Spain’s third largest city, Valencia is a city known for its amazing architecture and delicious food. Valencia’s old town area is very walkable and its newer La Ciutat de les Arts y Ciencies is just a short walk along the river. You could easily spend a week enjoying all that Valencia has to offer, but if you only have a day or two, you should not hesitate to plan a visit. Here are our recommendations for what to see if you have one day in Valencia.
La Ciutat de les Arts y les Ciencies
The City of Arts and Sciences is made up of six separate spaces dedicated to the arts and sciences. With over 350,000 square meters to explore, you could easily spend multiple days here. If you only have one day, as we did, you’ll have to choose between the three main museums.
Umbracle
I highly recommend that you begin your day at the Umbracle – a sculpture garden and landscaped walk on the grounds of the City of Arts and Sciences. There are hundreds of different local species of plans inside the beautiful arched area as well as a number of interesting sculptures. The Umbracle is free to enter during the day. Some evenings it opens as a disco for a fee as well.
Museu de les Ciencies
The Science Museum offers interactive exhibitions and science animations to get kids excited about science. We spent two hours in the museum and the boys loved the opportunity to check out all of the exhibits. They loved watching the ants walk through the anthills and looking at the different insects from around the world. They loved seeing the space exhibit on the third floor, with a mars rover and satellites.
Their absolute favorite was spending time at the incubators on the first floor where baby chicks were hatching out of eggs – right before their eyes. In all of our time spent at museums, we had never had the opportunity to watch chicks hatch in person. It was fascinating to watch them peck through the shells and then fall asleep because they were so tired from all that work. The boys truly could have spent all day there. The best part was that the eggs had been added in increments, so that not all of the eggs were hatching at any one time and there was always another one starting to poke through.
Oceanografic
The Oceanografic is the largest aquarium in Europe and it represents the planets’ ecosystems. There are separate buildings representing each marine ecosystem including, the Mediterranean, Wetlands, Temperate and Tropical Seas, Oceans, the Antarctic, the Arctic, Islands and the Red Sea. There is also a Dolphinarium. Included throughout are Galapagos tortoises, Beluga whales, sharks, jellyfish, flamingos, and sea lions. There is also an Aviary. Some parts of the Oceanografic are located outdoors and are best seen in warmer months.
Hemisferic
The Hemisferic is an IMAX theater offering 2D and 3D film screenings as well as a full dome planetarium experience. There are daily showings of movies about the oceans, the Reef of Kaluoka’hina, the Amazon and the stars. Hemisferic tickets can be added to your ticket to the Science Museum or Oceanografic or can be purchased as a standalone ticket.
Food and Culture
Valencia is the home of Paella – a rice dish – and is something you should not miss while you are here. Valencians, like all Spaniards, enjoy a long lunch and you should absolutely plan to take part in this wonderful tradition. There are many amazing restaurants in Valencia that you should check out. The Colón Market is beautiful and delicious. Built in the early 1900s by architect Francisco Mora, the building now houses a number of different restaurants, breweries and shops inside.
I highly recommend Racó del Turia for their paella. This family run restaurant is bright and cheery with an amazing wine collection and delicious paella. Make sure you start with the Jamon Iberico – cut straight from the leg when you order.
Architecture and Green Spaces
The downtown area of Valencia is filled with architectural wonders and green spaces. After lunch, spend some time walking through town experiencing all that it has to offer. Unlike other cities where the older buildings were removed to make way for new buildings – or cities that only have older buildings, the architecture in Valencia spans generations. There are examples of architecture from the Gothic era, Renaissance and Baroque periods, 19th and 20th centuries and more modern buildings too. There are also a number of parks throughout the city, including parks along the Turia River bank that make walking along the shores an experience in itself.
With over 2000 years of history, a wide diversity of architecture, amazing food and terrific museums, Valencia should definitely be on your list of places to visit in Spain. And even if you only have one day in Valencia, you’ll have enough time to get a feel for this amazing city.
Have you visited Valencia? What was your favorite thing?
