Valencia Travel Guide

A Spanish landmark of architecture and culture, Valencia is a unique paradise full of stunning history and flavour.

In this Travel Guide I will be explaining how to get the very best out of a trip to this wonderful coastal city.

Why Valencia?

Even as Spain’s third largest city, Valencia is often overshadowed by its fellow counterparts of both Barcelona and Madrid.

However fear not, by having visited this wonderful city now on numerous occasions, I’ve come to realise this quite often works in its favour. Known as the city of light, Valencia is home to a beautifully exotic world which has something for everyone. Alongside stunning architecture, a characteristic old town and a lovely beach area to explore, the slow paced nature of Valencia will leave you wanting to come back for more and more.

When to Visit

Whether it’s for some winter sunshine, or to enjoy the heat of the Spanish summer, Valencia provides a great balancing act of an all year round destination.

In my two visits to Valencia I have explored the city in March and May, the beginning and end of Spring. During both these periods the weather was mostly delightful with moderate temperatures averaging around 20. Some days may begin with thin layers of cloud, but the Sun will soon burst through. In my opinion, the temperatures around this time of year provide the best and most comfortable experience in order to explore.

Something to bear in mind is that the Spanish summers can become incredibly warm, and much more busy. Therefore when planning a trip to Valencia, have a think about what would be the most ideal and comfortable situation for you.

How Long & Where to stay

Depending on the nature of your trip and how long you have to play with, it is easily viable to enjoy a stay in Valencia anywhere from a long weekend to a full week and beyond. Naturally as a top destination within Europe, the city acts as the perfect city break due to its attractive nature and favourable weather.

As for where to stay during your visit, any accommodation located in the old town will leave you within great proximity of the majority of the main spots in the city, therefore giving you easy endless options to explore during both day and night.

Getting Here & Around

As a popular and ever growing European travel destination, Valencia is well served in terms of international flights and entry.

Once arrived, the city is easily accessible and straight forward to reach via a number of transport options. Valencia itself is a very walkable city, however if you find yourself wanting to visit an attraction or area further afield, the Tram, Bus, Metro and of course a Taxi are all available for your convenience.

Photography

Thanks to the cities location and unique blend of flavour, there is no shortage of aspects and subjects for you to enjoy shooting around. In short, photography is a joy to fulfill whilst exploring the nature of Valencia.

If architecture is your style, Valencia certainly has it all for you to cover. From the characteristic streets of the old town, to the incredible futuristic design of Museu De Les Ciencies, you can spend many hours roaming around various quarters of the city using the beautiful light Valencia gains to aid your composition.

In terms of gear, a short range prime lens such as a 35mm works extremely well around the city streets, or to cover all bases, a flexible zoom lens such as a 24-70mm will be your best bet.

Old Town

In order to gain a real flavour of what Valencia is all about, I would suggest starting your exploration within central Valencia, and in particular the Old Town.

Within the centre lies the beautiful Catedral de Valencia, and therefore this makes for an excellent starting point to explore the area. Surrounding this location you’ll find a number of markets and independent shops plying their trade, offering a unique perspective into everyday life in this part of the world. From here, I’d suggest taking your time wondering and exploring all the side roads and backstreets the old town has to offer.

With every twist and turn you’ll begin to notice how the stunning architecture shapes and dictates the flow in this part of the city, adding a huge historical aspect to the area. The most fascinating variable here is that each street is uniquely different, owing to their quirky features and characteristic flavours. Simply put, treat the area as a maze, as each route you take allows you to witness this wonderful district in its own special way.

Furthermore, as previously mentioned Valencia is also known as the “city of light”, and here is where you can really get to understand why. The Mediterranean sunshine floods through, down and along these spectacular and colourful streets, allowing for some wonderful scenes, and also joyful photography.

On top of this, if time allows it is also worth visiting different areas within the old town at various times of the day. This is because in turn it will therefore enable you to truly appreciate how light shapes and affects the landscape and nature of these wonderful paths.

For all the foodies, or even if you’re not, a great and eye-opening location to visit is the Mercat Central Valencia. Housed within a stunning gothic architectural building, this huge indoor market offers a wide range of delicious food and a whole heap of fun to explore.

In addition to this, if you want to gain a birds-eye view of the old town, head over to Torres de Sorranos to ascend its historic walls and witness this wonderful city from above.

Museu De Les Ciencies

From the old to the new, this next location takes you into the future and own. Acting as an art complex and museum, Museu De Les Ciencies is an incredible piece of futuristic architecture and design which truly acts as a standout feature of the city.

The complex itself is made up of three main buildings, each of which feature their own unique and characteristic design, showcasing the brilliance and every aspect of each individual piece of architecture.

Dividing the museum and the overall design, multiple bodies of water lay within the complex adding to the feel and orientation of the location. Furthermore, on a still day the water can act as a mirror towards the architecture above providing some brilliant visual effects, not to mention endless opportunities for some indifferent perspectives of photography.

In addition to this, and further enhancing the enchantment of the location, the extraordinary design of the complex also allows light to once again play a big role in showcasing every feature and contrast of its stunning architecture.

Beach Area

As a consequence of being a coastal city, Valencia also includes the added benefit of numerous beach and harbour locations.

Complete with a beautiful beach, pier and promenade full of lovely shops and restaurants, this area on the eastern side of the city is well worth a visit. The beach itself is large in size, allowing the opportunity to unwind and relax, making use of its golden sand and laid back vibes to watch the waves roll in and to catch some sun.

Making your way along to the pier, this will enable you to gain a heightened perspective on how far the beach stretches along the coastline.

As a result of this, if you have the time I’d highly recommend walking along and exploring that very stretch of coast which makes a beautiful walk on a sunny day. Whether you stick to strolling along the beach or the promenade, every step of the coastline offers a glimpse of a pure beach holiday vibe.

Once you’ve had your fun on the beach and all is said and done, the area near the beach known as El Cabanyal is a beautiful location to explore. Full of artistic flavour and colourful housing and design, the beautiful old style buildings here really highlight what Valencia is all about, showcasing the history but also cultural brilliance of the city.