Valencia

Valencia is the capital city of The Land of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain. We are going to make you love our town!

'''Note: As events and people are in constant motion, we kindly invite you to double-check any piece of information you're about to read on this page. Our team can't guarantee how accurate the information we're providing will remain through Time. Thanks for bearing with us and have a great CS trip!'''

WELCOME TO VALENCIA
How can I get to Valencia? What can I do? What can I see? Start checking out info. You may take a look at this or this videoclips with nice music from valencian artists and some pictures from the city.

Weather
Weather in Valencia is mild. Weather forecast.

History
City history @ Wikipedia.

Emergency number
In case of emergency(Police, Fire, Ambulance,...) please call 112.

Internet Access & international calls
• Locutorios

You can find locutorios everywhere, in which you can surf the internet, make cheap international calls, send or receive faxes. Prices aren't fixed in some locutorios, you can try out you bartering skills in Spanish!

• WIFI for free


 * - In museums (IVAM, ...)


 * - In associations (COLEGA(computers are provided), ...)


 * - In hostels (Home backpackers, (computers are provided), ...)


 * - In crappy places (McDonalds, ...)


 * - In bars (loads in the city center, El Carmen Area - just enter and ask.)


 * - Others: Tango y Truco: Street Calixto III, 10, Juan Llorens area.

Laundry

 * - Neighbohrood El Carmen - The Launtry Stop


 * - 4 Laundries in the town - choose the closest to you LavaExpres

Medical Services
CIPS- Centro de Informacion y Prevencion del Sida (Aids Info and Prevention Center) - Free, anonymous and confidential HIV/AIDS tests

Libraries, Bookshops...
You can drop and get free books here: Bookcrossing Valencia. What is BookCrossing?

• Libraries:

A map with all the public libraries in Valencia: Public Libraries Valencia

• Bookshops:

Valencia has a large variety of bookshops all around the city. FNAC on Calle Guillem de Castro, 9-11 is a good place to start. Just in front of the trainstation you find Libreria Soriano.

You can also choose a mix of a library with bookshoop and coffeeshop. Here are some options:


 * - Ubik Ruzafa : Calle Literato Azorín, 13


 * - Ubik El Carmen: Calle Baja, 30


 * - Slaughterhouse: Calle Denia, 22

• Map shops (including mountains, other regions...):

A good map shop and travel book shop is Libreria Patagonia, Calle Hospital, 1 Also you can find a lot of maps and travel guides in FNAC(see Bookshops section). If you are looking for mountain map check Deportes Aitana Shop on Avenida Perez Galdos 100 or Desportes L'Aventura (behind of La Lonja de la Seda)

Post Offices
The Post Office in spanish is named Correos. All the information you need you find it on their website Correos. For sending heavy luggage instead of flying with it, consider using them or other transport agencies.

SIGHTSEEING
you might be interested in the Valencia Tourist Card -also available for cruises and other cities in Spain.

Orientation
Valencia is a compact city and easy to discover by foot. Because of the two official languages Valencian and Spanish finding a street may turn in to a confusing task as some of them have the name written in Valencian and others in Spanish. Some important word to know are: Street - Calle(Spanish) - Carrer (Valencian) / Avenue - Avenida(Spanish) - Avinguda(Valencian). Free maps and info can be obtained from the tourist offices around the town. You can find a list here : Tourist Offices in Valencia

Classical
Just take a look here on the Wikivoyage page and make an idea about the things you can see in Valencia.

Alternative
Here's a quick guide of Alternative tourism.

If you want to visit the Valencia that's not on the guide books you should go and see the old neighborhoods Benimaclet, Cabanyal and Ruzafa. Just go, walk, talk with the people and enjoy the beautiful arhitecture. Try to see the full landscape and visit also the south-american, african, east-european or maroccan shops or bars. With a smile, nice attitude and some common-sense you will meet beautiful people and hear nice stories about the city. Is nothing better while traveling then taking your time to transform for a day or more in a local and discover the city.

