Things to do in Valencia

Local guide

About Valencia

València, Valencia in Spanish, is the capital of the Valencian Community and the third most populous city in Spain. The first surprise for visitors is a river without water: the old bed of the Turia has become the Jardín del Turia, a public park of about 136 hectares and almost 8.5 kilometres long that crosses the city. On one stretch stands the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences), the neo-futurist complex by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela that opened in 1998 with the Hemisfèric.

The historic centre shows another side of the city. The Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange), a Valencian civil Gothic building, has been a World Heritage Site since 1996. Opposite is the Mercado Central, a modernista building begun in 1914, where people still do their daily shopping. The cathedral, la Seu, was consecrated in 1238, and the Torres de Serranos are one of the two fortified gates of the medieval wall still standing.

South of the city begins the Albufera natural park, a large coastal lake surrounded by rice fields, which the Romans already knew and which some Arabic poems call the «mirror of the sun».

The fiesta calendar peaks in March. From 15 to 19 March, the Fallas fill streets and squares with papier-mâché monuments loaded with satire that burn on the night of San José; the fiesta is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. The two patron saints, San Vicente Mártir in January and San Vicente Ferrer in spring, each have their own local public holidays.

Getting around is easy. Metrovalencia lines 3 and 5 run from the airport itself to the centre, and the city has two big railway stations: the Estació del Nord and the Joaquín Sorolla high-speed station.

Things to do

Must-see places

1. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias: neo-futurist complex by Calatrava and Candela, opened in 1998.
2. Lonja de la Seda: Valencian civil Gothic building, a World Heritage Site since 1996.
3. Catedral de Valencia (la Seu): consecrated in 1238 and dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
4. Mercado Central: modernista building begun in 1914.
5. Jardín del Turia: public park of about 136 hectares in the old riverbed.
6. Torres de Serranos: fortified gate of the medieval wall, a Site of Cultural Interest since 1931.
7. Parque natural de la Albufera: coastal lake and rice fields south of the city.