Valencia - Port and seaside neighbourhoods Travel Guides | Valencia | Sub Regions | Valencia - Port and seaside neighbourhoods

Valencia’s huge, industrial port falls well short of picturesque, with its massive cranes and flotillas of battered container ships. Stretching immediately north is the Platja de Malvarrosa, Valencia’s closest city beach, a long, golden strand with stripey 1920’s-style bathing huts, a dwindling number of turn-of-the-20th-century beachside villas, and a line of good seafood restaurants. The humble, little two-storey cottages which line the seaside neighbourhoods of Malvarrosa and El Cabanyal behind the beach once belonged to fishermen, and have been painted in pretty ice-cream colours by their trendy new owners. But the cottages are under threat – the city council wants to bulldoze them and extend the major road of the Avinguda Blasco Ibáñez right down to the beachfront and some locals are up in arms. This area used to be where everyone in Valencia came to party during the summer months, but the action has now moved on to the big megaclubs scattered around the outskirts of the city. Beyond the Malvarrosa is the low-key suburb of Alboraia, the birthplace of ‘horchata’ (orxata in Valenciano), a refreshing drink made from tiger nuts, which is served in old-fashioned cafés with tables out on the squares.

Sights

El Grao/El Puerto (The Port)

Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

The slightly unnerving silhouettes of the massive cranes in Valencia’s port are visible for miles around. The port is one of the largest and most important in Spain with a constant stream of huge tankers lumbering across the horizon.

In the centre of the port is the pretty Tinglado, formerly a storage shed, albeit a very glamorous one, with delicate Modernista ceramics and sinuous, wrought-iron decoration. It’s occasionally used for concerts or outdoor events, but mainly it provides a shelter for the fishermen who line up along the port on Sundays. On the other side of the Tinglado is the winsome little red-brick Estació Maritim/Estación Maritima, with a sweet clocktower. At night, this area, particularly the Calle Doctor Marcos Sopena which leads down to the beach, is a notorious red-light district and should be avoided.

Platjas/Playas/Beaches

Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

Heading north of the port is a long, long sandy beach which stretches for several miles. Valencianos usually just call the whole thing the Platja de Malvarrosa, but in fact it is divided into sections each with a separate name: the section nearest the port is called the Platja de Levante or Platja Las Arenas, where you’ll find a string of restaurants, hotels and bars squeezed next to each other on the Passeig Neptuno. It quickly becomes the Platja de Cabanyal then the Platja de Malvarrosa, and finally the Platja de Alboraia. The water is a tad murky, owing to the proximity of the port (the beaches south of the city are cleaner), but it is still fine for swimming. The amenities are excellent with rows of stripey beach huts, sun-loungers for rent, snack bars, playgrounds and showers along the whole length of the beach from the port to Alboraia. A long, modern promenade, lined with palms, an outdoor market in summer, restaurants and cafés backs the whole length of the beach. The further north you trek, the fewer people you’ll find, but this is still a city beach and you won’t find a quiet corner in the height of summer.

Atarazanas

Plaça/Plaza Juan Antonio Benlliure, T 963 525 478, ext 4299. Winter Tue-Sat 0915-1400, 1630-2000, Sun and holidays 0930-1400, summer Tue-Sat 0915-1400, 1730-2100, Sun and holidays 0930-1400. Admission varies according to exhibitions. Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

In the Middle Ages, Valencia was booming thanks to a brisk trade with other ports around the Mediterranean. These Gothic shipyards were begun at the end of the 14th century and grew to become the largest covered civil building in the whole city. They are built in a series of naves with a wooden roof supported by pale brick arches and some of the city’s finest architects, including Pere Comte (responsible for the Llotja, were involved in the construction and remodelling. The shipyards were used right up until the 19th century, but gradually fell into decline and were temporarily used as warehouses, housing and even, briefly, a cinema. They passed back into the hands of the City Hall in 1949, and have been thoroughly and immaculately restored. Now they make a large, airy and striking backdrop for temporary exhibitions.

Museu de l’Arròs/Museo del Arroz

C/Rosario 3, T 963 525 478, ext 4075. Oct-Mar 0915-1400, 1630-2000, Sun and holidays 0915-1400; Apr-Sep 0915-1400, 1730-2100, Sun and holidays 0915-1400. E 2/1.20. Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

This small museum is set in an old rice mill, built a century ago and long abandoned. The city renovated the building and the University undertook to get the machinery working again, and it has become a delightful little museum dedicated solely to the plump bomba rice which is the principal ingredient in authentic paella. Exhibits trace the history of its cultivation from Arabic times and you can watch the mill in action.

Casa Museu Setmana Santa Marinera/ Casa Museo Semana Santa Marinera

C/Rosario 1, T 963 525 478. Oct-Mar 0915-1400, 1630-2000, Sun and holidays 0915-1400; Apr-Sep 0915-1400, 1730-2100, Sun and holidays 0915-1400. Free. Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

Valencia’s seaside neighbourhoods take Holy Week very seriously and the parades which take place at Easter are the second-biggest festival (after the Fallas) on the city’s calendar. Solemn processions of heavy floats with depictions of the Passion and local saints are followed by the sinister-looking fraternities of penitents in their pointy hoods and capes. This little museum has a collection of the floats, mostly enjoyably kitsch and garish creations from the latter part of the 20th century, as well as photos and other memorabilia.

Casa Museu Blasco Ibáñez/Casa Museo Blasco Ibáñez

C/Isabel de Villena 1, T 963 564 786. Oct-Mar 0915-1400, 1630-2000, Sun and holidays 0915-1400; Apr-Sep 0915-1400, 1730-2100, Sun and holidays 0915-1400. E 2/1.20. Bus 1, 2, 19, 31 and summer only services 20, 21, 22.

At the furthest end of the Platja de Malvarrosa stands a strange, three-storeyed greenish villa, set in its own gardens. This was the seaside home of Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, one of the finest Valenciano writers of the late 19th century. Blasco Ibáñez refused to live in Spain during Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship and exiled himself in France. The house and garden subsequently fell into disrepair and were virtually rebuilt in the 1990s, although the city has tried to reconstruct it is as authentically as possible from old photographs and documents. Downstairs, there is a collection of his novels and copies of the newspaper Pueblo which he established. Upstairs is a thin collection of personal items belonging to him and his family – photos, fans and a few letters.

Travel Guides | Valencia | Sub Regions | Valencia - Port and seaside neighbourhoods
		Flights Cheap flights to any destination worldwide click here		Car Rental Compare prices for worldwide car rental click here		Hotels Lowest prices on over 60,000 hotels worldwide click here		Travel Insurance Compare Travel Insurance prices click here