Valencia !

howden9

Thinking about going to Valencia for 3 nights in mid April - it looks great but have never been there.

I would love any tips from Forumites on where to stay, what to do and obviously any money saving tips

Thanks in advance !

DullGreyGuy

Valencia Spain? Peru? Trinidad? Columbia? California? Venezuela? Philippines? 

Coincidently been to a few different Valencia's but plenty more than listed above which I've not been to

howden9

Ha ! @DullGreyGuy definitely Spain - 3 nights in one of those other places might be a bit of a stretch 

DullGreyGuy

howden9 said:

Ha ! @DullGreyGuy definitely Spain - 3 nights in one of those other places might be a bit of a stretch 

Your talking to someone who's done a day trip to the US (landing and taking off in the same day) several times so 

What to do really depends on what your interested in, fair number of decent museums, can pop in and see the holy grail in the cathedral or spend it all eating & drinking. 

Not much of a money saver when travelling so leave that to others, personally like going to an area like Barrio del Carmen and just wander around. Valencia is good for the true/traditional tapas, not like it is in the UK where you go to a restaurant and order a table full of small plates but where you go to one joint have on dish and a drink then to the next place and another dish etc. Traditionally each would only have 2-3 options to chose from rather than a full menu but some have changed to deal with tourists. 

daveyjp

Almost 20 years since I was there, its a great city, but very spread out.  The city centre is some distance from the port and beach so you need to decide whether to stay city centre or port area.  There is now a tram system which makes travelling between them easier.

The museums and attractions on the old river bed are spectacular architecture and offer enough to fill three days.

Its the home of paella whuch is traditionally eaten for lunch.

Neil49

The train/tram goes direct from the airport terminal straight to the city centre and onwards to the beach area. There is also a good city centre bus network which also goes to the beach. The beach is easily accessible by bus or tram and is well worth the journey. 

Stay in the old part of the city if you can otherwise you will spend too much time travelling back and forth. It's a great place for food lovers both in the city and out by the beach where there are a number of paella restaurants. 

The modern section in the old river bed (Ciutat de Les Arts) is well worth viewing as is the beautiful Central Food Market in the old quarter.

Finally, beware of pickpockets and beggars around by the Cathedral.

It's a great city to visit. 

lea2012

We stayed just a few minutes walk from the Cathedral and found this location ideal.

We stayed in a hostel but there's plenty of airnnbs, hotels etc nearby.

We had one night/ 2 days and spent the first day exploring the city centre area - Torres de Serrano's, central market, Silk Exchange, Placa Reina, Placa Redonda, cathedral where we also walked up the Bell tower to the rooftop for amazing views and we also went to see the new Mestella Stadium. although it's nowhere near finished!

The second day we visited the current Valencia Mestella Stadium, then walked through the park that circles the city, built on the old river bed, to the Science and Arts Museum. We didn't go into any of the museums as we didn't have a full day but the palm gardens were nice to look in and I'm sure the other places would be worth a look. We had a late lunch in the El Saler shopping centre just across the road.

If you had another day you could explore the beach area perhaps. 

We ate in the central market and then had tapas in a bar just outside, and had great burgers at Black Turtle in the El Carmen district and then went for drinks in Ruzafa area.

We'll definitely go back again in future, it was a great city.

isadreamalie

Hi!

I'd recommend a bus trip to Albufera Park (dirt cheap on the buses) to see the lagoon. Only €5 euro for a lagoon cruise but only cash is accepted. You can eat Paella nearby but it can be pricey as you have to double up.  I went to a village called El  Palmer nearby which is a bit touristy so prices can be steep for restaurants.

The bell tower is worth a climb and hardly expensive.  City of Arts and Sciences is good to wonder about in... the Aquarium was pricey and I wasn't overly enthused. 

If classical is your thing I went to a cheap chamber concert.

There's not a huge amount to do but it's beautiful walking around the parks and it felt incredibly safe and civilised. 

zagfles

DullGreyGuy said:

howden9 said:

Ha ! @DullGreyGuy definitely Spain - 3 nights in one of those other places might be a bit of a stretch 

Your talking to someone who's done a day trip to the US (landing and taking off in the same day) several times so 

What to do really depends on what your interested in, fair number of decent museums, can pop in and see the holy grail in the cathedral or spend it all eating & drinking. 

Not much of a money saver when travelling so leave that to others, personally like going to an area like Barrio del Carmen and just wander around. Valencia is good for the true/traditional tapas, not like it is in the UK where you go to a restaurant and order a table full of small plates but where you go to one joint have on dish and a drink then to the next place and another dish etc. Traditionally each would only have 2-3 options to chose from rather than a full menu but some have changed to deal with tourists. 

Tapas is more an Andalusian thing, the traditional food associated with Valencia is paella, they are very proud and protective of their traditional paella that they even got Apple to change their paella emoji because it showed seafood, which is NOT in the "real" Valencian paella recipe   Apple Fixes Paella Emoji (emojipedia.org)

zagfles

We did a few "free" walking tours which were good, there's a good website/app called GuruWalk where you can look up/book free (tip based) walking tours. 

Probably no use to you but they rent out uni accomodation in the summer which was very good, they might do it outside term time at other times, not sure.