3 days in Valencia: an itinerary built round the Oceanogràfic booking, the Monday museum closures and the Sunday-morning cathedral

💡 The Short Version: Day 1, Tuesday: the Central Market (free, shut Sundays), the Lonja (€2), the cathedral (€12, the Miguelete €3), San Nicolás (€16 online) and the Torres de Serranos (€2). Day 2, Wednesday: the Oceanogràfic (€37.00 to €43.05 by date, booked), the Museu de les Ciències (€9.90) and the Turia Gardens. Day 3, Thursday: IVAM (€5), the Water Court at 12:00, a paella booked at Casa Carmela and the Cabanyal. Monday shuts the museums, and the cathedral opens on Sundays only from 14:00. The plan runs Tuesday to Thursday, which keeps every sight open. 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).

Before you go: what to book

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

The paid sights come to about €89 to €95 a person before transport. The 7-day Tourist Card, €13.50 online, includes the cathedral, IVAM, the Lonja, the Torres de Serranos and the Rice Museum, which cost €23 separately on this plan. The City of Arts and Sciences is 10% off with it.

Getting around

The old town is walkable, and the Turia Gardens lead on foot or by bike to the City of Arts and Sciences. An EMT bus single is €2.00, a metro or tram single in zone A or B €1.50 and a SUMA 24-hour ticket €4.50. Bus 95 follows the Turia from the Bioparc past the Museo de Bellas Artes and the Torres de Serranos to the City of Arts and Sciences and the Marina. Valencia public transport has the rest, and Valencia airport to the city the metro from the airport, €4.80.

The Estación del Norte, beside the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fitting the plan to your dates

The plan runs Tuesday to Thursday, which keeps every sight open. If your days differ:

• Monday. IVAM, the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre, the Rice Museum, the Centre del Carme and San Nicolás are shut to visitors. The cathedral, the Lonja, the towers, the Central Market, the City of Arts and Sciences and the Bioparc are open. Swap day 3 for the Bioparc or the beach, and put a food walk on the evening: see Valencia food tours.
• Wednesday. IVAM is free from 16:00 to 19:00 and the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre from 15:00 to 20:00, both with a reservation.
• Thursday. The Water Court meets at 12:00 at the cathedral’s Apostles’ Door. Visit València lists the sessions until 17 December 2026.
• Saturday. The Central Market closes at 15:00 as on other days, and the Cabanyal beach is busier.
• Sunday. The Central Market is shut, the Lonja and the Torres de Serranos are free but close at 14:00, and the cathedral opens at 14:00. Do the Lonja and the towers first, the cathedral after lunch, and use the Mercado de Colón for the market. San Nicolás opens at 13:00 and IVAM is free.
• Winter. The Torres de Quart and the Torres de Serranos close with the daylight, and the sun sets at about 17:40 in December. The Valencia Marathon on Sunday 6 December 2026 closes roads and fills the hotels near the City of Arts and Sciences.
• March. Las Fallas runs from 15 to 19 March 2027, with the mascletà at 14:00 in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento from 1 March: see Las Fallas 2027. The cathedral gives no visit on 19 March, and the City of Arts and Sciences charges high-season prices from 20 to 28 March.
• Closed or changed. L’Almoina, the Roman forum behind the cathedral, is closed to autumn 2027 and the City Museum has been closed since 7 September 2026.

Day 1: the old town, Tuesday

• 9:00, the Central Market, free, open 7:30 to 15:00. Eat the esmorzaret at the Central Bar, run by the chef Ricard Camarena, between 9:00 and 12:00: the Central Market.
• 10:30, the Lonja de la Seda, €2, across the square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Lonja.
• 11:30, the cathedral, €12, which includes the cathedral museum and an audio guide, and the Miguelete, €3, 207 steps to a view over the old town: the cathedral. Last entry is an hour before closing.
• 13:30, lunch near the Plaza de la Virgen, or a horchata at Santa Catalina, open 08:15 to 21:30: best horchata in Valencia.
• 15:00, San Nicolás, €16 online, open to 19:00, the church known as the Sistine Chapel of Valencia.
• 16:30, the Torres de Serranos, €2, 10:00 to 19:00, for the view over the Turia Gardens before the light goes, and a walk through El Carmen: El Carmen.
• Evening, dinner and tardeo in Ruzafa. La Salita serves dinner from 20:00 to 21:30, Monday to Saturday, and needs a booking: Ruzafa and where to eat in Valencia.

The old town walk puts these sights in walking order, with the Water Court on Thursdays and the Sunday version.

Day 2: the City of Arts and Sciences, Wednesday

• 10:00, the Oceanogràfic, booked for a date at €37.00 to €43.05. The operator puts the visit at about four hours, and the dolphin presentations, three a day, are in the price: the Oceanogràfic.
• 14:00, lunch in the complex or on the way back.
• 15:00, the Museu de les Ciències, €9.90, open to 18:00 on Wednesdays, or a Hemisfèric film at €8.90, which nobody enters once it has started. A combined ticket is cheaper than separate tickets and cannot repeat a building: the City of Arts and Sciences.
• 17:00, the Umbracle, the free walkway with sculpture, then the Turia Gardens back towards the centre on foot, by bike or on bus 95: the Turia Gardens.
• Evening, tapas in the old town or the Mercado de Colón, open to 02:00.

The Turia Gardens walk follows the same riverbed from the Torres de Serranos to the City of Arts and Sciences, past the bridges, the Palau de la Música and Parque Gulliver.

For a bed beside the complex, see hotels near the City of Arts and Sciences.

Day 3: art, the Water Court and the sea, Thursday

• 10:00, IVAM, €5, with a collection from the early avant-garde to the contemporary, or the Museo de Bellas Artes, free, open to 20:00: Valencia museums.
• 12:00, the Water Court, free, at the cathedral’s Apostles’ Door in the Plaza de la Virgen. It is short when there is no dispute.
• 13:00, a paella lunch at Casa Carmela on the Malvarrosa beachfront, booked in advance, open to 16:00: best paella in Valencia.
• 15:00, the Cabanyal and the beach. The Rice Museum, €2, is open to 19:00, and the Cabanyal market closes at 15:00. Walk the promenade to La Marina: the beaches. Metrovalencia lines 4, 6 and 8 and EMT bus 95 reach the coast.
• Evening, Ruzafa again, or an aperitivo on the beach.

The fresco dome of the basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados, on the Plaza de la Virgen. Photo: Joanbanjo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Swap a day for a day trip. L’Albufera is under an hour by EMT bus 24 or 25, with a boat of about 40 minutes for €4 to €6, and day trips from Valencia compares Xàtiva, Sagunto and the rest.

With children

Valencia with kids sorts the sights by age and price, with the Oceanogràfic, the Bioparc and the Gulliver park.

Plan the rest

Where to stay in Valencia compares the areas, and the best time to visit Valencia has the weather by month. What to book before you go to Valencia has the hours for every sight, and things to do in Valencia lists each one with its price and its closed day. For meals, see where to eat in Valencia.