One day in Valencia
Plaza del Virgen is the perfect place to begin a day in Valencia. From here you can visit the square's church and the free art galleries in the area. Visit Plaza de la Reina where is Valencia's cathedral, dating back to the 13th century, this cathedral is where you can see the Holy Grail, the cup Christ drank from at the Last Supper. Check out Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Post Office building 'Correos', it has a precious glass roof. The square is dominated by an enormous fountain and is also where you can see some of the city's most beautiful buildings. When you are tired go,relax and drink an Horchata here. Get lost on the small streets of the old city and visit Mercado Central. At noon go to eat a paella at El Rall, Calle Tundidores, no.2, close to Mercado Central. Hop on one of the buses bound for Ciudad de las Artes de las Ciencas, Europe's largest urban complex. You can't leave Valencia without seeing these futuristic buildings. If you still have time hop on again on a bus and go to the beach. Don't forget to visit the Cabanyal neighboorhood. Get the night going in one of Valencia's numerous tapas bars to whet your appetite. You can choose El Bar De Los Montaditos Gratis. Take a look on our leisure section and choose how you want to end the night.

You can check this map with interesting places.

SLEEPING
Please use standard procedure for couch request. Don't post couch request at the Valencia general forum. For emergency couch request, use Last Minute Couch Request or the new Open CouchRequest''.

Bad luck? Your CS cry for help didn't work out? You can still sleep somewhere for a fairly cheap price:

• Hostels

''' Use Trip Advisor to compare Hostels quality. A great travelling tool!'''


 * - Backpackers hostel


 * - Official Youth Hostel network REAJ website.


 * - Home (Plaza Dr. Collado) Nice views at the city center.


 * - Nest youth hostel.


 * - Like At Home


 * - Indigo hostel


 * - B&B Mare de Deu Cánovas and B&B Mare de Deu Jardines del Real

If your budget is gone, or you have a morning flight and don't want to waste your money on taxi, you can always go and sleep in the airport which is opened 24H. Check when the last metro goes to the airport, because the airport is located at 10 km outside the city (metro schedules here).

• Hotels

Hotel Venecia. Cheap and new hotel in the very city center - plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Hotel del Carmen. Very nice hotel located 80m away from Torres de Serranos. 60-80€ double room.

• Camping sites


 * - Portaceli. Nice, free camp site, 8km away from Bétera metro station and 23 from the city.


 * - Santo Espíritu. Nice, free camp site.


 * - Commercial campings directory.

WHAT TO DO
If you are in a short visit, you can leave your luggage in the lockers ("consignas") at the train or bus station. It's a pretty safe place.

Guides
These guides are AWESOME. You can usually find printed versions around universities (Blasco Ibañez) and in the whole town, keep your eyes peeled!


 * - Agenda Urbana


 * - BALENCIA - Alternative City Guide


 * - La Guia GO

City Tours
Roofless bus with several stops at turistic places. You can get off at one point and get the next bus with the same ticket.


 * - Guided tours

Culture
Overall cultural map of Valencia (not updated)


 * - Centro Cultural La Beneficiencia (museum). > Free entrance.

This museum shows several exhibitions, and hosts the Prehistoric Museum and others.


 * - MUVIM (Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modern Age). > Free entrance. Exhibitions, talks, concerts, workshops, library, film shows.


 * - IVAM (Valencian Institute of Modern Art). > Free on sundays, 2€ the rest of the week. Exhibitions, talks, concerts, workshops, library, film shows.


 * - Museo de Historia de Valencia (Valencian History Museum). 2€


 * - Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia (Valencian Museum of Fine Arts) -> Free entrance, The most important gallery of Valencia, a spanish referent on ancient masters painting. The museum have Velazquez, Murillo, Juan de Valdes, Sorolla, Van Dyck...


 * - L'IBER: Museo de los soldaditos de plomo (The Iberian: Tin Soldiers Museum) 4€ normal/ 2,80€ childrens,seniors,students, non-workers and groups -> More than 85.000 tin soldiers representing a lot of significative battles. historical building.


 * - Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts & Sciences). An entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia. Important information about the areas. The place contains some museums,etc...


 * - Museo del Arroz (Rice Museum). 2€ The rice is so important in the valencian gastronomy. Really rare and interesting place. Historical Building


 * - Museo de Ciencias Naturales (Natural Science Museum). 2€ . A great hidden museum in the heart of one of the largest valencian gardens, Los Viveros.


