# Valencia: map, what to do and when to go

A Gothic center, a park of about 9 km in the bed of a diverted river, Calatrava's Ciudad de las Artes, an urban beach and the Albufera lagoon, where the paella rice comes from.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Valencia: how do you get from the airport to the center?** Metro lines 3 and 5 run every 15 to 20 minutes and reach the center in about 20 minutes.
- **Valencia: how many days should I stay?** I'd stay three days: Ciutat Vella on foot, the Turia to the Ciudad de las Artes and, on the third, the Cabanyal and the Albufera, with paella in El Palmar.
- **Valencia: how do you get to the Albufera and El Palmar?** There is a bike lane to the Devesa del Saler, but not to El Palmar, and EMT buses 24 and 25 are the recommended way.

## Ciutat Vella: market, Lonja, cathedral and El Carmen
Start between 8:30 and 9 a.m. at the Mercado Central (open Monday to Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and have your coffee or esmorzaret at one of the stalls.
- Lonja de la Seda
- Mercado Central
- Catedral de Valencia
- Torres de Serranos
- Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias González Martí
- Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari y San Pedro Mártir

## Along the Jardín del Turia to the Ciudad de las Artes
Cross the Turia in front of the Torres de Serranos to the Museo de Bellas Artes (free, Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m.) for Velázquez, Goya and Sorolla.
- Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
- Jardín del Turia
- Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia

## The sea in the morning and the Albufera at sunset
Take the metro or the tram to the Cabanyal and walk along the streets of tile-fronted houses to the beach.
- Playa de la Malvarrosa
- Parque Natural de la Albufera

## Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-ciudad-de-las-artes
Valência · Half a day or more
A complex of buildings by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela on the final stretch of the old Turia riverbed: the Hemisfèric (1998), the Museu de les Ciències, the Oceanogràfic (2003), the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (2005), the Umbracle and the Àgora, which has housed a CaixaForum since 2022. Walking between the buildings and the reflecting pools is free; each building charges its own admission. The Oceanogràfic, by Candela, covers 110,000 m² and presents itself as the largest aquarium in Europe; general admission costs between €35.90 and €43.05, depending on the day and the season, and the combined ticket with the Museu de les Ciències and the Hemisfèric, between €44 and €51.25 (official price list checked in October 2026). Ticket offices close an hour before the building.
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## Lonja de la Seda
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-lonja-de-la-seda
Valência · Up to half an hour
The silk exchange, in civil Gothic, has a Contract Hall built from 1483 to 1498 by Pere Compte and Joan Iborra, with eight helical columns that open into the ribs of the vault. A Latin inscription runs along the walls and warns merchants against usury; outside, 28 gargoyles show satirical and some indecent scenes. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1996. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; admission is €2, and free on Sundays and holidays.
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## Mercado Central
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-mercado-central
Valência · Up to half an hour
A modernista market of iron, glass and ceramic, designed by Francesc Guàrdia and Alexandre Soler, begun in 1914 and opened in 1928, with 6,800 m² and more than 200 stalls of fish, meat, vegetables, rice, spices and salt-cured foods. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and closed on Sundays and holidays. It stands across from the Lonja, and the two visits fit into the same morning.
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## Catedral de Valencia
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-catedral-de-valencia
Ciutat Vella · One to two hours
The cathedral mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque and keeps, in a chapel since 1916, the agate chalice that tradition identifies with the one from the Last Supper, in the city since 1432 and in the cathedral's care since 1437. The cultural visit, with a museum and an audio guide in ten languages, costs €12 and is open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., on Saturdays until 5:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 2 p.m. (October to June hours). The bell tower, the Miguelete, has 207 steps up to the terrace, costs €3 and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. On Thursdays, at noon, the Tribunal de las Aguas meets at the Door of the Apostles, on the Plaza de la Virgen side.
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## Jardín del Turia
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-jardin-del-turia
Valência · One to two hours
After the flood of October 14, 1957, the Turia River was diverted into a new canal south of the city, and the old bed, which a plan from the 1960s wanted to turn into an expressway, became a park from 1986, after a campaign by residents. It is about 9 km of garden, bike path and sports fields that cross the city from west to east, passing under bridges that range from the 15th century (the Trinidad) to those of Calatrava. It ends at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.
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## Torres de Serranos
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-torres-de-serranos
Valência · Up to half an hour
One of the two gates that remain of the medieval wall, from 1392, on the edge of the old Turia bed. From the terrace you can see the center and the garden. It is here that, on the last Sunday of February, the Fallera Mayor makes the Crida, the official call to the Fallas. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for €2, with free admission on Sundays and holidays; in rain, fog or strong wind, the climb may be suspended.
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## Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-museo-de-bellas-artes-de
Valência · One to two hours
A picture gallery in the former Colegio de San Pío V, across the Turia from the Torres de Serranos. It holds Valencian Gothic altarpieces, a self-portrait by Velázquez, Goya's portrait of Joaquina Candado and 19th-century painting, with Sorolla, born in Valencia in 1863. Admission is free; it is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed on Mondays.
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## Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias González Martí
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-museo-nacional-de-ceramica
Ciutat Vella · Up to half an hour
It occupies the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas, whose Baroque portal is carved in alabaster. Inside are palace rooms and Valencian ceramics from several centuries. It is closed on Mondays; Tuesday to Saturday it is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is €3, free on Saturdays from 4 p.m. and on Sundays.
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## Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari y San Pedro Mártir
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-iglesia-de-san-nicolas-de-bari
Ciutat Vella · Up to half an hour
A church in the historic center whose entire vault is covered in frescoes about the life of Saint Nicholas of Bari and Saint Peter Martyr, recovered in a restoration that earned it the nickname «Valencian Sistine Chapel». The visit is an experience with projection and costs €16 when bought online and €18 at the counter; it is closed on Mondays.
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## Playa de la Malvarrosa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-playa-de-la-malvarrosa
Valência · One to two hours
The urban beaches of Cabanyal, Malvarrosa and Patacona form more than 3 km of golden sand with a promenade, volleyball courts and rice restaurants facing the sea. Behind the sand lies the Cabanyal, a former fishing neighborhood with tile-covered facades. On the Malvarrosa stands the beach house that Vicente Blasco Ibáñez inaugurated in 1902, now the Casa Museo.
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## Parque Natural de la Albufera
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/valencia/#g-lugar-parque-natural-de-la-albufera
Valência · Half a day or more
A freshwater lagoon of about 24 km², with an average depth of 1 m, separated from the sea by a sandbar of dunes and pines, the Devesa del Saler, and surrounded by rice paddies. The natural park, of 21,120 ha, was created in 1986 and begins about 10 km from the center. More than 300 bird species pass through over the year. This is the land of paella rice: the dish almost certainly originated in this area, where it is documented since the 18th century. The rides on the traditional boats last about 40 minutes, and the sunset one is the most popular.
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**Valencia: how do you get from the airport to the center?**
Metro lines 3 and 5 run every 15 to 20 minutes and reach the center in about 20 minutes. The airport ticket costs €4.80, and on the first purchase you also pay for the card (€1.10 for cardboard or €2.10 for plastic).

**Valencia: how many days should I stay?**
I'd stay three days: Ciutat Vella on foot, the Turia to the Ciudad de las Artes and, on the third, the Cabanyal and the Albufera, with paella in El Palmar. With two days, I'd combine the center and the Turia into one and keep the Albufera.

**Valencia: how do you get to the Albufera and El Palmar?**
There is a bike lane to the Devesa del Saler, but not to El Palmar, and EMT buses 24 and 25 are the recommended way. The boat trip of about 40 minutes leaves from El Palmar and is most popular at sunset; check the last bus back before boarding.

**Valencia: is it worth going during the Fallas?**
From March 1 to 19 there are fireworks every day at 2 p.m. and, between the 15th and the 19th, the city is taken over by monuments, people and noise. Anyone who wants to see the festival should book early; anyone who wants a quiet city should pick another week.

**Valencia: is the Valencia Tourist Card worth it?**
The Valencia Tourist Card costs €24 for 48 hours and €30 for 72 hours and includes buses, metro, Cercanías, the airport metro and free entry to 14 museums and monuments. Anyone who will use transport and see several municipal monuments can do the math.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/valencia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/valencia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/valencia.md