Valencia Travel Guide: Tips, Restaurants and Hidden Gems
Valencia might be Spain’s most relaxed city. Less hectic than Barcelona, less serious than Madrid, but packed with great restaurants, winding streets, a wide sandy beach and impressive historic squares. You can cycle from futuristic buildings to centuries-old tapas bars in five minutes flat. That is because Valencia is a true cycling city. In 2024, it was named Green Capital of Europe, thanks to its kilometre-long city park in a former riverbed, its focus on sustainability and its bike-friendly streets. It is the kind of place that makes you question why Madrid and Barcelona get all the attention when this is sitting right here. This Valencia travel guide covers everything you need: the best neighbourhoods, restaurants, hotels, day trips and insider tips.
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Practical tips for your Valencia travel guide
A few practical notes for your Valencia trip. Flight time is about two and a half hours from the Netherlands and around two hours from London. The local currency is the euro. Spanish is the official language, alongside Valencian. The best time to visit is April through June and September, when the weather is warm but not overwhelming.
As for getting around: hire a bike. Valencia is wonderfully flat and has kilometres of dedicated cycling lanes. Prefer a guided ride? The Valencia bike tour is award-winning, runs in small groups and covers the highlights at a relaxed pace. You can also pick up a Valencia Card, which gives you free use of public transport and entry to many of the main sights. Stay connected on the go with an eSIM from Saily, so you can navigate the city the moment you land.
Best hotels in Valencia – Valencia Travel Guide
– Click on the names for rooms and rates –
Best boutique hotels in Valencia
Only YOU Hotel Valencia is one of my top picks in the city. It is right in the heart of Valencia, steps from Plaça de l’Ajuntament and the cathedral, and it feels like a boutique hotel with the service of a five-star. The rooms are beautiful, the cocktail bar is worth the visit alone and next door is restaurant Salvaje with outstanding Japanese food. Breakfast runs until 11 — a sign that whoever designed this place actually enjoys holidays. Ranked number two in Valencia on Tripadvisor and listed in the Michelin Guide. From around €140 per night.
ROOMS AND RATES ONLY YOU HOTEL
Room Mate Collection Helen Berger is minimalist, tasteful and well placed in the city centre. The restaurant downstairs is excellent and the design throughout is clean without being cold. Close to the impressive Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas, which is worth a photo even if you do not go inside. From around €150 per night.
Great value picks in the old town
The Valentia Corretgería is a newer boutique hotel sitting right off Plaça de la Reina, a three-minute walk from the cathedral. Rooms are modern, quiet despite the central location, and many come with a kitchenette — useful if you want to stock up at the Mercat Central and eat in for a night. The staff consistently earn glowing reviews for their helpfulness, including handwritten welcome notes. A great option for couples and solo travellers alike. From around €85 per night.
ROOMS AND RATES THE VALENTIA CORRETGERÍA
MYR Marqués House is a 4-star boutique hotel in a restored 19th-century building right between the two main squares of Valencia. Rooftop terrace breakfast is a genuine highlight — guests rave about it consistently. Connected to Café Madrid, birthplace of the legendary Agua de Valencia cocktail, which tells you everything you need to know about its credentials. From around €156 per night.\
ROOMS AND RATES MYR MARQUÉS HOUSE
Vivevino, San Tommaso and Reinverso Bar | best restaurants and bars Valencia
A hidden gem in Ruzafa
YOURS Boutique Stay is the kind of place you stumble across and immediately wish you had booked for longer. An adult-only boutique hotel in Ruzafa, run by a Dutch couple who moved to Valencia and decided to do things properly. Twelve rooms behind a 19th-century façade, all in a calm minimalist style with hand-poured local candles and velvet hangers. The inner courtyard has a plunge pool surrounded by plants — breakfast is served there on sunny mornings. Staff arrange restaurant reservations, pass you birthday candles discreetly and send you off with a personal city map. Consistently one of the highest-rated boutique hotels in Valencia and explicitly popular among women travellers. From around €144 per night.
ROOMS AND RATES YOURS BOUTIQUE STAY
Looking for more options across all budgets? Browse all Valencia hotels on Booking.com, including the comfortable Novotel Valencia Lavant (from €110), Hôme Youth Hostel for solo travellers (from €45) and SH Valencia Palace with its excellent spa (from €140).
