. Designed as a place for leisure, this huge complex is one of Valencia’s most visited attractions, and not to be missed.

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What to eat in Valencia and where to go for a meal

1. Traditional paella
2. Pig’s ears (tapas de oreja)
3. Horchata de Valencia
4. Agua de Valencia

My mum and I headed to the Lambrusqueria Caballeros restaurant, where she ordered an Agua de Valencia. I genuinely thought she’d ordered mineral water. Agua de Valencia is the best-known cocktail in the city. It’s made with gin, vodka and champagne or cava, topped up with orange juice and plenty of ice.

Valencia is also the birthplace of the classic Spanish paella, but if you want something really unusual, try pig’s ears. Tapas de oreja, or oreja plancha, is a speciality I never quite took to. To drink, order a horchata, a hugely popular non-alcoholic drink in Valencia.

It looks like milk and is made from tiger nuts. Tiger nuts originally come from Egypt, but today they are grown in Alboraya, a town in the province of Valencia. You’ll also find horchata in Mexico.

Is Valencia worth visiting?

I have to say Valencia was a very pleasant surprise. To be honest, I hadn’t expected much, and apart from the parks I’ve mentioned, I couldn’t really picture the place.

Other than the La Tomatina festival, the famous tomato fight held once a year in the town of Buñol, a short way from Valencia, I knew very little about the city. I hope you’ll like it as much as I did.

Milan

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