We lived in Valencia, Spain for 6 weeks –
Here’s what we learned
Summer of 2023, me, my husband, and my daughter decided to pack up and leave the USA and head to Spain. We wanted to travel the world, to explore places longer than just a few days so we could really get the feel of things, to figure out our place in the world, and possibly find somewhere that felt like home.
We started in Valencia, Spain. Why you ask? Welp, because it was a lesser known bigger city, full of things for children to do, cheap, and close to the beach. We’re from Orange County, California. So we’re beach people. We did a lot of research on Valencia before making the decision to “live” there. Majority of the things we read were true, but we also learned some things that we never came across in our research.
So, if you’re looking to get away, short term or long term, here is some info you should know before you go to Valencia. If you are needing some services when traveling, feel free to click any of our affiliate links here: Hotels
The Language
Coming from California, we are very close to Mexico. I’ve worked in kitchens for 20 years, and the majority of my co-workers are Mexican. I’ve picked up Spanish through working, and my husband took Spanish in high school and some in college. The Spanish in Valencia is very different from Mexican Spanish. They have a lisp, an accent, there are some words that are completely different, and they seem to shorten a lot of words. We got some strange looks when saying “hasta luego” (see you later/goodbye). In Valencia they say “a luego”. Or we would say “buenos dias”, but there it is “bon dia”. Little things here and there that were so different. We were able to translate some, but definitely not as much when we’re home.
They also speak Catalan there, so you will see a lot of signs that have two words on it. One in Spanish, the other in Catalan. The Catalan language uses the letter X a lot, which is how we were able to differentiate between the two. It seems like everyone there can speak both, and most people also speak English.
Public Transportation
The first few weeks we were in Valencia, we walked everywhere. It is a very walkable city, but during the summer it is very hot and humid. We had the EurRail Pass the first week we were there, but we ended up paying for cabs to take us to the train station.
Click Here to learn more about the EuRail Pass..it can get pretty tricky.
After our train passes expired, we looked into bus tickets, and totally kicked ourselves for not doing it sooner. You can also get a 24, 48 or 72 hour ‘Tourist Card‘ that gives you access to public transportation, museums and discounts on plenty of other things to do while visiting Valencia.
Getting your Bus Pass
You need to visit a “Tabac” shop to purchase your bus passes. They load them onto a card. 10 bus trips costs about $10 the first time because you are also purchasing a reloadable card. After that you can reload your card with 10 bus trips for $4.50. Children under the age of 6 travel for free. The buses were super easy to navigate.
Getting Around
There is a QR code at every bus stop that will show you the schedule and the stops. The buses show up every 5-10 minutes, and all were clean and air conditioned. If you check out the Google Transportation option on Google Maps, it will even show you if the bus is busy, if it’s behind schedule, and if it feels hot or cool. There are designated seats on the bus for the elderly or pregnant mothers, and even if the bus was packed, people would not sit in these seats. So respectful! There were a few instances where the bus was so packed, standing room only and barely any room to stand, and the older folk would offer to put our daughter in their laps so she could sit.
We also took the metro. You can buy tickets in the station, it is easy to figure out which one to take and where it goes, and it is super fast and cheap. We took a bus to the metro station, and from there we took the metro to the airport. Our metro ticket was 3 Euro per person (our 4 year old was free), and our journey took about 15 minutes. Totally beats a 35 Euro cab ride to the airport which would have taken close to 30 minutes with traffic.
Check out RailEurope for more.
If visiting Valencia, USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. I cannot stress that enough!
Grocery Stores
Holy cheap. We had read that grocery stores were cheap, and local produce stands were even cheaper. When we first arrived, we went to the grocery store to get all of the necessities for living, and the basic food staples. We could not get over how cheap everything was. Bath products ranged from 1.50 euro to 5 euros for the “better” brands. Laundry soap and cleaners all averaged about 3 euro. 6 liter jugs of water are .87 euro. Baguettes were about .37 euro. After our first visit to this grocery store, which was a “Mercadona”, we eventually learned that this was one of the more “pricier” stores in the area. Say what?!
