Valencia Travel Guide – Visit Valencia – Budget Travel In Spain

Visit Valencia, Spain for golden beaches, amazing architecture, colourful street art, great food and much more. Valencia has everything you need from a city break.

Valencia was the first of three cities we visited on a short break in Spain. It had been planned as a surprise for my birthday. I didn’t know where we were going until we got to the airport!

We arrived in the city earlier than our check-in time at the hotel so we went for a drink at the nearby ‘Cafe-Bar Cibeiras’ (map).

The bar did food that looked decent and it was nice to pay just 1 Euro for a beer.

Where To Stay In Valencia

These are some of the best budget hostels in Valencia, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Cantagua Hostel
• Urban Youth Hostel
• River Hostel
• Quart Youth Hostel
• Albergue Juvenil Colegio Mayor Galileo Galilei 
• Center Valencia
• Original Domino House
• Colegio Mayor La Concepción
• Innsa
• Russafa Youth Hostel

Valencia City Host Hoteles

We booked a stay at ‘Valencia City Host Hoteles’ (map). Our beer took us up to check-in time. Google Maps took us to our destination which turned out to be the office and not the actual hostel. We were given three keys and a lot of instructions. We made our way to the hostel and, eventually, managed to gain access and into our room.

On entrance, it looked quite decent. There was a small kitchen and two shared bathrooms.  The kitchen area was well maintained and there was even a washing machine.

However, our room was a little grotty and didn’t seem entirely secure. I splattered a huge silverfish within seconds of entering. There was a weird smell and the window looked out into a ventilation shaft opposite the bathroom window. When you used the bathroom, you could look straight into our room. It wasn’t the best hostel I’ve stayed in.

Things To Do In Valencia

Valencia Street Art

Once we were sorted in the hostel, we headed out to take our first look at Valencia. The first thing that impressed us was how much street art there was in the city.

Valencia Old Town

As it was now mid-afternoon, most of the cafes and restaurants were closed. We took time to explore the old town. We found ourselves at ‘Placa de la Mare de Deu’ (map) which is home to the Turia Fountain and some historically significant buildings.

Aromas Del Esspreso

We managed to find somewhere to eat just off the main square. Prices were cheaper than of those in the square itself so we ordered a 2-course lunch. We immediately regretted having not eaten at the bar we had been at earlier in the day. I had potato croquettes for starters. They were frozen, not home made and they managed to be both hot and cold. Dreadful. For my main course, I ordered paella. Being in Spain and having a terrible paella was not what I had in mind. The rice was sandy and the seafood was frozen. It was terrible. In this case, we really did get what we paid for. There are a lot of restaurants in this area that have really bad reviews on Google Maps. As it is close to Valencia Cathedral, it is filled with tourists. My advice if you choose to eat in this area is to check Google Maps first. Map.

Streets Of Valencia

We left the old town and found ourselves in the city.

We immediately found many more food options, having left the old town. Unfortunately, we were now full on dreadful paella. Shame.

Ruzafa District

The Ruzafa district is the hip part of Valencia, filled with bars, cafes, restaurants, art galleries and coffee shops. We were looking for a bar that had a bit of atmosphere and originality and we found it in ‘Cafe Berlin’ (map). We had a few delicious craft beers and enjoyed the relaxing vibe.

Our night ended with a very average kebab at ‘Estacion Kebap’ (map). The food we had eaten so far had been pretty bad. We were hoping this was going to improve!

Good Morning Valencia

After starting the day with a coffee and croissant, we headed back out to explore the city in more detail. The city seemed be taking a while to come alive.

Central Market Of Valencia

Things suddenly became much busier as we reached the ‘Central Market Of Valencia’ (map). I like local markets, even if I’m not buying, and the Valencia Market is definitely worth a visit to see the many stalls selling fruits, meat and fish and more in a beautiful building.

Torres De Serranos

We had met up with one of Joanna’s friends who lived in the city and we headed towards a local park, passing many impressive buildings including the ‘Torres De Serranos’ (map) on the way. These gothic-style towers used to be part of the old city wall.

Cabecera Park

We headed to Cabecera Park (map), a park on the edge of the city that covers over a km of the former River Turia. The park offers walking and cycling paths so it was a perfect spot to escape the city and chat with our friend.

Gulliver Park

The park has many attractions, including ‘Gulliver Park Valencia’ (map) where children can climb and slide on a huge structure of Gulliver.

Hemisferic

After unleashing the hidden child in us at the children’s playground, we continued our journey through the park. Towards the most southern end of the park is a huge, modern entertainment complex. The first venue we came across was ‘Hemisferic’ (map), an IMAX and 3d cinema.

Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia

The ‘Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia’ (map) is an arts centre that hosts opera and theatre productions.

Ciudad De Las Artes Y Las Ciencias

‘Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias’ (map), or ‘The City of Arts and Sciences’ is a huge science complex. It cost three times more than its original 300 million Euro budget and many locals feel that it was a waste of money. However, it was voted of the 12 treasures of Spain and is the biggest modern tourist attraction in Valencia.

Mercado De Colon

After leaving the science complex, we decided to look for food. We came across ‘Mercado De Colon’ (map) which is a former market now filled with hip food stalls. We had a walk around but left without eating.

Restaurante Maria Mandiles Ruzafa

Our hunt for food took us into the Ruzafa area and we decided to eat at a small restaurant called ‘Restaurante Maria Mandiles Ruzafa’ (map) as they had a three-course dinner set for a reasonable price. The food was decent and we had a good time, despite been constantly watched!

Malvarrosa Beach

After saying goodbye to our friend, we headed back to the hostel to change and then take a bus to Valencia’s most popular beach, ‘Malvarrosa’ (map). The beach has not been developed like other beaches in Spain but it is clean, mostly litter-free and very popular with the locals. It does not feel touristy at all. There are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby should you want to spend longer here. We only stayed for around an hour before moving on.

Dona Petrona

We finished our short stay in Valencia with a couple of beers in Cafe Berlin and then some food at an Argentinean restaurant ‘Dona Petrona’ (map). I had Iberian pork shoulder with roasted onion and king mojo sauce. It was delicious; easily the best food I had in Valencia.

Is Valencia Worth Visiting?

Valencia is a fantastic place to take a city break. As well as having a beautiful old town, it is also a lively modern city with some of the countries best entertainment centres and museums. The beach was a great getaway and can be reached by a 15 minute bus ride. I would recommend at least 3 nights in this wonderful city.

For further information, visit https://www.visitvalencia.com/en