Valencia: what to book before you go, the Monday closures and the old-town sights that are shut

💡 The Short Version: The Oceanogràfic is €37.00 to €43.05 depending on the date (2026 prices), and the Hemisfèric admits nobody once the film has started. The cathedral is €12 and opens on Sundays only from 14:00. The Lonja and the Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart are €2 each and free on Sundays. IVAM, the Museo de Bellas Artes and the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre are closed on Mondays, San Nicolás admits no visitors, and the Central Market is closed on Sundays. L’Almoina has been closed since July 2026 and the City Museum since 7 September 2026. The 7-day Tourist Card (€15) pays back from the cathedral plus IVAM. Valencia has no tourist tax. From the airport the metro is €4.80. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Oceanogràfic ticketad is from €37 and the old-town walk with entry to the cathedral, San Nicolás and the Lonjaad from €49 (GetYourGuide).

What to book before you go

Prices are the adult rate in euros, from the operators. Buy from the operator: searches for the Oceanogràfic, the Lonja, the Bioparc and San Nicolás return sites with the sights’ names in their web addresses that are not the operators, some selling a €2 monument from €12.

• Everything at a glance. Things to do in Valencia lists each sight with its price and its closed day.
• The City of Arts and Sciences is one company with three buildings you can buy separately or together. The City of Arts and Sciences page says which to pay for, and the Oceanogràfic page covers the aquarium.
• The old town. The cathedral, the Lonja and the Central Market are within a few minutes of each other and each has a page.
• Museums. Valencia museums has the prices, the Monday rule and the free days.
• Free. Free things to do in Valencia lists what costs nothing, the Sunday-free monuments and the views.
• Outdoors. The Turia Gardens and the beaches cost nothing.
• Walks. The old town walk runs from Xàtiva metro station to the Torres de Serranos, and the Turia Gardens walk from the towers to the City of Arts and Sciences, each with what is open on which day.
• Animals. The Bioparc is a zoo that closes at sunset.

The Torres de Serranos, the north gate of the old town. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hours and closed days

Hours are the operators’ own, for autumn and winter 2026/27.

The Lonja, the two gates, the Fallas Museum and the Rice and Natural Sciences museums close on 1 January, 6 January, 1 May and 25 December. The cathedral gives no cultural visit on 1 January, 6 January, 19 March, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, 9 October, 8 December and 25 December. The Museu de les Ciències and the Hemisfèric also close on 25 December. Valencia museums has the hours for the rest.

Closed or changed

• L’Almoina, the Roman forum behind the cathedral: closed since about 21 July 2026 for waterproofing and air-conditioning works that the city puts at 14 months, to autumn 2027.
• The City Museum (Museo de la Ciudad): closed since 7 September 2026.
• The Plaza de Toros is closed for works.
• Weather: the Museu de les Ciències, the Hemisfèric and the Umbracle car park can close in a red weather alert, and the Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart close in rain, fog or strong wind.
• The Tourist Card still lists L’Almoina and the City Museum among its 14 municipal sights. Twelve are open.

The Plaza de la Virgen, with the Basilica on the left and the cathedral’s Apostles Door on the right. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Does the Valencia Tourist Card pay back?

The card is issued by Visit València, the city’s tourism foundation. The 24, 48 and 72-hour cards cost €17, €24 and €30, and the 7-day card, which has no transport, €15. Each is 10% cheaper on Visit València’s website. Valencia Tourist Card: is it worth it? has the sums.

• The 7-day card pays from the cathedral plus IVAM. At €13.50 online it includes both, which cost €17 separately. Add the Lonja, the Torres de Serranos, the Torres de Quart and the Fallas Museum (€8 together) and the saving is €11.50.
• A Sunday wastes it. The Lonja, the two gates and the Fallas Museum are already free, and the cathedral opens only from 14:00.
• The 24, 48 and 72-hour cards add transport, 14 municipal sights, two of them shut, and a tapa and drink at partner bars. They pay back only for someone who takes the airport metro both ways (€4.80 each) and rides daily.
• The City of Arts and Sciences is 10% off, and the Bioparc 10%. The Ceramics Museum and CaixaForum are 50% off, and so is IVAM on the 24, 48 and 72-hour cards.

The tourist tax

Valencia has none, and the regional government rejected one in May 2026.

Getting in from the airport

Valencia airport to the city compares the options.

• The airport is its own fare zone, which is why the metro costs €4.80 and not the €1.50 of a single in zone A.
• The last weekday metro from the airport leaves at 22:32, or 23:27 on Fridays. After that, take a taxi or the Metrobus night service.

