In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Turia Gardens, the Umbracle, the beaches, the Plaza de la Virgen and the Basilica cost nothing. The Museo de Bellas Artes, MuVIM, the Prehistory Museum and the Museu de la Mar are free every day, all closed on Mondays. On Sundays and public holidays the Lonja and the Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart are free and open 10:00 to 14:00, and the Water Court sits on Thursdays at 12:00. What only looks free: the cathedral (€12, from 14:00 on Sundays), the Miguelete (€3), San Nicolás (€16) and the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre (€12, free on Wednesday afternoons by reservation). The Central Market is free but closed on Sundays. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the tip-based walking tourad is from €2.99 and the historical walking tourad from €15 (GetYourGuide).
What is free
| What | Rule | Hours | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turia Gardens | Free | Always open | Nine kilometres of park along the old river bed, from the old town to the City of Arts and Sciences |
| Umbracle, City of Arts and Sciences | Free | The complex’s hours | A 320-metre walkway with an art promenade; the City of Arts and Sciences page has it |
| Parque Gulliver | Free | November to February 10:00 to 17:30 | A children’s park built as a giant figure. Closed 25 December and 1 January |
| The beaches | Free | Always | Cabanyal, Malvarrosa and Patacona |
| Central Market | Free | Monday to Saturday 7:30 to 15:00 | Closed Sundays |
| Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados | Free | Daily 7:30 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 21:00 | Beside the cathedral; the museum next door is €4 |
| Plaza de la Virgen | Free | Always | Between the Basilica, the cathedral and the Palau de la Generalitat |
| Water Court | Free to watch | Thursday 12:00 | At the cathedral’s Apostles’ Door |
| Museo de Bellas Artes | Free | Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 20:00 | Closed Mondays |
| MuVIM, Museu de Prehistòria, Museu de la Mar | Free | Tuesday to Sunday; hours vary | Closed Mondays; Valencia museums has the hours |
| Estación del Norte | Free | Daily 5:30 to 23:59 | The modernist station beside the bullring |
| Palau de la Generalitat | Free | Visits Monday to Friday 9:00 to 14:00 | By email request only, to protocolo.visitaspalau@gva.es |
| Lonja and the two city gates | Free on Sundays and holidays | Sunday 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 on other days |
Tours worth paying for
A free walk with a guide is the cheapest way into the old town’s history; the paid tours add entry tickets. Prices are the lowest “from” prices, per person.
Tip-based walking tour
From €2.99 · 4.6 stars from 53 reviews
Valencia: Tip-Based Essentials Walking Tour by Local Guidesad is a 2.5-hour walk in which €2.99 is the booking fee and you tip the guide at the end.
Historical walking tour of the old town
From €15 · 4.6 stars from 411 reviews
Valencia: Historical Walking Tour of Old Town Landmarksad is a 2-hour walk sold by DescubreValencia. Valencia walking tours compares the free and paid tours.
Free on Sundays and public holidays
The municipal monuments and museums that charge €2 on other days are free on Sundays and public holidays, and open 10:00 to 14:00.
| What | Sunday | Other days |
|---|---|---|
| La Lonja de la Seda | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Torres de Serranos | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Torres de Quart | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Museo Fallero | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Museo del Palacio de Cervelló | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Cripta Arqueológica de la Cárcel de San Vicente Mártir | Free, 10:00 to 14:00 | €2 |
| Museo de Ciencias Naturales | Free from 15:00 | €2 |
| Museo Nacional de Cerámica | Free, 10:00 to 14:00; also Saturday from 16:00 | €3 |
| IVAM | Free with a reserved ticket, 10:00 to 19:00; also Wednesday 16:00 to 19:00 | €5 |
| Museo Taurino | Free, 10:00 to 14:00; also Saturday | €2 |
The Lonja, the cathedral and the Central Market do not combine on a Sunday: the Lonja closes at 14:00, the cathedral opens at 14:00 and the market is shut. A Sunday that works starts at the Lonja and the gates from 10:00, takes in a free museum, then reaches the cathedral for 14:00. What to book in Valencia has the week at a glance.
The free views
The best views in the old town cost €2 on a weekday and nothing on a Sunday.
| Viewpoint | Price | Hours | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torres de Serranos | €2; free Sundays | Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 19:00; Sunday 10:00 to 14:00 | A terrace over the old town and the Turia Gardens. Visit València dates the gate to the 14th century, under Pedro IV |
| Torres de Quart | €2; free Sundays | The same hours; in winter it closes with the daylight | A panorama of the old town. The cannonball marks of the Napoleonic siege are on the outside |
| The Miguelete | €3 | Daily 10:00 to 18:45 | 207 steps up a narrow stair, 50 people on the terrace at a time. The cathedral page has it |
Both gates close in rain, fog or strong wind, and Serranos is closed on 1 January, 6 January, 1 May and 25 December. Serranos is also where the Fallera Mayor calls the city to Las Fallas on the last Sunday of February, the Crida.
