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1. PLAZA DE LA REINA. Beautiful churches and a big plaza (square), lots of restaurants and cafés. Main station for the sightseeing buses. Tourist information office. You can get free city maps, bus routes maps and all sorts of events info there.
2. MERCADO CENTRAL. All the food you can imagine; fresh fish and all sorts of seafood. This is one of the many places you can buy food to cook at home, but the building is unique. 3. LA LONJA DE LA SEDA. It looks like a castle across the street from Mercado Central. It used to be the trading place when silk was one of the main products in Spain. Beautiful architecture, furniture and peaceful garden. 4. AVENIDA COLON. Main Street in Valencia, where you can find all the big names in clothing and perfumes. While there, visit Vegamar Bodegas showroom, where you can enjoy a glass of good local wine. 5. PLAZA DE TOROS AND RAILROAD STATION. This is where Av. Colón ends, and you will be there without knowing it. Beautiful buildings to go into and enjoy the architecture and meet a lot of people. 6. CIUDAD DE LAS ARTES Y LAS CIENCIAS (CAC). The City of Arts and Sciences is a complex of modern architecture buildings, where you can find theatres, opera house, museum, the biggest aquarium in Europe (Oceanographic), and you can enjoy a vast extension of parks that you can walk, jog, cycle or skate at your leasure. Across the street from the wonderful CAC, you will find………… 7. AQUA MALL AND EL CORTE INGLÉS. Two huge malls to spend all the time and money you can afford. You can also enjoy a glass of wine at the top of El Corte Inglés, where they have a terrace café and you can take your panoramic pictures from there. 8. GRAN TURIA CANAL. The Turia River crossed Valencia in years past, but in 1957 it flooded and inundated the whole city. The City re-routed it and the old river bed was turned into this amazing extension of parks several kilometers long, where you can walk and admire nature from the Parque de Cabecera (Headboard Park), all the way down to the CAC. There are many different things to see and enjoy here, but it’s mostly a relaxing place. 9. BIOPARK. A magnificent cageless zoo. Very well known in Europe because of the way all the animals are placed and treated. You will spend a wonderful day visiting. Bring your own lunch so you don’t have to spend time going back to the cafeteria. 10. LA ALBUFERA. For Nature lovers, this is a must. A park where you can go and become close and personal with all the natural flora and fauna of Valencia. There are guided visits that can take you there, but bring lunch and water. 11. BEACHES. Yes, we know you love the beach, and you are here to enjoy them. There’s a vast amount of beach and sand to enjoy in Valencia and its surroundings, starting by PLAYA DE LA MALVARROSA, right in the City, reachable by one single bus (#25) during the summer (from our place), or by metro and/or bus transfers the rest of the year. If you are driving, other beaches you will love to visit are: (all distances from Valencia).
How to get there: 1. PLAZA DE LA REINA. Take bus 29 under pedestrian bridge outside the building. Get off 3 or 4 stops away (no more, no less) and take bus 95. You can see which bus goes through any stop; they have red circles with white numbers on the roof side. While waiting for 95, you are looking at the Turia River across the street. Bus 95 will take you to Serranos Towers. You can’t miss them on your right, about 7-10 minute ride. Big, big chess-like Towers. Off at Serranos Towers and walk toward the Cathedral. If you zig-zag on your way, you will get the full taste of Barrio del Carmen (Carmen’s Neighborhood) –lovely- until you reach the Cathedral and the Basílica. Keep on walking and you will reach Plaza de la Reina. WALKING IS VERY SAFE. Ask for Mercado Central and La Lonja and enjoy your stay. You may now realize that while in Spain, you walk; and you walk a lot. You can spend 2-3 days visiting downtown. Don’t rush it. And don’t forget to visit Plaza Redonda (after 5 pm) 2. AVENIDA COLÓN, BULL RING, AND TRAIN STATION. This is best done by metro. Walk 10 minutes to the station and take the track on your left to go downtown. Any train will take you. For Avenida Colón, off at Colón stop and you will emerge at a very busy place where you can window shop, shop, walk, etc. Visit El Corte Inglés on your left, or stroll along the big Avenida and you will probably end up at the Bull Ring and Train Station. If you want to start from The Plaza de Toros (Bullring), keep on riding the metro one more station (Xativa) and get off there. When in this area, you should visit Mercado Colón and the Municipal Plaza with its beautiful buildings and hundreds of restaurants and bars. One that we love to go to is El Asador de Aranda on Carrer Félix Pizcueta 9 (Ph: 963-529-791), a few steps away from Av. Colón. Check the street signs if you want to go. To return, take the Aeropuerto bound metro. Do not take any other than the one that displays Aeropuerto or you will get somewhere else. Off at Now D’Octubre stop and walk back home. There is a map for all the metro system in the basket, next to the sofa. 3. CIUDAD DE LAS ARTES Y LAS CIENCIAS, AQUA MALL AND CORTE INGLES. Take bus 29 to bus 95. This bus will take you to the futuristic Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (CAC). We highly, highly recommend the Oceanographic, the largest aquarium in Europe. It takes no less than 3-4 hours to enjoy it. You can bring lunch or buy it there (pricey). Entrance is 28 Euros (Dec 2014), but it’s worth every single penny. The rest of the CAC buildings are stunning. There is a wheel-train ride worth taking that will take you all around it. If you still have some stamina left, visit the Aqua Mall and rest at the top of El Corte Inglés with a glass of wine at their terrace restaurant-bar. To go back home, take bus 95 in the opposite direction. It will leave you at the front gate of the General Hospital. 4. RIO TURIA or Turia River. The “river” goes from your 95 bus stop until the CAC. You can walk, jog, skate, or bike any length of it. There are lots of gardens, fountains, soccer fields, Palau de la Música, stone bridges, tons of things. You can do one stretch one day and re-take it any other day. 5. BIOPARK. This is the zoo. On your bus map, it’s located on E-23, you can walk there or take a cab, it may cost you 4-6 Euros (Dec. 2014). It’s also a long walk in there, more than 3 hours, so wear comfortable shoes and bring lunch and water. You may also want to wear a hat or bring an umbrella. It costs ~ 25-30 Euros to get in, but well worth it. See Some Examples
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