There is now a metro link from the airport to Colon on the edge of the old town there is also a bus from the Airport to the City (Bus Station) a local service No 150 from outside the departures it takes 45 minutes and goes through three small towns before the centre of Valencia therefore gets very crowded.
Valencia is a big sprawling city and some of the best eating places, sites etc are in the Old Part but there is not much in the way of accommodation although this is changing.
Try and get a bus map from the Tourist Office along with a street map the ones given out by the hotels are no good as sometimes the street names can be in Valenciano and not Spanish. Get a Bonobus a 10 Journey Bus ticket
Try to choose somewhere as near the old centre as possible recommended are
Ad Hoc Hotel, C/Boix 4 www.adhochoteles.com is a very nice hotel in the old part of the city five minutes walk from the Cathedral.
Petit Paris Bristol Hotel part of a Spanish chain http://www.hthoteles.com €€
Hostal Antigua Morellana Calle En Bou 2 Tel 96 391 57 73 is highly recommended and is in the heart of the old part between the Central Market & Plaza de la Reina €
There are some lovely apartments available through www.friendlyrentals.com the company is recommended by friends who have used them in other cities.
Bar Pilar Corner of C/Moro Zeit off Plaza del Esparto Traditional place for Mussels and other seafood and grilled seasonable vegetables eat at the bar or wait for a table
El Molinon, C/Bolseria 40 - very similar to Jamon Jamon always crowded and specialising in meats and cheeses
Jamon, Jamon Calle Bolseria 36 (Nr Bar Pilar off P/Esparto) great selection of cheeses, meats, bread with toppings (Embuditos) and good wine
Tasca Angel, C/Purisima 2 between Market & P/Reina an old fashioned bar speciality grilled boned, butterflied sardines be patient and you will be served
Sagardi C/Vincente Martir 6 just down from P/Reina a chain Basque Tapas bar but great selection of pinxtos - these can be a pricey way of eating but definitely worth going in for a selection
Taberna de la Reina, P/Reina is another bar with a good selection of Pinxtos, good to sit outside
Bodeguilla del Gato, C/Catalans 10 just off P/Negret an old fashioned busy tapas bar with a variety of specialities very popular reservations required at the weekend
Bar Las Cuevas Off P/de la Virgen C/Samaniego 9 Fabulous variety of tapas including lots of baked filled vegetables and seafood
Seu-Xerea, C/Comte de Almodovar 4, very good modern food, Spanish with an Oriental mix, excellent value at lunch where 4/5 courses is €22 excellent service
Bacco, C/de los Derechos 29 is highly recommended for its great value set lunch , it has an Italian slant but worth seeking out
Plaza del Tossal & C/ Caballeros is the buzzy night area with bars and clubs but also places to sit out San Jaume on P/Tossal is a very reasonable place to sit out and enjoy people watching
Taberna Caballeros, C/Caballeros is a nice old fashioned bar that does a reasonable selections of wines and cold meats.
La Taberna de Marisa, C/Caballeros 47 is a modern split level bar but with a wide variety of tapas,
Cerveceria Amoros C/En Llop 3 Off P/Ayunamiento a smart old fashioned tapas bar with great but expensive prawns
Burdeos in Love C/Del Mar 4 off P/Reina very modern restaurant with a highly rated chef they have a starter of a tasting of mini tapas and a selection of meat and fish for mains €€ to €€€
Old Part near Plaza de Carmen (slightly dodgy square)
Casa Mario C/Roteros 3 excellent modern tapas bar & restaurant has a good set lunch
Santa Companya C/Roteros 21 Lovely modern tapas bar with Italian influence pinxtos (snacks) also cheese and meat plates and specials has a very good wine list
There are lots of other places in C/Roteros mostly evening and late night
At the end of C/Roteros facing the Torres de Seranno is a lovely bar in two parts with outdoor seating - a great place for a drink but the tapas are also good
There are lots of choices of bars and restaurants one to recommend is
La Malqueria C/Polon y Peirolon 53 booking required as there are only three tables at the bar the tapas are wonderful lots of very unusual choices and there are main dishes a beautiful place
Take the tram or the bus to the port area, and walk along the beach but don't miss the area behind called Cabanyal with its original fishermans houses.
Bodega Casa Montana, C/Josep Benillure 69 is one of the best bars I have been in, a wonderful old fashioned bodega with excellent tapas and a fabulous wine selection go for a pre lunch drink and tapas or just stay and eat and drink
Casa Guillermo, C/Josep Benillure 26 is another gem, far more limited selection than
Bodega Casa Montana so perhaps visit Guillermo first then move to Montana.
La Lonja del Pescado C/Eugenia Vines 243 Near where the tram reaches the beach one street back from the front you get your list of grilled fish/seafood dishes and fill in what you want at the table then this gets collected along with your drinks order a great place very reasonable. In the winter evenings only except weekends € to €€
La Rosa, Avenida Neptuno 70 is said to be the best of the row of paella restaurants facing the beach - it is good, friendly service and teh paella are great
Also Bars and Restaurants at Plaza Canovas are always popular, reasonable and busy each evening
Attractions the City of Arts & Sciences is amazing it has a Oceangraphico the largest aquarium in Europe, a Science Museum which is very hands on and gardens and now the final part the opera House which is stunning,
There are a number of good galleries and the beach is worth a visit there was lots of work around the port area in connection with the Americas Cup, which was held in Valencia.
Bus C6 goes from the airport every half hour from stand 30 outside the arrivals (if you can find it) otherwise a taxi costs around €17.
The Tryp Ciudad, C/Gravina is very central and reasonably priced.
La Taberna del Gourmet, C/San Francisco 10, very smart modern bar & restaurant does tapas and raciones loads of great seafood and seasonal dishes they have a smart restaurant just next door
Nou Manolin, C/Villegas 3 is a very smart old fashioned bar and restaurant, you can sit at the bar and order raciones or half raciones of some things. It is not cheap but it is top quality.
Alioli, c/Miguel Soler 12, very friendly small wine bar that does about 21 different raciones from a minute kitchen
Senzone, C/Rafael Altamira 7, incredibly smart modern bar and restaurant doing a large selection of Taps/Raciones to order, has a very trendy lounge bar and is part of the Hospes Hotel.
Pinxto Kalea, Plaza de San Christobal 11, another modern bar and restaurant but also does a small selection of very good pinxtos. They have another Basque bar and restaurant Barra Igeldo C/San Francisco 46.
El Vermell C/Argensola 8 is a small wine bar that does a selection of cold meats and cheeses – very local.
There are loads of bars around the cathedral but most are just cocktails and other drinks.
The other thing is that there are few bars doing small tapas most are are raciones or half raciones.
Places to visit include the castle high above the city which you can reach by lift and the beaches a very modern tram link links some of these to the port
A lovely luxury villa close toJavea which is between Alicante and Valencia is available to rent - full details are on johnvilla.co.uk
Last Updated November 2008
