When booking a place to stay while visiting Valencia, you should decide if you want to stay in “Old Town” or near the beach, as the city scene is not integrated into the beach life. I was unaware when I booked and ended up in Old Town, paying quite a lot overall in bus tickets to the beach during the day (where I really wanted to be).
out shopping, not happy on bus going the wrong direction.. whoops
Where I stayed
Overall, Valencia is easy to travel cheaply so if bus tickets at around 1.50 euro aren’t a concern of yours then pick whichever hostel suites you best, regardless of location.I stayed at ABCyou B&B, which has very mixed reviews online. I thought it was great. I had a private room, scrumptious all you can eat free breakfast, fan, tv, mac computer, balcony, comfy duvet, coffee in the room, and very clean attached bathroom.
We bought a market pizza and tried to cook it in the kitchen, but there was no oven. The owner took the pizza home, and cooked it at his house. How kind! He came back with a hot pizza and complimentary bottled water. He mapped the city out for us with tips on where to go.
Click here to book a room in Valencia
Tip:
Sometimes staying somewhere with decent, but not great ratings, is good because they work a bit harder to get higher reviews. The beach was beautiful! After being in hot Spanish cities, nothing could have been more refreshing. Sunburnt and tired from playing in the waves we headed back.
Casco Antiguo
Touring Old Town through Casco Antiguo is an adventure on it’s own. The food market had stall after stall of hanging meats. I’d be grossed out if they weren’t so good. I ate ham every day in Spain! We spent the majority of the time hanging out in the main square or silk and central markets, but did see the Central Post office, Chapel of the Holy Grail, Plaza de la Reina, Serranos Towers and half a day at the Oceanogrific (aquarium).
The building of the aquarium on it’s own is beautiful sculpture that resembles a whale (or dolphin?) and it’s surrounded by cold blue water… that you can’t get in. So cruel on a hot day! There was a dinosaur museum as well.
Upon returning to our hostel, the owner informed us he’d accidently over booked and we’d have to leave. He booked us online a room three times the price of his at the Red Nest Hostel. He even tried to give us cab fare to get there. We were sad to leave, as the bed was so comfortable but we had no choice in the matter. Red Nest was mediocre.
Other options in Valencia
- tours to the hot springs (out of budget)
- renting scooters (we thought we’d wreck)
- tapas tour and the free walking tour (we did these on our own)
- For a nice night out, try Radio City in the middle of downtown, although we didn’t find Valencia to be much of a party scene like Barcelona’s raging nightlife.
It was very old fashioned and full of culture. For us, it was a nice place to enjoy the beach and relax.
Valencia is truly amazing to explore. It looks like it has a lot to offer – from yummy food to stunning beaches! Hope to make it there next summer
Oh awesome! you’ll love it. I wish I had more time there.
nice pictures..of all you can eat breakfast..room..etc..