Produce Stands
We made our way to a local produce store, but everything here was actually much more expensive, and a lot of it was rotten. The fruits and veggies sit outside in the heat all day, so you really need to dig to find something decent. I understand supporting local farmers, but I also don’t want my tomatoes covered in mold and triple the price as the local grown selection in the store.
Consum Store
The store we visited the most was a “Consum” store. It was right across the street from our apartment, and there are so many scattered throughout Valencia. They have a great selection, just like a grocery store you would find in the US. The produce you bag and weigh yourself and they require a glove to be worn when touching any produce. I love that. Our family is currently obsessed with tomato toast for breakfast. I would get about 5-6 vine ripe tomatoes at a time and it would cost about 1 euro or less. The plums in Valencia are seriously out of this world. They were perfectly sweet and the most beautiful dark red color inside. We ate a lot of fruit while we were here, and the plums and watermelon are by far the best.
Alcohol
The alcohol is so cheap. We were getting liters of sangria for about 2 euro, most wine is between 2-5 euros (there were also CHEAPER than 2 euro options, but they said that’s mostly cooking wine, and there are also more expensive options.) While on a budget, 2 buck chuck is the way to go.
Hours
All of the grocery stores are closed on Sundays! Every Sunday. All day. There were a few produce stands that were open, but only for a few hours, and some Sundays they weren’t open at all. I think the owners just kind of make their own schedules.
Shelf Stable Items
Eggs are shelf stable. The first few trips to the store I was looking for eggs and just kind of gave up, until I found them on the end cap of one of the aisles. Nowhere near the refrigerated sections and in the hot store. Huh?! I looked into this, and it’s because the eggs are not required to go through extensive washing, which leaves the protective coating on the egg. In some European countries, they give their egg laying hens vaccines against Salmonella. Who would have thought?!
Milk is also shelf stable. I didn’t see any milk in the refrigerator section, and there is also no coffee creamer. You can buy coffee pods that are “cafe con leche”, but there is no flavored creamer, not powdered creamer, NOTHING. So if you like a little cream with your coffee, then you might have to buy shelf stable milk, or bring your own.
Cook at Home
With the grocery stores being so well stocked and accessible, we were able to make some seriously delicious, and cheap meals at home. We love eating out and trying new foods while traveling. It’s honestly my favorite thing about this! But it is not the best thing for our wallets, or our bodies, when doing it every night. Being able to cook at home, and trying to recreate some of these new dishes we’ve tried, was my favorite part of the stay.
Valencia Market
Another place you HAVE to check out is the Valencia Market, or Mercat Central de Valencia. It is the largest indoor market in Europe with fresh produce. It has hundreds of stalls filled with fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, olives, baked goods, candy, souvenirs, and fresh local produce. There are a few bars and restaurants inside, but only a few have bar stools, no tables. So if you decide to eat there, keep in mind you will be standing and eating. Most people grab a beer, fresh sangria or aqua de valencia and cruise around the market. It’s crowded, loud, and you smell a hundred different things at once. I loved it. The prices here were a little bit more than the stores, but I believe the quality of the food is far better than any of the grocery stores.
Restaurants
There are so many restaurants to choose from here. Again, most closed on Sundays, some on Mondays, and others on Tuesdays. They also have strange hours. Some open at 8:00am and close at 1:00pm. Then open up again at 7:00pm until 10:00pm. Some don’t open until 5:00pm, and some don’t even open until 8:00pm. So if you find a place that you really want to eat at, remember to check their hours.
I cannot tell you how many times we were let down when we walked a long way to a restaurant, just to see that they were closed. Some cafes/bars will be open late, but the kitchens won’t be open. So you can go drink all you want, but don’t expect any food. This happened a lot on Sundays and Mondays. So, note to self: if you want to go out to eat in Valencia, shoot for Wednesday through Saturday, and go later in the day.