Getting around

The old town is walkable, and the Turia Gardens lead on foot or by bike to the City of Arts and Sciences. Valencia public transport has the rest.

Buy metro tickets at the station machines, which take cards. On an EMT bus, pay the single in cash or by card at the validator. The SUMA tickets cover the EMT, the metro and tram, Metrobus and Renfe Cercanías in zones A and B. Bus 95 follows the Turia past the Bioparc, the Museo de Bellas Artes and the Torres de Serranos to the City of Arts and Sciences and the Marina.

Entry rules for Spain

Spain is in the Schengen area, and one 90-day allowance covers every Schengen country you visit. The rules below are for a tourist stay.

The passport rule is the EU’s, for every non-EU visitor (Your Europe).

• Entry/Exit System (EES): non-EU visitors are registered at the border on their first entry to the Schengen area, with fingerprints and a photo. It is free, needs nothing before you travel, and replaces the passport stamp; it has run in full since 10 April 2026 (EU).
• ETIAS: not yet required. The EU says it will announce the start date several months before launch (EU).
• Border checks on onward trips: Italy has been checking air and sea arrivals from Spain since September 2026, on notices renewed every week or two, and France checks all its borders with Spain from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027. Carry your passport on any trip to Italy or France.
• Official travel advice for Spain: UK Foreign Office, US State Department, Canada and Australia.

Day trips

Day trips from Valencia compares every trip by train, bus and tour. The ones with something to know:

• L’Albufera: EMT bus 24 or 25 takes under an hour, and the boat from the pier is €4 to €6 for about 40 minutes, with no booking.
• Xàtiva: Cercanías line C-2 from Estació del Nord takes 49 minutes. The castle is €6 and closed on Mondays.
• Sagunto: the castle and the Roman theatre are free and closed on Mondays.
• Peñíscola, Requena, Alicante, Montanejos and Chulilla have a section each in the day trips guide.
• Madrid and Barcelona are rail days: Madrid is under two hours by high-speed train.

Tours, food, drink and when to go

Valencia walking tours, the hop-on hop-off bus and bike tours set the guided options side by side. Where to eat in Valencia lists the restaurants, best paella in Valencia says where to order it and best horchata in Valencia where to drink it. Valencia food tours compares the guided ones. Best time to visit Valencia gives the weather by month, with Las Fallas 2027, 15 to 19 March, and Valencia at Christmas 2026 for the dates that change a visit.

What changed in 2025 to 2026

• 2026: the City of Arts and Sciences raised the Oceanogràfic to €43.05, €39.45 and €37.00 and the Museu de les Ciències to €9.90.
• 10 April 2026: the EU Entry/Exit System became fully operational.
• 21 July 2026: L’Almoina closed for works.
• 7 September 2026: the City Museum closed.
• 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027: the period of France’s notified border controls, which include its border with Spain.

Plan the trip

• Where to sleep: where to stay in Valencia compares the areas, with Ruzafa and El Carmen each in a guide.
• Getting there and about: Valencia airport to the city, Valencia public transport and the cruise port to the city.
• When to go: best time to visit Valencia, Las Fallas 2027 and Valencia at Christmas 2026.
• Everything at a glance: things to do in Valencia.
• The sights: the City of Arts and Sciences, the Oceanogràfic, the cathedral, the Lonja, the Central Market and the Bioparc each have a guide. Valencia museums covers the rest, and Valencia Tourist Card: is it worth it? runs the card sums.
• Outdoors and free: the Turia Gardens, the beaches and free things to do in Valencia.
• With children: Valencia with kids sorts the sights by age.
• How many days: 3 days in Valencia builds the plan round the bookings and the closed days.
• Walks: the old town walk and the Turia Gardens walk.
• Tours: walking tours, the hop-on hop-off bus, bike tours and food tours.
• Food and drink: where to eat in Valencia, paella and horchata.
• Day trips: day trips from Valencia, with L’Albufera, Xàtiva and Sagunto.
• Onward by train: Madrid and Barcelona are the other ends of the high-speed lines.
• A hen weekend: best cities for a hen do sets Valencia against seven other cities, with the paella class and catamaran prices in euros and the dates of Las Fallas.
• With young children: best city breaks with kids sets Valencia against seven other cities, with the Oceanogràfic and Bioparc prices by age, the free ages and the step-free Metrovalencia.
• On a budget: cheap city breaks in Europe compares Valencia with the other cities on Eurostat price levels, the 24-hour transport pass, the tourist tax and the sights that cost nothing.
• Winter sun: winter sun city breaks compares Valencia’s winter highs of 16 to 17°C and its rain days with the other warm cities.
• A beach break: beach city breaks sets Valencia’s beaches against seven other cities, with the fare, the months the sea reaches 20 °C and the official water quality class.

