Valencia a spectacular city that I was lucky enough to call ‘home’ for six months during my Erasmus year abroad. Honestly, I fell head over heels in love with it. If it isn’t already then, this beautiful Spanish city absolutely needs to be on your travel list.
Valencia hits every spot for the ideal city break, a gorgeous historic city centre full of traditional architecture, bags of culture and it’s just a stone’s throw away (a half an hour walk/20-minute metro and tram or a 15-minute bike) from the beach and the sun shines approximately 300 days a year – are you persuaded yet? If not, here’s a low down of my favourite places to go/eat and admire the best view – itinerary-esque.
Getting There:
For starters, flights are relatively (I say relatively, to allow for the hike in summer prices) cheap, with easyJet flying from London Luton and Gatwick and Ryanair flying regularly from Manchester, London Stanstead, East Midlands and Bristol (the time of year will alter the availability of these flights). Currently, you can book return flights in May from Bristol to Valencia for £30pp – you can’t argue with that right?!
Where to stay:
When I first moved to Valencia in January 2014 I had nowhere to live, but with the help of my wonderful other half and my lovely friend Jasmin that was quickly sorted and I found a little bedroom with a sea view (if I stood on tiptoes) in a cute little flat share on Blasco Ibáñez with three girls from Italy – the rent was crazy cheap and the landlord was an absolute gem.
Anyway, fast forward three years and we spontaneously booked flights back to Valencia and we spent three nights staying in the centre of the old town at Valencia Lounge Hostel – it’s really well located, light and airy, the rooms are all uniquely decorated with funky colours and patterns, the hostel is super quiet and the place is spotless. We booked through booking.com and paid approx. £40 a night for a double room with a private bathroom.
Because we were there for a week, we also opted to split our time and spend a few days closer to the beach – in this lovely little airbnb, we couldn’t fault the apartment, it is located in the traditional fishing neighbourhood of Cabanyal – theres a little terrace, a well equipped kitchen, aircon, wifi and the hosts, Claudia and Emilio were so helpful and friendly and looked after our bags for us before our flight home.
Transport:
Valencia is very walkable as everywhere is very flat, cycling is also a lovely way to get around and they have a great bike scheme – Valenbisi – cycle paths are a-plenty and bike docks are easy to locate (theres also a free app that you can download to check whether there are bikes/spaces available). Although not the most expansive metro system, the metro is super modern, good value, and very handy for your trip from the airport (25 minutes from arrivals to the centre).
What to do:
Wander the quaint streets of El Carmen – Valencias Old Town – and marvel at the traditional architecture, windy streets and the smatterings of street art. *Featuring the lovely Josh.
Plaza de la Virgen – enjoy the orange tree gardens and soak up the atmosphere by the Turia fountain, or grab a drink at one of the restaurants – Café & Tapas does great pizza and sangria – you will pay more for your table but what the heck – you’re on holiday.
Plaza de la Reina – grab an ice cream from the café on the corner by the tower (sorry, I cant for the life of me remember the name) and on the opposite site of the Plaza de la Virgen you will find this bustling square home to the Cathedral and a great place to soak up the sun and people watch.
Look up at fancy ceilings and spiralling pillars at the Llonja de Seda. When I visited it cost less than €2 entry fee to explore this Gothic Silk Exchange which is also a Unesco World Heritage site.
Fancy a spot of shopping? then head for Calle Colón where you’ll find Pull & Bear, Zara, Bershka, Staradvariius, El Corte Ingles, Mango and more.
Take a stroll through Turia Park, this former river bed leads down to the aesthetically spectular Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) – comprised of the oceanographic, imax cinema, museums and Umbracle – a shaded walkway that turns into an open air bar during the summer months.
Plaza del Ayuntamiento – the home of Mascelta during the infamous las Fallas festival, this grand square is decorated with fabulous fountains and looks splendid by night.
Have a mooch around el Mercado Central, I mean personally the numerous fish and meat stalls arent all that fabulous for this little vegetarian, but it’s worth a look around just to gaze at the modernista architecture – I have this thing with ceilings!
Climb the 107 steps to the top of the Torre del Micalet (The Micalet Tower), the view is just stunning – you can see for miles across the city and out to sea. Tip: head up for just before sunset so that you can appreciate the city in all its splendid glory.
As I said in the beginning, Valencia has it all, Mediterranean palm tree lined beach included (I was so happy here!!). If you can be bothered, (YES YOU SHOULD BE) get yourself out of bed, at around 5.30am(ish) in the summer and head for Playa de la Malvarrosa for sunrise – you wont regret it.
If you have a few hours to spare then nip down to Port Saplaya – otherwise known as ‘Little Venice’ – colourful houses, quaint courtyards and harbours brimming with all the yachts and boats.
Where to eat:
Horchateria de Santa Catalina – a lovely little café where you can taste Horchata – a very traditional Valencian drink made from crushed tiger nuts – an acquired taste but give it a go, you can also order all the churros and dipping chocolate too!
100 Montaditos – a cheap and cheerful chain known across Spain that specialises in mini sandwiches – grab a seat, a menu (they have copies in both Spanish and English), write down your numbers and any sides you fancy, a pint of tinto de verano or beer for €1, hand it to the cashier and just wait for your name to be called. There are several dotted all over Valencia, but I spent many Erasmus hours in the ones on Blasco Ibáñez and Plaza de la Reina!
Café Infinito – this was my second home whilst I was living in the city – no but really you HAVE to go here, it’s pretty small so get there early, or book up! The food is incredible, (so many veggie/vegan options) I adore the Ravioli filled with broccoli and almonds, the toffee/coffee cheesecake is out of this world, the cocktails are soooo alcoholic and I couldn’t love it more if I tried. (On our most recent visit to the city we ate here three times)! UPDATE AUGUST 2019: it pains me to say, that CAFE INFINITO has closed.
Copenhagen – great vegetarian restaurant with other branches across the city. We really enjoyed the croquettes and the cheesecake.
So are you booking those flights yet? Please comment if you have any questions or your own recommendations, thank-you for reading! xx
Oh and seriously though, get to the beach for sunrise!
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