Paella
Having a culinary background, I was so excited to eat all of the paella. This is where it comes from! We tried paella in the majority of the places we went, ranging from $100 to $5. I never did find one that was truly amazing. The most expensive one we had was extremely salty, and too fishy tasting for my liking. The cheapest one we had was dry and overcooked. Everything in between was just.. meh. We honestly had better paella in different cities in Spain, Barcelona being the best. We scoured the internet, reading hundreds of reviews of different paella, and never found one that was to die for. So, if you are planning on having a paella fest while in Valencia, better to go with the medium priced ones. Save yourself some money, and it will be just as good, if not better, than the super expensive places.
Patatas Bravas
Majority of the restaurants, further inland and away from the beach, are super cheap. Patatas bravas is where it’s at! These little diced, boiled, and fried potatoes come with a “bravas” sauce which is a slightly spicy, paprika sauce and an aioli. Sometimes the aioli is just mayonnaise, and sometimes it’s garlicky and lemony. The brava sauces were all different too. Some were just glorified creamy ketchup, and others had an actual kick to it.
**Please Note! Nothing is actually really spicy in Valencia!** My husband is obsessed with spicy food. He actually carries Tapatio packets with him everywhere he goes. He will always order something from the menu if it has the word “Spicy” in it. We had maybe 2 things in all of Spain that had a kick to it, but nothing was ever really spicy. Our 4 year old daughter is also a fan of spicy food, and she was able to handle everything that claimed it was spicy.
Anyways, back to Patatas Bravas. This little appetizer, or tapa, is so cheap and you can find them at pretty much every restaurant in Valencia. They usually cost about 2-3 euros, but the more fancy places sell them for 5-7 euros. Honestly, the cheaper ones ended up being so much better.
Ice Cream
Spaniards love them some ice cream. There are so many “heladerias” or ice cream shops in Valencia. Some are gelato, some are ice cream, and all were fantastic. Every store or mini mart also has a freezer full of popsicles and ice cream cones. The best places we tried are the “Jijonenca” stores. The quality of the gelato and the cones were the best.
These ice cream shops also have horchata. Which is VERY different from the horchata we in the US and Mexico are used to. The Jijonenca shops make theirs in house. The horchata in Spain is made with tiger nuts, instead of rice like we are used to. It is called Horchata de Chufa there. Tiger nuts aren’t nuts at all! They’re considered a tuber, and are actually the roots of a local plant called a Sedge. The taste of the horchata here is sweet, creamy, and iced cold. Perfect for a hot day at the beach.
Cheap Drinks
Beers at restaurants are usually the same price as water, and sometimes even cheaper. You can get a beer for about 2 euros.
Sangria was our drink of choice while here. It was super cheap, and so so good. We would usually order a pitcher while we were out, which was about 4 glasses (or goblets) each, and cost about 8-10 euros for the pitcher. It was always filled with fruit, and one or two humongous ice cubes.
Another local favorite drink is Aqua de Valencia. It’s like a better version of a mimosa. It’s orange juice, cava or sparkling wine, gin, and vodka. It usually has sugar added as well. It’s sweet, and you can barely taste the alcohol. We actually had to ask on a few occasions if there was any alcohol in it, and got laughed at because of the amount they put in! These are also pretty cheap, about 10 euro for a pitcher.
The drinking vibe in Valencia, and Spain, well pretty much all of Europe, is a lot different from the US. People don’t look at day drinking as “oh you clearly have an addiction”. They are responsible, and enjoy a drink or two during the day while catching up with friends, or having something nice to go with their lunch, then back to work they go. It’s a way of life here. And one that I could get used to! It was nice ordering a sangria with lunch and not getting side eyed by the server. My patience is usually pretty thin come lunch time, between my anxiety and a very talkative and energetic toddler, so having a drink helped calm my nerves and recenter myself. Think what you want, but that’s just my honest opinion.