Valencia Travel Guide: the best neighbourhoods
El Carmen
No Valencia travel guide is complete without a proper neighbourhood breakdown. El Carmen is creative and buzzing. Narrow streets, street art, small galleries and hidden terraces. For shopping, head to Cinnamon Concept Store, Quart de Kilo and El Podenco Arts & Craft. Good spots to eat and drink include Reinverso Bar, Ukelele Gastro Lounge, Mestizo, Almalibre Açaí House and restaurant Felix Chaques. The best street art is on Carrer de Cañete and Plaça del Carmen. Also worth a visit: the impressive Torres de Serranos, the old city gates. The best way to discover the whole neighbourhood with a local is the Old Town walking tour with wine and tapas, which ends with an exclusive dinner inside an 11th-century monument. One of the highest-rated tours in Valencia.
El Cabanyal and the beach
Once a fishing village, El Cabanyal is now one of Valencia’s most exciting neighbourhoods. Pastel-coloured houses, good breakfast spots and a relaxed vibe. Brunch at Boa Beach if you can get a table. Then walk along the promenade and have lunch at Casa Montaña, a legendary tapas spot. More on that below.
El Umbracle, Albufera NP en Torres de Serranos
Ruzafa
Ruzafa is young, creative and slightly boho. Think brightly coloured facades, street art, concept stores, brunch spots and natural wine bars. It feels a little more polished than El Carmen, but not in a bad way. At Brutal 58 you can order Venezuelan food. Restaurant La Salita is a Valencia institution: chef Begoña Rodrigo has earned five radishes in the We’re Smart Green Guide, the highest possible rating for vegetable-led cooking. Vivevino is a great natural wine bar. For brunch the morning after a big night, Bikini Mercat is one of the best in the city.
Valencia travel guide: the best things to do
Mercat Central
One of the largest fresh food markets in Europe, housed in a beautiful building that alone is worth the visit. Pick up the best olive oil and local produce for your suitcase. It is the ideal spot for edible souvenirs. The paella workshop and Algiros Market visit starts here: you shop for fresh ingredients with a local chef and then cook the real thing from scratch. Without question one of the best ways to spend a morning in Valencia.
Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències
Grab a good matcha latte and walk through the Turia Gardens to the City of Arts and Sciences. For me, this was a genuine highlight. The whole complex looks like a science fiction film set. Make sure you visit the Umbracle with its towering palm trees. Just nearby, the Parc Gulliver playground is impressive too, even for adults who will absolutely not admit to enjoying it. Book the Oceanogràfic and Science Museum combo ticket in advance: it saves time at the entrance and gives you both the aquarium and the science museum in one go.
BOOK COMBO TICKETS: OCEANOGRÀFIC + SCIENCE MUSEUM
Bike tour, restaurant Lienzo and Valencia Beach
Turia Gardens
A former river, now a kilometre-long city park. It is the green heart of Valencia, perfect for a picnic, a walk or a bike ride. Locals use it daily. You will too, once you discover it. If you want to see the whole city without breaking a sweat, the tuk tuk city highlights tour rolls through the Turia Gardens and the main sights in two comfortable hours.
Torres de Serranos
Climb these old watchtowers and earn a panoramic view over the city. After that, you have definitely earned a glass of wine.
Cycling tour to Albufera Natural Park
This is a great day out for active travellers. With The Easy Way Bike Tours, you ride a modern e-bike past rice fields and flamingos to the nature park. Part of the route is done by boat. The day ends with authentic paella in the village of El Palmar at restaurant La Ferrera. I loved every minute of it. Along the way, stop at Café Leo in Ruzafa for the freshest fish you will eat all trip. The locals eat it there for their “almuerzo”, the second breakfast that happens between 11 and noon. A beer or a glass of wine is entirely normal at this hour. When in Valencia. You can also book the Albufera eco boat tour and sunset as a standalone: a guided tour on the lagoon finishing with one of the best sunsets in the region.
Day trip: hot springs of Montanejos
About ninety minutes from Valencia, Montanejos is one of those places that feels completely out of proportion with how few people know about it. Natural thermal springs flow into a turquoise river gorge, where you can swim between limestone cliffs. The Montanejos hot springs and waterfalls day trip also includes the Salto de la Novia waterfall. A brilliant escape from the city, and frankly the kind of discovery that makes you want to extend your trip by two days.
Las Fallas Festival (March)
I timed my visit perfectly without planning to. Las Fallas had just started: days of fireworks, giant papier-mâché figures, parades and general chaos. I am not great with sudden loud noises, so each unexpected bang gave me a minor heart attack. Las Fallas is loud, colourful and completely over the top. It draws over a million visitors each year and takes place throughout March. Do not miss it if you can handle the volume. Those who prefer quiet should visit in April instead and enjoy an identical amount of sunshine with far fewer sudden bangs.
