Reasons to visit Valencia on your next holiday

With over 2000 years of history and 320 days of sun, Valencia is becoming more and more popular each year. More and more cruise ships are docking in the port of Valencia and there are an increasing number of flights arriving from all over Europe every day. This can cause problems when finding accommodation as, although the city is Spain’s 3rd largest and has a population of over 800,000, sometimes it can be hard to find the right place to stay available. In this post, we will offer some suggestions in order to stay in some of Valencia’s other areas and what to do when staying there.

Valencia has a 2 kilometre beach running from Las Arenas, near the port to Malvarrosa 2 km further along. The city doesn’t have a long history of being a beach resort so the up and coming area of Cabanyal has become increasingly busy as beach tourism builds. Once you leave the city beach, you get to Patacona beach. This beach belongs to the neighbouring village of Alboraya, the home of horchata and has some great restaurants as well as some value for money holiday houses. You can book one of these great houses on Patacona beach here.

Patacona beach with restaurants and cafes

Further inland from the beach are the northern farmlands, or the Valencian Huerta. Littered with large farmhouses and some typical villages, the farmlands offer crops of all kinds and, most famously are the only place in Spain where tiger nuts are grown. Tiger nuts are used to make Valencia’s famous horchata drink which can be enjoyed in one of the city’s horchata cafes. BikeAlao offers an Horchata bike tour which takes you all around these fields, learning about horchata before sitting down to enjoy the drink on a sunny terrace. Many of the farm houses have been converted to large holiday homes for large groups, the land having been converted to gardens and a large barbecue and swimming pool installed. The farmlands are a nice place to stay in summer because the sea breeze cools the hot evenings and it is very quiet at night. The beach is a short cycle and the city is a 15 minute cycle ride. Also, if you do plan to make a noise yourself, there are no neighbours to annoy. A great example of a farmhouse to rent in the Huerta can be found here.

Bike lane along the Valencian Northern farmlands

The city has seen a large increase in bike lanes, making it quick and easy to go sightseeing whilst not polluting the air. If you want to stay close to the beach but still with easy access to the centre, consider booking a room by the Port of Valencia in Balcón al Mar Hostel. Here you can visit the famous Clock tower and the recently restored art nouveau warehouses called tinglados, by the former Formula 1 track. 

Another popular neighbourhood is Ruzafa, close to the centre, which has a vibrant night life. This area is busy with terraces and restaurants, but City Garden B&B is an urban, yet peaceful place to stay in Ruzafa.

Market and San Valero church in Ruzafa, Valencia 

The main sights in Valencia are a mix of new and old. The historical centre boasts the 2000 year old roman ruins of the Almudena, the enormous gothic cathedral in Plaza de la Reina, an enormous traditional indoor Spanish food market, the Mercat Central, as well as the modern architecture of the City of arts and Sciences in the Turia park.

Riding a bike in Turia park in Valencia

The park was first started after flooding in 1956, which caused the locals to divert the river Turia around the city. Now it is a great park, running 9 km from the Bioparc to the City of Arts and Sciences. It can be enjoyed by bike or e-scooter as it has two bike lanes throughout as well as several cafés with terraces to enjoy some food or drinks. 

Valencia airport receives many flights every day so it can be difficult to park. If you are parking at an airport in the UK before heading to Valencia, make sure to check out Parkhero for great value Stansted car parking, Manchester, Birmingham and many more airports across the UK. 

Whether you are looking for culture, seaside, countryside or activity, Valencia has it all.