Itineraries

Day-by-day plans for a first visit.

Itinerary

3 Days in Valencia: Itinerary With Bookings

Three days in Valencia from Tuesday to Thursday: the Central Market, the Lonja, the cathedral and the towers on day one, the Oceanogràfic and the Turia Gardens on day two, IVAM, the Water Court and the Cabanyal beach on day three. What to book, the Monday closures and the Sunday version.

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Which ticket to buy

The official ticket, the tours that include entry, and which sells out first.

Tickets

City of Arts and Sciences Valencia: Tickets and Hours

The Museu de les Ciències is €9.90 and the Hemisfèric €8.90 all year; the Oceanogràfic is €43.05, €39.45 or €37.00 by season, and all three buildings together €51.25, €47.75 or €45.55 (2026 prices). The high-season dates, the combined-ticket rules, the free Umbracle and the Hemisfèric rule.

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Tickets

Oceanogràfic Valencia Tickets: Prices and Hours

An Oceanogràfic adult ticket is €43.05 in high season, €39.45 in mid season and €37.00 in low season (2026 prices). Three dolphin presentations a day are included, the 4D cinema, audio guide, ARCA del Mar and Backstage Tour cost extra, and re-entry needs a combined ticket and a wristband.

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Tickets

Valencia Cathedral Tickets: Holy Grail and Miguelete

A Valencia Cathedral ticket is €12 and includes the Holy Chalice chapel, the museum and an audio guide in 10 languages. It opens on Sundays only from 14:00, gives no visit on 19 March or 9 October, and the Miguelete tower is a separate €3 ticket with 207 steps. The Tourist Card and the guided tours.

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Tickets

Lonja de la Seda Valencia: Tickets, Hours, Free Days

Entry to La Lonja de la Seda, Valencia's UNESCO-listed Silk Exchange, is €2 and free on Sundays and public holidays. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 19:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 14:00; closed 1 and 6 January, 1 May and 25 December. The audio guide, the free tower visits and what each hall holds.

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Tickets

Bioparc Valencia Tickets: Prices and Opening Hours

A Bioparc Valencia adult ticket is from €29.50 and a child's or over-65s' from €23.50, with €1 off each ticket bought online and children under 4 free. It opens every day at 10:00, closes at sunset, admits you until an hour before and does not allow re-entry. Prices, the afternoon discount and what each area holds.

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Tickets

Best Museums in Valencia: Prices and Closed Days

IVAM, the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre, the Ceramics, Silk, Fallas, Rice and Natural Sciences museums are closed on Mondays. Prices, hours, what is free on Sundays and every day, the Tourist Card discounts, and L'Almoina and the City Museum, which are closed.

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Tickets

Valencia Tourist Card: Is It Worth It? The Sums

The 7-day Valencia Tourist Card is €15 (€13.50 online) and pays back from the cathedral plus IVAM. The 24, 48 and 72-hour cards are €17, €24 and €30 (10% less online), include transport and pay back only for heavy use. The sums, the 12 open free sights and the discounts.

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Tickets

Valencia Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Routes and Prices

Valencia has two hop-on hop-off buses with 17 stops each: the red bus at €26 for 24 hours (€28 for 48) and the green bus at €24 (€25 for 48). A ticket is valid only on its own colour. Stop 2, the Plaza de Toros, is closed. EMT bus 95 follows the same riverbed for €2.00.

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Tickets

Valencia Walking Tours: Old Town, Free and Paid

Valencia's pay-what-you-wish old-town tour runs 2 hours 30 minutes from Plaza de la Ciudad de Brujas. Paid walks start from €15, and a €49 tour includes the cathedral, San Nicolás and the Lonja. Which to book, what it saves and the Monday and Sunday catches.

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Tickets

Valencia Bike Tours: Turia, Old Town, E-Bikes

Valencia's guided bike tours run 1.5 to 3 hours from €22.10 to €40, and the City Highlights ride has 2,468 reviews at €28. Visit València sells a daily €30 ride and a €35 Albufera tour; bike hire is from €10 for 24 hours. E-bikes, the Turia route and the Tourist Card discount.

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Day trips from Valencia

Out and back in a day, with the tours compared against going on your own.

Day trip

Day Trips From Valencia: Train, Bus or Tour

Xàtiva is 49 minutes from Valencia by train, Sagunto about 30 and L'Albufera under an hour by bus. Montanejos and Chulilla have no train, Requena's line is a train and a bus, and Peñíscola and Alicante are long days. Each trip compared, with tours from €29.

