Valencia With Kids
A river that was moved out of the city and turned into a five mile park, a space age aquarium at one end of it, a beach on the tram line and the market where paella shopping starts. Valencia is the Spanish city I send families to when they want Spain without the Barcelona crowds.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Valencia good for kids?
Yes. The biggest aquarium in Europe, a giant Gulliver playground, a five mile park with no cars, a wide beach on the tram line and a flat city that is easy with a stroller. It is one of the easiest cities in Spain for a family.
How many days do you need in Valencia?
Three nights for the city, the aquarium and the beach. Four if you want the Albufera or the Bioparc.
How do you get to the beach in Valencia?
Tram lines 4 and 6 or bus 32 from the center reach Malvarrosa in about 25 minutes. Bikes along the Turia and then the promenade take about 40.
Is Valencia or Barcelona better with kids?
Barcelona has Gaudí and more to see. Valencia is smaller, cheaper, less crowded and has the better beach and the better aquarium. For a first Spain trip with young kids I pick Valencia more often.
When is the best time to visit Valencia?
March to June and September to November for warm days and a beach that is still swimmable into October. Fallas, March 15 to 19, is either the reason to come or the dates to skip.
The City That Moved Its River
After a flood in 1957 Valencia diverted the Turia river around the city and turned the empty riverbed into a park five miles long. It runs from the Bioparc zoo on the west side to the City of Arts and Sciences on the east, with playgrounds, bike paths, fountains and a giant Gulliver lying in the middle for kids to climb. Everything in this guide sits on or near it.
Three nights covers the aquarium, the old town, the market and a beach afternoon. The city is flat, cheap to get around and happy to see children at dinner at 9 pm.
Getting Around
The metro from the airport, the tram to the beach and a bike or a scooter along the Turia park for everything in between. The old town is on foot. Bus 25 goes to the Albufera. You do not need a car unless you are heading down the coast afterward.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
Ciutat Vella, the old town
The cathedral, the Central Market, the Silk Exchange and the narrow streets of El Carmen, all on foot. Apartments and small hotels in old buildings, the Turia park five minutes away and the tram to the beach from Pont de Fusta. The base for a first visit.
Ruzafa
South of the train station, the neighborhood of cafes, bakeries and a covered market where local families live. Ten minutes on foot to the center and the Turia, cheaper apartments and the best breakfast in the city.
The beach, Cabanyal and Las Arenas
The old fishermen’s quarter behind Malvarrosa beach, with tiled houses, a weekend market and the sand two blocks away. Base here in summer and take the tram in for the sights.
Hotel Las Arenas Balneario Resort
On the beach at Las Arenas with big outdoor pools, gardens, family rooms and the paella restaurants of the promenade next door. The splurge that turns the city trip into a beach week.
Hospes Palau de la Mar
Two old mansions joined together beside the Turia park near the Colón market, a short walk to the old town and the bike path to the aquarium. Calm, central and good with families.
Vincci Lys
A block from Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Xàtiva metro stop, with the old town, the station and the airport metro all at the door. Reliable value in the middle of everything.
The Three I Build Every Valencia Trip Around
The City of Arts and Sciences and the Oceanogràfic
At the sea end of the Turia park, a set of white buildings by Santiago Calatrava that look like skeletons, eyes and ship hulls. The Oceanogràfic is the biggest aquarium in Europe, with belugas, sharks in a walk through tunnel, a dolphin show and a wetlands dome full of birds. Give it a full morning. The Science Museum next door is hands on and the Hemisfèric shows films on a giant dome. Buy the combined ticket online.
The Turia Gardens and Gulliver
Rent bikes, or a bike with a kid trailer, and ride the old riverbed from one end of the city to the other under the bridges. Halfway along is Gulliver, a giant figure lying on the ground with his hair, coat and belt turned into slides and ramps that kids climb all over. It is free. The Bioparc at the west end is a zoo with no visible fences, where the lemurs walk past you.
The Central Market and the old town
A 1928 iron and tile market hall with a dome, hundreds of stalls, and fruit, jamón, fish and spices laid out like a show. Go for breakfast, buy strawberries and a cone of jamón for the kids, and cross the street to the Silk Exchange, a gothic hall with twisted stone columns. Then the cathedral, where the climb up the Miguelete tower is 207 steps to a view over the whole city.
Family Time, Built In: Valencia With Kids
Valencia with kids is an aquarium, a giant to climb on, a park with no cars, a beach on the tram line and paella at lunch. These are the pieces that work.
Sliding down Gulliver in the Turia park
A bike ride the length of the riverbed
An afternoon on Malvarrosa beach
Horchata and fartons at a horchatería
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
The Turia Gardens are the park, five miles of lawns, playgrounds, fountains and bike paths with no traffic anywhere. Gulliver is the playground. Jardines del Real, by the Fine Arts Museum, has playgrounds and shade for a slow afternoon. In summer the beach at Malvarrosa is wide enough that nobody is on top of each other.
Five Things To Eat In Valencia
Paella Valenciana
Fartons and pastries
Jamón and cheese
Ice cream on the beach
Coffee and horchataNicole’s Perspective
Spain with the pressure turned down
When families ask me for Spain with kids and have already done or dismissed Barcelona, Valencia is my answer. Everything is close, the city is flat, the park means the kids can run all day, and the aquarium is the kind of place a 9 year old talks about for a month.
I plan it as three nights, usually paired with Madrid on the fast train or with a week on the coast after. Paella is eaten at lunch, not dinner, and the real thing is rabbit and chicken, not seafood. Order it by the pan for the table and let the kids see it arrive.
The Day Trip: The Albufera and El Palmar
Ten miles south of the city is the Albufera, a huge freshwater lagoon surrounded by rice fields, which is where paella comes from. Bus 25 from the center goes to El Palmar, a village of paella restaurants on the water. Eat lunch, then take a flat bottomed boat out onto the lagoon with a local boatman, an hour on the water with herons and the rice paddies all around. Time it to be on the boat at sunset. The beach at El Saler is on the way back.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Three nights covers the aquarium, the park, the old town and a beach afternoon. Four adds the Albufera or the Bioparc.
The old town and the market on day one, the aquarium and the Turia on day two, the beach on day three.
Add the bus to El Palmar for paella and a sunset boat on the Albufera, or the Bioparc and a slow day in Ruzafa.
Madrid for three nights, the fast train to Valencia for three, then the coast south to Alicante or on to Barcelona. Ten days with one train and one short drive.
Valencia With Kids, Answered
Is Valencia good for kids?
Yes. The biggest aquarium in Europe, a giant Gulliver playground, a five mile park with no cars, a wide beach on the tram line and a flat city that is easy with a stroller. It is one of the easiest cities in Spain for a family.
How many days do you need in Valencia?
Three nights for the city, the aquarium and the beach. Four if you want the Albufera or the Bioparc.
How do you get to the beach in Valencia?
Tram lines 4 and 6 or bus 32 from the center reach Malvarrosa in about 25 minutes. Bikes along the Turia and then the promenade take about 40.
Is Valencia or Barcelona better with kids?
Barcelona has Gaudí and more to see. Valencia is smaller, cheaper, less crowded and has the better beach and the better aquarium. For a first Spain trip with young kids I pick Valencia more often.
When is the best time to visit Valencia?
March to June and September to November for warm days and a beach that is still swimmable into October. Fallas, March 15 to 19, is either the reason to come or the dates to skip.
Ready To Put Valencia On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will put Valencia into your Spain route, pick the hotel by the beach or the park and book the aquarium slot.
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