Ice?
Another thing with restaurants is don’t expect much ice in your drinks. While we were exploring, we would usually stop at a restaurant or cafe because we were in dire need of something cold to drink. When they bring you your drink, and if you ask for ice, it is usually one giant ice cube. Asking for extra ice gives you strange looks. And most drinks they get out of their cooler and bring you (bottled sodas or juices) were almost room temperature.
Kid Friendly
I have never seen so many playgrounds in my life. There had to be at least 10-15 playgrounds within 1 mile of our apartment. You literally cannot walk anywhere without passing one. Every single beach we went to had a playground on it. There weren’t very many children playing on them during the July/August months we were there, because they were scorching. And some have metal slides. Some playgrounds are pretty basic, but most are super colorful and full of slides of all sizes, swings, bouncy animal things, see-saws. Everything. We would plan on walking 5 minutes down the street, and it would end up taking 30+ minutes because our daughter absolutely HAD to stop at every playground.
The Mall
The mall, El Cortes Ingles or Carrefour, was jam-packed with trampoline parks, rides, playgrounds, and designated infant play places (and most were located near a candy store or ice cream shop, some even had little cotton candy machines in them. Smart. Real smart.)
There was also a large mall called, Centre Comercial Saler. This was your prototypical mall experience with stores, restaurants, etc. It was just a few minutes from the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. A great place to shop, grab a quick bite or to just get some reprieve from the heat. There is a large parking garage below the mall that is pay by the hour.
Also, most bars and cafes are located near a playground. We were staying close to a couple preschools, and I noticed around 4-5 o’clock, the playgrounds were full of children, and the bars were full of moms. Parents give their kids a lot of freedom here. The cafe/bar that was closest to our house had some distance between it and the playground. When my daughter is on the playground, I am a total helicopter parent, constantly making sure she’s not putting her hands in her mouth or licking the slide, or falling from the top of the playground. But not moms in Valencia. They were perfectly content sitting a bit further away and not hovering. I guess I should learn a thing or two from them.
Gulliver Park
The most famous park in Valencia is Gulliver Park. If you’ve never read the book or seen the movie Gulliver’s Travels, then 1. What planet have you been living on? 2. You must before you visit. Then it’ll all make sense. The park is huge! It’s free to visit, and has restrooms and drinking fountains available. There were people working there so when you first enter, they tell you that you have a 20 minute time frame there. I think this is so it doesn’t get too busy, but it was also extremely hot that day, so it could be to ensure the safety of the kids. They did such a great job with this park. Our daughter watched the movie over, and over, and over before we went, so she was so excited pretending to be a Lilliputian!
The People
Pretty much everyone we encountered was friendly. Not over the top, super warm and welcoming, but no one was flat out rude to us. We stayed in a not so touristy part of town and most places we went to were considered a “locals only” kind of place. We did get a lot of stares, but I think most of them were wondering how we got all the way over there, instead of the super hip places near the beach.
Team Effort
The elderly looooove them some kids. My daughter is pretty freakin cute, and the older people sure did notice her. Most would get down on her level and speak to her in Spanish, and nearly keel over when she would respond in Spanish to them. They are also very touchy. Coming from the US, especially in the world we live in today, the first few times someone reached out and grabbed my daughter and kissed her hand or ruffled her hair, I thought I was going to have a heart attack and go full Karen on them. But then I started realizing that all the kids got this attention, and older folk look at raising kids as a community effort.
Like I mentioned earlier, we had a few people offer to hold our daughter on the bus for us. I watched a mom on the bus struggling with her 2 toddlers and a baby. An elderly gentleman got up from his seat, grabbed the baby from her without saying a word, and told one of the little boys to go sit in his seat while the mom got the other kid under control. She didn’t even blink an eye that this guy had just taken her baby from her. At first I thought maybe they knew each other or they were related, but then she thanked him and got off the bus with her kids while he continued on his way. I was flabbergasted. If we were in the US and someone did this, I would think they were trying to kidnap my child and I would make a huge scene. People are so trusting of each other here, and it is so refreshing.