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Day trip

Albufera Valencia Boat Trip: Bus, Pier and Sunset

L'Albufera is about 10 km south of Valencia. EMT bus 24 or 25 takes under an hour, the pier boat costs €4 to €6 for about 40 minutes with no booking, and Visit València's own bus-and-boat trip is €22. Sunset times by month and the tours from €39 compared.

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Day trip

Xàtiva Day Trip From Valencia: Train and Castle

Xàtiva is 49 minutes from Valencia's Estació del Nord on the Cercanías C-2 line. The castle is €6 and closed on Mondays, the ticket includes two town museums, and private cars cannot reach the castle on Sundays. One coach tour costs €79.

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Day trip

Sagunto Day Trip From Valencia: Castle and Theatre

Sagunto is about 30 minutes from Valencia's Estació del Nord on the Cercanías C-6 line. The castle, the Roman theatre and the History Museum are free, closed on Mondays, open until 18:00 in winter and 14:00 on Sundays. Free guided visits run Tuesday to Sunday.

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Where to stay

Areas and hotels, chosen for a visitor rather than a resident.

Where to stay

Where to Stay in Valencia: Areas and Hotels

For a first visit, stay in the old town or in Ruzafa: the cathedral, the Lonja and the Central Market are on foot from one, the restaurants from the other. The Valencia areas compared, with the dates that fill hotels, what the governments say about safety, and the hotels in each with addresses, star grades and Michelin Keys.

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Where to stay

Hotels Near the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

Hotels near the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia by straight-line distance, from the NH Las Artes and INNSiDE Valencia Oceanic to the Barceló, Primus, AC Hotel and SH Valencia Palace, with each hotel's pool, the rooms that face the complex and the Valencia Marathon on 6 December 2026.

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Airport transfers

From the airport to the centre, every option priced and timed.

Airport

Valencia Airport to City Centre: Metro, Bus, Taxi

From Valencia Airport (Manises, 8 km out) the metro reaches the centre in about 20 minutes on lines 3 and 5, every 15 minutes on weekdays. The ticket is €4.80 because the airport is its own fare zone. Taxis are metered with a €12.50 minimum; Visit València says about €20.

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Getting around

Tickets, passes and the transport a visitor actually uses.

Getting around

Valencia Public Transport: Tickets, Metro, Buses

Valencia's single bus ticket is €2.00, a Metrovalencia single is €1.50 within zone A or B, and a 24-hour SUMA T1 ticket is €4.50 for the metro, tram, buses and Cercanías in zones A and B. The airport zone makes the metro €4.80. Fares, the sights by line, taxis and bikes.

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Getting around

Valencia Cruise Port to City Centre: Bus, Taxi, Tram

Valencia's cruise terminal is 6 km from the city centre: about 15 minutes by taxi (€2.95 supplement from the cruise rank) or 30 minutes by bus 4 or 95 or Metrovalencia. What is open on the day you dock, and the tuk-tuk tour built for cruise passengers.

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What's on, month by month

Festivals, holidays and closures that change a visit.

Events

Best Time to Visit Valencia: Weather by Month

Valencia month by month from AEMET's 1981 to 2010 normals: highs of 16.4°C in January and 30.2°C in August, 77 mm of rain in October, 314 hours of sun in July. Las Fallas on 15 to 19 March 2027, Maritime Holy Week, the Battle of the Flowers, the Marathon and Christmas.

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Events

Las Fallas 2027: Dates, Mascletà and the Cremà

Las Fallas 2027 in Valencia: the big days are Monday 15 to Friday 19 March, the mascletà fires at 14:00 from 1 March and the Cremà is on the night of Friday 19 March. A day-by-day table, what is free, the road cuts, the guided tours and where to stay.

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Events

Valencia Christmas 2026: Markets, Lights, Three Kings

Valencia at Christmas 2026: the nativity route from 1 December to 6 January, the Song of the Sibyl on 18 December, the Marathon on 6 December and the Three Kings on 5 January, with the 2025-26 pattern of lights and ice rink and the closed days on 25 December, 1 January and 6 January.

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Food and drink

Where to eat, what to order and when to book.

Food and drink

Where to Eat in Valencia: What the Sources Agree On

Where to eat in Valencia: the places that 39 English and Spanish publishers name most, from Ricard Camarena, Casa Carmela and La Salita to Casa Montaña and Canalla Bistro, with the Michelin stars, hours, the markets and the places that have closed.