 * - Centro Cultural Bancaja (Bancaja Cultural Center) -> Free entrance Art exhibitions, conferences, studyroom and shop.


 * - Museo del Patriarca (Patriarch Museum) 1,20€. Historical Building, it contains a large art collection. s.XVI/XVII paintings (flemish, spanish, el Greco, Italian...), antiquities (like a manuscript by Thomas More), important relics, etc...


 * - Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum of Valencia). > Free entrance. - Opening hours -. Regarding bulls, even if most Valencia CSers are against bullfighting, you can find some spectacles qhere the bull is not hurted: "el correbous" (people run ahead of bulls), and "recortadores" or retallador (they wait for the bull till the very last second to jump or move and not being caught).


 * - Sala Parpalló (exhibition hall) - Opening hours -


 * - LA NAU ("THE BUILDING/WAREHOUSE") FREE ENTRANCE -> Old University Of Valencia, now reconverted as an exhibition hall, is one of the most important places (not in the travel guides) in the city. Despite the terrible webpage, it's one of the most active museums/concert halls in Valencia: art, exhibitions, drama, visual poetry, cinema, courses, conferences, special events, music (every wednesday at 19:30 free high level classical music concert), chapel, paranymph, courses, historical old library, cafeteria, bookshop, etc... (See all on "Actividades", in the webpage)


 * - Museo de prehistoria de Valencia (Prehistoric museum of Valencia) - Opening hours -


 * - Museo Valenciano de Etnología (Ethnological Museum of Valencia) - Opening hours -


 * - La Almoina. Roman and iberic ruins in the city center.


 * - OCTUBRE Centre Cultura Contemporánea -> FREE ENTRANCE (Centre/Museum of Contemporary Art & Culture) Exhibitions, classes, cinema, cafeteria, concerts, activities, talks.


 * - FNAC Why on earth FNAC is standing in the cultural section? Well, because there's a nice bunch of events there such as concerts (almost every saturday and sunday), exhibitions, film shows and way more! > Almost everything is free Check out their monthly program


 * - Cafe Teatro Some informal theater, stand-up comedy, performances, etc... Normally at nice, small pubs, the usual price is 5€ (including a drink), but sometimes it's free. Keep in mind that language is spanish! Even if you don't understand it, maybe you can be a part of the act and have a lot of fun.


 * - Caf Cafe Music, poetry...

Festival & Events
• In the city (Valencia)


 * - Valencia is known for Las Fallas, a famous local festival in March.


 * - In july there's the Feria de Julio that includes fireworks, music concerts, exhibitions...


 * - There are also a number of well preserved Catholic fiestas throughout the year. Holy week celebrations in Valencia are considered the most colourful in Spain.


 * - 24th of June - San Juan Night


 * - Jornadas internacionales de guitarra de Valencia -

• In the region (the Valencian community)


 * - La Tomatina, an annual tomato fight, draws crowds to the nearby town of Buñol in August. Please use the La Tomatina 2012 subgroup.


 * - Moros i Cristians, all around the Comunitat but the ones in Alcoy are Unesco World Heritage).


 * - Cordà de Paterna. Firecrackers as you've never seen -and heard- before.


 * - La Trabucà, july in Torrent.


 * - Festival internacional de Benicassim, music festival in July.

Leisure
Cinema


 * - Cinestudio d'or The oldest and cheapest cinema in Valencia > 2,50€ for 2 movies each tuesday, 3€ the rest of the week. Movies are spanish dubbed version.


 * - Filmoteca Valencia, right in the city center in front of the town hall, is cheap (ticket around 1.5 euros) has good old and new movies, and a important detail with subtitles in the original audio version.


 * - Samaruc this is not a real big cinema, but a great place to go and see a good movie every Wednesday at 9:00PM. Free entrance, cheap beer(1 EUR) and really great ambience. An opportunity to meet locals and to see an old maritime village.


 * - UGC Modern, medium sized cinema with some Original Version movies. Interesting prices.

