Living in Valencia: 5 routes around the city

Living in Valencia has become an ideal option for many students, due to the fact that it has kilometres of coastline and beaches with 300 days of sunshine a year. In addition, the cost of rent and housing is much lower than in other cities in Spain.

It is a large city without being classified as a big city with all that this entails, however, it has world famous museums, one of the best universities in the country, leisure facilities, etc. This means that living in Valencia is not synonymous with boredom.

For this reason, we are going to mention 5 excellent routes through the city. Enriching everyone who lives there and even tourists with history and culture.

Visit the City of Arts and Sciences

This is an essential visit when living in Valencia, the work of the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava. It has several buildings that have become icons of the city. The City of Arts and Sciences is a scientific leisure complex for the enjoyment of family or friends, occupying around 2 kilometres of the old Turia riverbed.

Here you can discover the most avant-garde side of Valencia, which is why we recommend a visit:

• Hemisfèric, where there is an IMAX cinema and a planetarium.
• The Science Museum, which is an interactive museum.
• L’Umbracle, which is a promenade full of native plants and sculptures.
• The Oceanográfico, which is an aquarium.
• The Reina Sofia Palace of the Arts, which is dedicated entirely to the performing arts.

Stroll through the Barrio del Carmen

The Barrio del Carmen is located at the north-eastern end of the historic quarter. And is Valencia’s best known neighbourhood, named after the church and convent of Carmen Calzado.

The gastronomic and local offer in this neighbourhood is endless. Due to the fact that we are talking about more than a thousand years of history, so its architecture is medieval. Becoming a rich artistic heritage, where many anecdotes of history and local legends have arisen.

We can say that a stroll through the Barrio del Carnes is a perfect combination of history and leisure. It even has a succession of squares that are worth visiting, such as La Manises, where the seat of the regional government is located, and the Palau de la Generalitat, a late Gothic style building.

Walk along the beach

The city of Valencia has almost 20 km of beaches waiting to be visited, with those perfect for adventure lovers, for romantic outings and for family enjoyment, you just have to decide which one is ideal.

The closest and most easily reached on foot and enjoying the scenery are Cabanyal, Malvarrosa and the neighbouring Patacona, and the more remote and rugged beaches are El Saler, Garrofera and La Davesa. These and many others are wide, with golden to white sand and exceptionally warm seawater.

Walk through the Turia Garden

This is one of the largest urban natural parks in Spain, being a green space of more than 9km of walkable green space that crosses the city with sports areas and romantic corners. The perfect route for cyclists, runners and nature lovers runs from the Parque de Cabecera to the City of Arts and Sciences.

The Turia garden is crowned by 18 bridges that are traces of centuries of the city’s history. And the old riverbed is bordered on both sides by Valencia’s main museums and monuments.  It is an immense garden built on the old riverbed of the same name, which was diverted to avoid the flooding of the city.

Get away to visit l’Albufera

If you are a lover of natural landscapes, just 10 km away you can enjoy nature at its best, which is no other place than the natural park l’Albufera. Which offers dreamy sunsets, boat rides and the best option when you want to escape from the city and its problems. It is considered an urban oasis surrounded by forest and rice fields.

The park includes a shallow coastal lagoon, beaches, dunes, pine forests and reeds, creating a beautiful collage of mother nature, and best of all, many migratory birds and grey herons take a rest here.