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Food and drink

Best Paella in Valencia: Where to Eat It

Where to eat paella in Valencia, by how many independent pages name the restaurant: Casa Carmela (8 of 10), La Pepica (7), Navarro, Bon Aire and Goya Gallery, with the hours, the booking rules, why there is no legal recipe, the classes from €54 and the closure of Palace Fesol.

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Food and drink

Best Horchata in Valencia: Where to Drink It

Where to drink horchata in Valencia: Horchatería Santa Catalina in El Carmen (open daily 08:15 to 21:30), Horchatería Daniel in Alboraya (since 1949, open to 22:00 or later), El Siglo, the fartons you dip in it, and the D.O. Chufa de Valencia that guarantees the tigernut.

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Food and drink

Valencia Food Tours and Paella Classes Compared

Valencia food tours compared on price, length, meeting point and what is eaten: the old-town wine and tapas tour from €80, tapas walks from €35.99, paella classes from €54, a wine tasting from €61 and the orange farm from €35, with the Sunday rule for the Central Market.

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Walks

Self-guided routes, stop by stop.

Walk

Valencia Old Town Walk: Self-Guided Route and Map

A self-guided walk through Valencia's old town, 3.9 km from Xàtiva metro station to the Torres de Serranos: the Central Market, the Lonja, the cathedral and Miguelete, San Nicolás, the two city gates and El Carmen. A map, every price and opening time, and which day each stop is shut.

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Walk

Turia Gardens Walk, Valencia: Self-Guided Route

A self-guided walk along the Turia Gardens, 4.9 km from the Torres de Serranos to the City of Arts and Sciences: the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Calatrava bridges, the Palau de la Música, Parque Gulliver and the Palau de les Arts. A map, every price and opening time, and which day each stop is shut.

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More guides

Guide

Things to Do in Valencia: Prices and Closed Days

Things to do in Valencia with the price and the closed day of each: the City of Arts and Sciences and the Oceanogràfic (dated tickets), the cathedral (Sundays from 14:00), the Lonja (€2, free Sundays), the Central Market (closed Sundays), the museums that close on Mondays, the Turia Gardens and the beaches.

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Guide

Central Market Valencia: Hours and What to Eat

The Mercado Central in Valencia is free to enter and open Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 15:00; it is closed on Sundays. What to buy, the esmorzaret at the Central Bar, the free cold store, the Sunday collectors' market outside, and the Mercado de Colón, Ruzafa and Cabanyal markets compared.

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Guide

Turia Gardens Valencia: Bridges, Gulliver, Cycling

The Turia Gardens are nine kilometres of free park along Valencia's old river bed, always open. Where to join it, the bridges, the free Gulliver park and its hours, the €4 Botanic Garden, where to hire a bike, and bus 95, which follows the park from the Bioparc to the Marina.

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Guide

Valencia Beaches: Malvarrosa, Patacona, La Marina

Valencia's city beaches, Cabanyal, Malvarrosa and Patacona, are free, reached by Metrovalencia lines 4, 6 and 8 or a dozen bus lines. The 2026 lifeguard season ran 1 June to 15 September. The seafront paella restaurants, La Marina's Veles e Vents building, the Cabanyal quarter and the Rice Museum.

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Guide

Free Things to Do in Valencia (and Free Sundays)

Free things to do in Valencia: the Lonja and the two city gates on Sundays, the Museo de Bellas Artes, MuVIM and the Prehistory Museum every day, the Turia Gardens, the Umbracle, the beaches and the Water Court on Thursdays. The free views, San Nicolás at €16, and what only looks free.

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Guide

Valencia With Kids: What to Book and Skip

Valencia with children: the Oceanogràfic from €27.45 for ages 4 to 12, the Bioparc from €23.50, the Science Museum at €7.60, free under-4s at both animal parks, the free Gulliver park, the beach and the museums that admit under-16s free. Prices by age, and what is open on Mondays.

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Guide

Ruzafa, Valencia: Market, Tardeo, Restaurants

Ruzafa is Valencia's creative neighbourhood south of the old town: the Mercat de Russafa (closed Sundays), tardeo, Parque Central and the restaurants, from La Salita and Fierro to Canalla Bistro and 2 Estaciones, with the craft beer tasting and the paella class that starts at the market.

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Guide

El Carmen, Valencia: Towers, Street Art, Bars

El Carmen is the northwest of Valencia's old town. Its stops from the Torres de Serranos to the Torres de Quart, the Plaza de la Virgen, the cathedral, the Lonja and the Central Market, with prices and closed days, the free Centre del Carme and the Water Court, and the old-town guided walk compared with going alone.

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