Beautiful Friendships
Our daughter made many friends while we were here. It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak the same language. Dancing in an ice cream shop, sharing sand toys on the beach, and playing on the playground requires no verbal communication. She made friends and played with so many children from so many different backgrounds. Race, religion, and language barriers made no difference.
Oh, what a world it would be if everyone thought this way.
The Beaches
Valencia is located on the coast of the Balearic Sea. The entire coast is a big sandy beach you can swim at. There are so many different beaches, and we honestly tried to go to every one.
The Main Beach
The most popular/touristy beach is called Playa de Arena or Platja de Llevant. The boardwalk is nice, a ton of shops and restaurants, showers and public restrooms. Cruise ships are usually docked near here so that’s where most of the traffic comes from. But with that comes a lot of trash. We tried to do our part and picked up a bag of trash everyday we went to the beach. Then we could go swimming.
I’m not sure what was going on near the water while we were there, but there was a lot of debris where the sand meets the water. It was like someone dumped a bunch of mulch along the water. Everyone coming out of the water was covered in it, and you had to go a bit of a ways out before you reached cleaner water. The first few times we went, there were big fish jumping out of the water! I don’t know what they were going after, but it was strange. Our daughter thought it was just the best, but it gave me the heebie jeebies for some reason.
To Jump or Not to Jump
If you walk 5 minutes towards the docks, you will notice a people sunbathing on the docks and jumping in the water to cool off. You’ll also see a bunch of juvenile delinquents doing backflips into the water, aka my husband and brother in law. We did this for a few days. There are no waves, less crowded, we didn’t have to get all sandy. It was great. Until the cops rolled up and told us “no swimming!” There are no swimming signs, but there were so many other people doing, we figured why not. I think that jumping into the water is ok, but not actual swimming.
Beach Clubs
If you walk down a little ways, you will reach Platja del Cabanyal. This beach and the water were a lot cleaner and still had plenty of restaurants and souvenir stands along the boardwalk. There were plenty of volleyball nets, public bathrooms, showers, and life guards. Both beaches have “beach clubs” where you can rent chairs and umbrellas for the day. Most also have a little bar close by. I read that during the off season most of these places are about 10-15 euro for the day, but most of them were about 20-40 euro while we were there. We decided to save our money and just post up with a towel.
Locals Only
There were a few days where we took a bus, or two, and found a “locals only” beach. These are the places to go if you want to avoid the crowds, and the trash. Playa de la Malvarrosa and Pinedo Beach were our favorites. Both had only a few restaurants and no shops, but we were there to swim and have a good time. Not to shop. The restaurants at both beaches were excellent with fair prices, but the lack of people was the best part.
Suns out Buns out
Something to keep in mind while you’re visiting the beaches in Spain, is that all are topless friendly. Women of all ages are swimming or sunbathing, letting it all hang out. No tan lines for the locals! I was wondering if/when my daughter would say something about it, but she never did. It is just so accepted there, and I love that. She didn’t see anyone else making a big deal about it, so why would she? Just another win for us, letting her see that everyone of all shapes and sizes should be totally comfortable with their bodies.
The Streets
It stinks. Every street we walked down there was the smell of sewer back up. We were in Barcelona a few weeks before, and it stunk there too. We also took a few road trips while we were there, and it smelled in all of those places too! Some places were not as bad as others, but there was always the lingering smell of sewer in residential areas.
So many Dogs
Valencia is a very dog friendly place, but there is limited grass space, so dogs do their business all over the sidewalks. Most people carried a water bottle and sprayed down their dogs pee afterwards, and most people cleaned up after the pets. But not all. So be careful where you step. It’s like dodging landmines while walking down the sidewalk.