Las Fallas Festival | Valencia Travel Guide
The best squares in Valencia – Valencia Travel Guide
Plaça de la Virgen has fountains, palm trees and a cathedral as backdrop. Just as lively is Plaça de la Reina, one of the busiest squares in the city, lined with cafés and restaurants. Head to Plaça del Ayuntamiento for the city hall and the main Las Fallas fireworks. Small, round and surprisingly quiet: Plaça Redonda is the hidden one, with charming little shops around the edges. The best way to connect all these squares with the history behind them is the Old Town walking tour with wine and tapas, which winds through all of them before ending with dinner in an 11th-century monument.
You can find more of my Valencia highlights and day-to-day discoveries on my Instagram.
Best restaurants in Valencia – Valencia Travel Guide
Reinverso Bar is a wine bar with a great interior and a large terrace. Natural wines, sharing boards and a relaxed vibe that keeps you there far too long. Worth it.
Mamma Pazzo serves Italian classics with a Spanish twist and an extremely Instagrammable interior. Italian pop plays through the speakers. Fresh pasta and pizza are good. Cocktails, served in a Maradona-head mug, are creative if slightly sweet. Order the ravioli.
Restaurante Noble on Carrer del Comte de Salvatierra is modern cooking with some surprising combinations. This was my culinary highlight in Valencia. Order a Paloma and do not skip the croquetas de torrezno.
Felix Chaques is a newer restaurant where chef Felix Chaques creates fresh, seasonal dishes that feel like they come from a warm kitchen rather than a professional one. Order the tasting menu and let him surprise you.
Restaurant Mamma Pazzo
Fine dining, wine bars and hidden gems – Valencia Travel Guide
Lienzo is for the serious food lovers. Each course is a small work of art, which explains the Michelin star. A white-tablecloth, polished service, minimalist interior kind of place. Perfect for a special evening.
San Tommaso is an Italian classic in the heart of Valencia. Welcoming from the first moment, with a lovely terrace and a good interior too.
Casa Montaña is an old wine bar in El Cabanyal where you eat tapas as they were meant to be eaten, surrounded by wooden barrels. The best tapas I had in Valencia, without question. Reserve a table. This place has not been a secret for a long time.
Ostrabar Valencia does fresh oysters, fish and a cold glass of cava with a view of the street. I had a brilliant solo lunch here.
Ostrabar Valencia, Restaurante Leo en Lienzo
Apotheke is one of the best cocktail bars in Valencia. Drinks that smoke, foam or glow. Worth a visit for the theatre alone.
Vivevino is a wine bar and shop in one. Try unusual Spanish natural wines among the locals.
Focattina is a small spot doing creative focaccias with toppings like truffle or pear and gorgonzola. The one with buffalo mozzarella, mortadella and pistachio is extraordinary. Order two. They also deliver via Uber Eats.
Fun facts about Valencia – Valencia Travel Guide
A few things worth knowing before you go; every good Valencia travel guide should include them. Real paella comes from Valencia. The traditional version uses chicken, rabbit, beans and, yes, snails. Valencia has over 300 sunny days per year, so pack your sunscreen regardless of the month. The Turia river was rerouted after a major flood in the 1950s. Valencia turned the old riverbed into a park. As a result, the city was largely spared during the recent flooding that hit other parts of the region. Orxata (pronounced or-cha-ta) is the local drink, made from tiger nuts. It sounds odd. It tastes surprisingly good.
Valencia travel guide: frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit Valencia?
April through June and September are the best months. The weather is warm and sunny without the intense heat of July and August. March is also great if you want to catch the Las Fallas Festival, though the city is much busier.
How many days do you need in Valencia?
Three to four days is a good amount for this Valencia travel guide to do justice to the city. That gives you time to explore the main neighbourhoods, visit the City of Arts and Sciences, do a day trip to Albufera and still have long lunches without rushing.
Is Valencia good for solo travellers?
Very much so. The city is easy to navigate by bike, the neighbourhoods are safe and sociable, and solo dining is completely normal here. Ostrabar Valencia and Casa Montaña are both great for eating alone at the bar.
Need more Spain inspiration? Check out my guides to Barcelona, Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca and Nerja.
What is Valencia famous for?
Valencia is the birthplace of paella, home to the City of Arts and Sciences and host of the annual Las Fallas Festival in March. It was also named European Green Capital in 2024. The city is known for its beaches, its food scene and its relaxed pace of life.
How do you get around Valencia?
By bike is the best way. Valencia is flat, well-connected with cycling lanes and compact enough to cover on two wheels. The Valencia Card gives access to public transport and many sights. Taxis and ride-sharing apps are easy to find for longer distances.
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- Find the best hotels in Valencia at Booking.com
- Book tours and activities at GetYourGuide.com
- Rent a car with Discover Cars
- Get your eSIM from Saily
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