Valencia Backpacker Guide
Valencia is the easiest city in Spain to travel well on very little. It is flat, it is compact, it has a beach, and almost nothing worth seeing is more than a twenty-minute cycle from anything else.
This guide covers the practical version of the city: what things cost, which neighbourhood to sleep in, and how to spend three days without booking a single tour.
Getting in and getting around
Valencia airport connects to the centre by metro lines 3 and 5 in about 25 minutes. Buy a ticket at the machine, keep it for the exit barrier, and ignore the taxi rank unless you are arriving after midnight.
Once you are in, the city bike scheme is the single best purchase of your trip. The Turia park — a nine-kilometre garden built in a drained riverbed — runs from the old town all the way to the sea, entirely away from traffic.
- Airport metro: around €5 including the airport supplement
- Valenbisi day pass: a couple of euros for unlimited short rides
- Tram 4 or 6 reaches Malvarrosa beach from the north of the centre
Which neighbourhood to sleep in
El Carmen is the old town: medieval streets, street art, and most of the nightlife. It is the most central choice and the loudest one at weekends.
Ruzafa is the food and bar neighbourhood just south of the station, quieter at night than El Carmen but with better restaurants. Cabanyal, behind the beach, is the calmest and cheapest option and still only fifteen minutes from the centre by tram.
What a day costs
Valencia is meaningfully cheaper than Barcelona or Madrid, and the gap shows up most at lunchtime. The menú del día — three courses and a drink on a weekday — is the single best-value meal in Spain.
- Dorm bed: €15–22 a night depending on season
- Menú del día lunch: around €12
- Coffee and pastry: €3–4
- Museum entry: €2–8, with several free on Sundays
Three days without a tour booking
Day one: walk the old town from the Torres de Serranos to the cathedral, climb the Micalet bell tower, then eat in the Mercado Central before it closes at three.
Day two: rent a bike and follow the Turia park east to the City of Arts and Sciences, then keep going to Malvarrosa for a swim and a late lunch.
Day three: take the metro out to the Albufera lagoon for the rice fields and a boat at sunset, or stay in the city and spend the afternoon in Ruzafa.