The old town’s streets and rooftops from the top of the Torres de Quart. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Churches
Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados
Free · daily 7:30 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 21:00 · Plaza de la Virgen
The basilica is the home of Valencia’s patron, the Virgen de los Desamparados, whom Valencians call the “Geperudeta”, the little hunchback. It stands in the Plaza de la Virgen between the cathedral and the Palau de la Generalitat. Next door, the MuMa, the Marian museum, is €5 (€3 reduced). It opens Monday and Friday 10:30 to 13:30, Tuesday to Thursday 10:30 to 13:30 and 17:00 to 19:00, and Saturday 10:00 to 13:30, with its entrance on the Plaza de l’Almoina.
San Nicolás
€16 online, €18 at the door, €19 preferred · closed to visitors on Mondays · Tuesday to Friday 10:30 to 19:00, Saturday 10:00 to 19:00, Sunday 13:00 to 20:00
Visit València calls the church the “Sistine Chapel of Valencia”. The ticket is an immersive one, with an audio guide in five languages and a light-and-video-mapping show, and children up to 12 are free. The €19 preferred ticket skips the queue. A guided visit is €20 on Tuesday to Saturday at 12:30, and a sunset visit €25 on Thursdays at 20:00. The combined ticket with the Hortensia Herrero Art Centre and Santos Juanes is €32 (reduced €25), valid for five days. The Tourist Card takes €1 off. Tickets at sannicolasvalencia.com. The GetYourGuide ticketad is from €16, the operator’s online price, sold by Global Menta.
The frescoed vault of San Nicolás. Photo: Rafa Esteve, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The cathedral
€12 · Sundays from 14:00 only · Plaza de la Reina
Not free, and not open on Sunday mornings. The cathedral page has the prices, the Miguelete and the days it gives no visit.
The old town, the park and the sea
The Plaza Redonda
Free · stalls Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday 8:00 to 14:00
A circular courtyard of craft and lace stalls.
The Turia Gardens and the Umbracle
Free · always open
The Turia Gardens run nine kilometres through the old river bed and lead to the free Umbracle walkway at the City of Arts and Sciences. The Turia Gardens walk follows them for 4.9 km from the Torres de Serranos, and the old town walk strings the free squares and the Sunday-free monuments together.
The beaches
Free · always open
Valencia’s beaches are reached by tram, metro and bus, and the Cabanyal’s Rice Museum and the Museu de la Mar are a short walk from the sand.
What only looks free
- The cathedral: €12, with the Miguelete a further €3.
- San Nicolás: €16 online, and closed to visitors on Mondays.
- The Hortensia Herrero Art Centre: €12, free only on Wednesdays from 15:00 to 20:00 with a reservation.
- The Bioparc and the Oceanogràfic: from €29.50 and from €37.00. The Bioparc and the Oceanogràfic have their own pages.
- L’Almoina and the City Museum: both closed, so neither is free or paid.
Things to do in Valencia puts every sight’s price and closed day in one table, and Valencia museums has the prices and the closed days for every museum. Valencia walking tours lists the pay-what-you-wish old-town tours, and Valencia bike tours hire and guided rides along the Turia Gardens. Valencia Tourist Card: is it worth it? says when the card beats the free days. Valencia with kids lists the free sights for children. El Carmen walks the old town, and 3 days in Valencia places the free Sunday. For a bed, see where to stay in Valencia.
Common questions
What are the best free things to do in Valencia?
The Turia Gardens, the Umbracle at the City of Arts and Sciences, the beaches, the Plaza de la Virgen and the Basilica, the Museo de Bellas Artes and, on Sundays and public holidays, the Lonja and the Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart. The Water Court sits on Thursdays at 12:00.
What is free in Valencia on Sundays?
The Lonja de la Seda, the Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart, the Fallas Museum, the Cervelló museum and the San Vicente crypt on Sundays and public holidays, the Ceramics Museum, the Natural Sciences museum from 15:00, and IVAM with a ticket reserved online. The cathedral is not free and opens only from 14:00, and the Central Market is closed.
Which Valencia museums are free every day?
The Museo de Bellas Artes, MuVIM, the Prehistory Museum and the Museu de la Mar, on the days they are open. All four are closed on Mondays.
Is there a free view of Valencia?
The Torres de Serranos and Torres de Quart are free on Sundays and public holidays, and each has a rooftop terrace. On other days they are €2, and the Miguelete tower is €3. The towers close in rain, fog or strong wind.
Is San Nicolás church free?
No. A ticket is €16 online and €18 at the door, and the church admits no visitors on Mondays. The Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados, by the cathedral, is free.
Is the Valencia Tourist Card worth it for free things?
No: most of what is free is free without it. The card pays back from the cathedral plus IVAM on the 7-day card.