• Nigtlife 

''Most of the bars in Spain open around 10:00PM, and get crowdy at 12:00AM.  The places where you go to dance, clubs or discos, usually get crowded around 02:00AM or 03:00AM.'' If it's some live music you want to listen to and see, take a look at the culture chapter.

• Are you looking for some places with rock music ?

Take a look here at this listing: Rock Bars and Clubs in Valencia

'''• Students, young crowd and indie/spanish indie music ?

Here is a listing with some popular places: Indie/ Spanish Indie Music Bars/Clubs

• In mood for salsa ?


 * - Asucar, Calle del Beato Nicolás Factor, 12 Asucar Webpage


 * - Noches de Salsa, Avenida Ecuador, 69


 * - Cuba mia, the right place if you want to dance a cuban salsa with great atmosphere,  ''Calle de Alcira 12"


 * - 'Take care with' Son Caribe Salsa it can be an interesting experience, but common sense must be used to avoid conflicts.

• Flamenco


 * - Café del duende, nice flamenco by semi-pros, 6€ drink included.


 * - La Claca, 8€ including drink.

• Gay pubs


 * -Most gay bars ("bares de ambiente" in spanish) are in the El Carmen area. Venial, ADN or Deseo 54 are just a few examples.

Sports & Nature

 * - CS Sports group in Valencia.

There are some nice spots you can visit near Valencia. Remember that some restrictions apply to bike transport on metro.


 * - El Saler beach. Starting at the Ciutat de les Arts i Les Ciencies there's a bike path that reaches the beach, some small forest and L'Albufera.


 * - Turia River. Starting at the Parc de Capçalera there's a path that reaches Villamarxant following the Turia River.


 * - La Vallesa Forest. The Vallesa metro station is in the very middle of a small forest. Nice & flat walks, the Turia river is reachable from there.


 * - La Serra Calderona. Nice trecks and bike routes. The closest tram station is Betera. A good start point is El Pla de Lucas and the Cartuja de Portaceli, located at some 8km from the metro station. The map is here.

Eating & Drinking

 * - FrescCo (all-you-can-eat restaurant) Cheap vegetarian food.


 * -  NECO Buffet (all-you-can-eat restaurant) Good food, big variety - 10 EUR/person(drinks are not included but are reasonable priced)


 * - 100 montaditos (Tapas bar) 2 places in the city-center where you can eat those little toasts. Kinda half-way between fast-food and traditional. > Each Wednesday, everything for 1€ (toast, beer, fries...)


 * - La vaca verde (Tapas bar) Very tasty and typical tapas, fresh Alhambra beer.


 * - El bar de las tapas gratis. Get a free tapa in each beer.

• Paella: The traditional Paella is a must. Locals eat it ONLY for lunch -never for dinner ;)- Some places where you can taste it:


 * - La Uteliana, behind the Palace of the Marques de Dos Aguas. Home made food at a reasonable price.


 * - El Rall, close Mercado Central. Good and not too expensive.


 * - Restaurante Bonaire, at El Palmar. Good but expensive paella (some 25€)


 * - L'eriço in paseo Neptuno (Malvarrosa beach, close to Neptuno tram stop). Good paella with views to the beach for the reasonable price of 15 euros per menu during workdays.

• Vegetarian restaurants


 * - Copenhagen
 * - Anaeva
 * - Kimpira

CouchSurfing Weekly meetings

 * - There is a weekly Couchsurfing meeting every Thursday at Los Picapiedra bar, Caballeros 25 (El Carmen). Some pics here.

We have special discounts between 20h and 00h and you can bring your own food


 * - You can check the Valencia group on CS to keep up to date with Valencia CS activities. It is always a good idea to contact one or two active members personally to know if there is anything going on.

CouchSurfing Exploring Wednesdays
Valencia's new weekly meeting. Every Wednesday a new venue is chosen and all CouchSurfers meet there. The idea behind the ""Exploring Wednesdays"" is to build a huge database for the wiki with reviews from many different spots in the city. Check the Valencia group on CS to look for this week's ""Exploring Wednesdays"" thread.

Language Exchange Meetings
Please use the Languaje Exchange subgroup.