The sidewalks are all very narrow, and most people here don’t know how to share the sidewalk. Usually when you’re walking and you see someone coming towards you, you would move to the side so you could safely pass each other. Nope. Not here. People would walk in the middle of the sidewalk, see you coming, and not move an inch. There were a number of occasions where we would walk in the street to go around, and almost get hit by a car. I just cannot understand why.
Trash Day
The trash system here is AMAZING. There are huge trash receptacles pretty much on every street, and all are specifically labeled for what goes in there. Cans for glass, cardboard, plastic, food trash, other trash, and even a can for used oil! With the amount of trash cans, and the complexity of their recycling system, I was truly surprised that there was so much trash on the streets and in the parks. There are smaller trash cans all along the streets, the beach, and in parks. You do not have to carry trash for long, because there is a trash can every few feet.
Day Trips
Valencia is in a great location to take day trips! We found some of the coolest little towns this way. An hour train ride from Valencia will take you to Peniscola, which has a beautiful bright blue sea and an old castle overlooking the beach. Probably the best beach and food experiences we had during our stay in Spain.
We also took an hour bus ride to Bunol where we hiked to a waterfall and swam in a cave. If you search Turche Cave or Cueva Del Turche on Google, then click ‘public transportation‘ directions, it should give you a few different options based on your exact location in Valencia. If you are with little ones, I would recommend driving there if possible since there is a bit of a hike from the bus stop to the waterfall and some of the walk is on a 2 lane road with no real pedestrian lanes.
Then we rented a car (for about $30) and drove an hour to Calpe, another beautiful beach town. These cities are where the locals go to vacation. Coming from driving on the busy freeways in California, these hour drives were quiet and scenic. Such a better experience traveling this way! Some people get nervous about driving in a different country. Me. It’s me. I am those people. But my husband loves it.
Driving here is not much different from driving in the US. There are speed limit signs posted everywhere, the cars have GPS, and street signs clearly visible. The only slightly confusing part is there are a lot of roundabouts, so you kind of just have to go for it sometimes, and the bigger roundabouts in major cities lack lanes. That was the scariest part. Also there are a lot of one lane streets here, but as long as you go with the flow of traffic you’ll be fine.
Take Advantage of the Cheap Flights
We also capitalized on the low cost airline tickets to neighboring countries and were able to fly, round trip to Portugal, for about 30 euros. These tickets usually only allow for a small carry on that fits under your seat so this option is only budget friendly if you are able to leave your luggage at your hotel/vacation rental for a mini vacation within your vacation. Our flights were cheapest from Madrid so we ended up catching an early train there so we could explore the city for the day before our evening departure to Lisbon. We had a couple family members visiting and this was one of the highlights of their trip. Overall, the 2 day trip to Portugal cost about $200 USD per person which was well worth it.
If you are planning on staying in Valencia, short or long term, I highly recommend looking into taking a little day/weekend trip!
The City of Arts and Sciences
Valencia is home to one of the biggest scientific and cultural complexes in Europe. Built in 1996 by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela, the complex is made up of 6 large elements which include L’Hemisferic (an IMAX cinema), Oceanografic (Europe’s largest aquarium), Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (an opera house), Principe Felipe Science Museum (an interactive science center) , the Umbracle (an open structure and landscaped walkway), and the Agora (a place for concerts and other activities).
It has beautiful architecture, the coolest aquarium, and the best science museum we’ve been to. It is surrounded by water where you can rent kayaks, water bikes, or play in big water balls. We spent a lot of time here visiting the different centers, which are all very affordable and kid friendly. Just walking around and soaking up the views, stopping to have a picnic outside, was a super cheap way we were able to spend our days, and get our toddlers energy out!
All in all, we loved this city. I don’t think I would ever live there, but we will gladly be back to visit. There is so much to do, and we left so much unseen. I already have a list of things we must do when we go back!
4 Responses