For a visit to Valencia with camper, the campsite Coll Verd is ideal. It is nothing special, rather plain and simple and you can hear the highway, but the staff is particularly friendly and the location is perfect for a sightseeing tour to Valencia. Since we were traveling during the day and practically only slept here, the noise of the road did not bother us. It costs with ACSI card €14, - incl electricity. The bus stop is right outside the door, the trip with the bus line 25 to the final stop Porta de la Mar takes about 25 minutes. You buy the ticket for € 1,50 directly from the bus driver. If you want to go back after the city tour, you also get on again at the same bus stop.
Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain and is located where the river Turia flows into the Mediterranean Sea. In 1957, after a flood disaster with many deaths, it was decided to lead the Turia in a large arc around the city. The former riverbed of the Turia, which today runs through the city as a green ribbon, was transformed into a landscape park.
La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències
This La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. consists of:
- Oceanogràfic is the largest aquarium in Europe with sharks and dolphinarium. Those who do not want to stand in line, buy the ticket online for € 31.50.
- Museo de las Ciències Príncepe Felipe (Science Museum)
- L'Hemisfèric (planetarium and 3D IMAX cinema)
- Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Opera House)
- L'Umbracle is a beautiful botanical garden that is used as a disco at night
- L'Àgora is a multifunctional event hall. The elliptical building is 70m high and can accommodate 6,000 people. Among other things, international tennis tournaments, concerts, fairs and exhibitions were held here and in winter it was used as an ice skating rink.
These monumental buildings by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava are worth seeing for their modern design alone and are a must for any photographer. Those who want to visit several of these buildings can buy combined tickets cheaper online.
Bus line 25
The bus 25 passes this landscape park, so you can first orientate yourself and get a first impression. There are a few bridges over the old riverbed. Worth mentioning is the Pont del Regne, which I actually find unspectacular, except for the dragon figure (see photo).
Next to it is a large playground Parc Gulliver. Only from the bird's eye view you understand why the place has its name.
We continue to the Puente del Mar, which delights me with its two sculptures of St. Virgin and St. Paquale. It was built in 1591 and is 160m long. The following bridges are also beautiful, the Pont de les Flors lives up to its name with its many flowers.
The terminal stop of bus line 25 is Porta de la Mar. This replica of a historic city gate was built in memory of the victims of the Spanish Civil War 1936-39.
The next beautiful building that catches our eye is the Centro Cultural Bancaja (Bancaixa), a cultural center with changing exhibitions, cultural programs, conferences and workshops.
Torre de Santa Catalina
We stroll along the Carrer de la Pau, always the Torre de Santa Catalina in front of our eyes. When we pass a hairdresser, we look at each other briefly and go inside. We both need it, please. I go nevertheless in Cologne regularly with my short hair all 3 weeks to the hairdresser. Since there are so few hairdressers here on the beach, my hair has not been cut for 6 weeks, slowly it is time again.
It is always a bit to put yourself in the hands of a strange unknown hairdresser, but here we both immediately have a good feeling. And our gut feeling was right. Marc looks great afterwards and I was also made super pretty by Monica. We pay € 43,- for both of us and give a clear recommendation for 'Mister A' - Hairdresser & Barber on Carrer de la Pau. Thanks to Monica, my favorite hairdresser in Valencia. We had a great time, she speaks no English and I speak very, very rudimentary Spanish. Mas corto !
Horchateria de Santa Catalina
The Torre de Santa Catalina, which we had already seen before, was built in the 17th century in baroque style and belongs to the Gothic Esglesia Santa Catalina, one of the oldest churches in Valencia, which stands between the Plaza de la Reina and the Plaza de la Virgen.
Across the street at Horchateria de Santa Catalina, you can find not only the famous horchata, a tiger nut milk, but also the best hot chocolate and the most amazing churros in town. Since this is common knowledge, you will also meet some tourists there.
We find the Plaça Redona behind it unspectacular, as the stores have just closed.
Tribunal de las Aguas
Continue to the Cathedral of Valencia, La Seu, which was built in 1262 on a former mosque and was remodeled several times until the 18th century. Worth seeing are the 3 large portals. In the Apostle's portal the Tribunal de las Aguas, the oldest water court in Europe, meets every Thursday. There is judged about the water right of the farmers and their fields. According to the city of Valencia, the Holy Grail used by Jesus at the Last Supper is kept here. The Gothic tower of the cathedral, the Torre El Micalet was built in the 14th century and can be visited for 2,-. The more than 200 steps are worth it, from up there the view over all of Valencia is breathtaking.
Right next door is the Basilica de la Mare de Deu. This baroque church from the 17th century is the only church in Valencia that was not built on the remains of an older building. The density of churches and buildings worth seeing in Valencia is so high that it is hard to know which to visit or where to start.
The next thing we notice is the long line in front of the historic Teatre Talia. On our next visit, we will look for tickets earlier.
We continue to drift through the cool neighborhood of Carmen and end up in a Clot Vintage second-hand store at Plaza de Tossal. There are really cool clothes here, reminds us a bit of Cologne.
Mercat Central
From Plaça del Mercat with the beautiful Esglesia de Sant Joan del Mercat, our city tour continues to Mercat Central, whose Art Nouveau building was built in 1928. This is the oldest food market in Europe in permanent operation. There are said to be 1000 stalls here, I confess we didn't count them. The Mercat Colón is also worth seeing. Also an art nouveau building from 1916. Besides the actual market, there are also bars and restaurants here. At the Plaza Sant Vicent, the Valencia City Hall is unfortunately just hidden behind a construction fence. - Great is also the main post office diagonally opposite. In the Carrer de Martinez Cubelles 7 we stumble by chance over a nice restaurant Hawai Pokè and eat there a delicious bowl. Then we stroll along Carrer de Colon back to the Porta del Mar bus stop.
Best time to travel:
Since it can get very hot and very crowded in midsummer, spring and fall are always recommended as the best time to go. We were here in winter with 20 degrees and sun, and found it great. Of course, this is not a guarantee that there is always great weather here in the winter. We also experienced the one or other rainy day in the 7 months of our trip.
It is well known that most museums are closed on Mondays, but here is a special tip: on Sundays in Spain the entrance to public museums and buildings is free of charge.
Getting around Valencia:
Valencia has an excellent public transport network, which we gladly used. The city can also be explored very well by bike. If you don't have your own bike, you can rent one everywhere.
English 
German 
Italian 
French 
Japanese 
Dutch 
Spanish
Recent Comments