 * - "Valencia Language Exchange" (English, german, french and italian). Organized by CSers, We meet in a bar Seven/Big Beng, Plaza honduras, Meetings are every Monday, Thursday and Sunday at 8pm, Language exchange and Quiz.


 * - Italian/Spanish/English lang. exchange at Miobio every monday at Galilao Galilei 18.30h (UPV)


 * - Portland Language Exchange, Calle Salamanca, 10 - every Wednesday starting with 08:00PM. On sunday there is a english "language quiz game".


 * - Taronja lang. exchange every monday @ 19.00h Ubik Café (Ruzafa)

Workshops
• Learn how to repair your bicycle: Just get in touch with these members on CS Taller Bici

Courses
Centro de Formacion Posgrado of the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia. Wide, cheap catalog.

Spanish Courses

 * - Route 66 managed by dutch people. Accommodation available.


 * - Hispania.


 * - Taronja


 * - Costa de Valencia


 * - Do You speak Spanish. Small groups, Intensive course 3h/day for 2 weeks: 99€

GETTING AROUND
The region has many places to visit. You can download a detailed PDF map of the Comunidad Valenciana here.

From/to airport
You can get from the airport ("aeroport") to the city center by bus, subway ("metro") and taxi.

• BUS: Route 150 Valencia-Airport Timetable: from 05.25 to 23:55. Price: Regular fare: 1.20 Euro. 65-year-old major persons: 0.85 Euro.

• SUBWAY('METRO'): There are two underground lines which link the airport, the city centre and the port: Line 3. Rafelbunyol-Aeroport Line 5. Marítim Serrería - Torrent Av. / Aeroport


 * - Metro Timetables


 * - Metro Ticket Price

• TAXI: Stops: opposite arrivals. Price: From the airport to the city centre, approximately 14 Euro - 16 Euro. Radio Taxi Manises: 961 521 155 Radio Taxi Valencia: 963 703 333 Telephone Teletaxi: 963 571 313

Use bikes!
One of the best way to discover Valencia and surroundings is by bike. Take care and lock your bike every time on bike parking places as bike robbery is very common.


 * - Ride the city Valencia: Handy on-line map with useful info for bikers (safest/fastest routes, shops...)

Bikes can be carried into the subway for free. But there are some restrictions on weekdays and Saturday afternoon, when you cannot use "underground" lines - just trams. More info here.

There are some touristic routes outside Valencia reachable by tram.

• RENT A BIKE:


 * - Public bikes network Still at an early stage, but sounds promising with fares starting at 18€/year or 10€/week (good option if you stay more than 2 days and you want to move around). Pay attention that only the first 30 min of every ride are free, after this they will charge you. Just park the bike in a station every half an hour and than take it again to avoid paying extra.


 * - Do You Bike From 2EUR/hour, 3 rental-points in the city


 * - Orange Bikes


 * - Valencia Bikes From 5EUR/hour, 2 rental-points in the city

• BUY YOUR OWN BIKE:

If you stay more in Valencia and you want to buy a second hand bike you can search online for one:


 * - Loquo


 * - Ebay Anuncios


 * - Segunda Mano


 * - BiciCiutat New and Second-hand bikes


 * - Bicicletas Belga specialized in medium and high-end bikes and accesories.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY BICYCLES FROM THE SUNDAY MARKET NEAR MESTALLA FOOTBALL STADIUM AS ARE ALL STOLEN BIKES.

Driving
Valencia is almost a traffic free city and even the rush-hours do not last too much. If driving is easy, finding a parking space in the city center is an adventure. Underground parkings exist but prices are usually very high, you may pay up to 4 Euros for one hour. The ideal is to find a white parking space around your destination and from there to go by foot.

You can find some info about car renting from people here and here.

Public Transportation
If you are decided not to walk or take a bicycle Valencia offers you a complete network of public transportation. At nighttime, your only public transportation choice is a few night buses or public bikes. You can find the routes, maps and schedules permanently updated on their websites:

• BUSES (EMT Valencia):


 * - EMT Valencia


 * - Here you have a short guide of how to get from one point of interest to another by bus: Valencia Short Transport Guide


 * - Inside the city boundaries, public buses are red. Some turistic spoots outside the city (Albufera, Alboraya, El Saler Beach etc ) can be reached by yellow buses.

• SUBWAY/UNDERGROUND/TUBE in spanish is ¨METRO¨ (tranvia the one going above ground):


 * - Metro Valencia

GETTING THERE & AWAY
Even if hitchhicking is not common in Spain, you can give it a try, or contact some website where drivers and passengers meet to share time and expenses. This is a cheap and green option, and besides, you can get in touch with local people. You can check the CS comparte viajes group from Valencia or in Spain, the Viajamos Juntos website, Comuto carshare website, Rideshark, Conduzco.es, Amovens, Blablacar or the Viaja barato website. More info -in Spanish- here.

Please don't post carsharing request in the Valencia main group unless you're looking for a whole-trip partners.

Please think green and don't take planes unless necessary for short trips!


 * - BUS Transportation all around Spain: ALSA & AVANZA


 * - Train Transportation all around Spain: RENFE


 * - Ferry Transportation to Balearic Islands: BALEARIA, ISCOMAR & TRANSMEDITERRANEA

From/To Madrid:

• BUS:
 * - From the Estación Sur (Metro Mendez Álvaro) buses depart every hour. Price: 27-33 euros. Time: about 4 hours. Avanza Website.
 * - You can also check Alsa buses.

• TRAIN: From Estación de Atocha (metro Atocha). There are three kind of trains: Standar (Alvia, Alaris) Price: 47 euros (sometimes there are special offers buying on-line). Faster, more comfortable, greener and safer than bus. The Valencia main train station (Valencia Nord) is located at the very center of the city. You can book here.

• "Regional" train with MANY stops. It's cheaper but it takes some 5.30 hours - The landscape through Cuenca Serrania is worth, you can give it a try if you are not in a hurry. Price: 23 euros

• Fast train (AVE) 90 minutes only for 350 Km. Check the "internet" or "Estrella" fares, cheapest if you book 15 days in advance for some trips.

• PLANE: You can check Ryanair low cost company. Beware that it charges extra for the luggage. Both Madrid and Valencia airports are reachable by subway, wich cost less than 2 euro.

Paperwork

 * - Getting Empadronamiento In Valencia: Empadronamiento Information


 * - Getting a NIE Number in Valencia: NIE Information


 * - Residency for Non EU Citizens in Spain: Non-EU Citizens Residency Information


 * - Residency for EU Citizens in Spain: EU Citizens Resindecy Information

Finding a house

 * - Please check the CS Valencia "Finding a House Group". Don't post in the main group.


 * - Loquo


 * - Idealista


 * - Appartamenti Valencia. For short-term renting.


 * - Enalquiler

The main recommended areas are:


 * - Benimaclet: A former village, now it's been added to the city. Yet it still keeps some of its charm and quietness with few big buildings. Near the universities, you'll find many students in the area. Many cheap bars and good transport by metro and tram.


 * - El Carmen: The old city center, cute and with narrow streets. Few cars and close to the river (reconverted to a huge park nowadays). You'll find a bohemian spirit and overcrowding from Thursday till Sunday.


 * - Ruzafa: close to the city center, it's populated mostly by immigrants and students. Still has the look and feel of a traditional area with amazing mixture of ethnics, people and traditions. You'll find a intense cultural life with many libraries, coffee-shops, art galleries...

Getting your luggage

 * - SinMaletas. Fine and cheap way to tranport your luggage.


 * - Europarcel Moving your luggage there&away

Recycling

 * - Nolotiro.org is a give-for-free website where you can give or ask for some stuff.


 * - Ecoparques list.


 * - How to recycle wasted oil post.

Fair Trade Shops, eco, second hand...

 * - Punt de Sabor. Organic and local fresh products.


 * - SETEM Next to Ruzafa Market, c/ Tomassos 14, wide variety of fair trade products. Closes on Satruday afternoon.


 * - Ecomarket. Blasco Ibáñez, 66


 * - Second hand clothes, fornitures... at a shop at the beggining of Alboraya Street.


 * - El desván de Viviana

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