Day 16 ·
Arriving in Valencia, rice in El Carmen and sunset at Serranos
Valencia · Spain · 4 min read
A last breakfast in Madrid, the AVE to Valencia and an afternoon we reworked that same day: rice in El Carmen, the cathedral and the Miguelete, horchata, clochinas and sunset facing the Torres de Serranos.
- 1
Café de Oriente
A farewell breakfast on the terrace, with the Royal Palace across the way. Then checkout and the Cercanías commuter train from Sol to Chamartín: not to Atocha.
- 2
Valencia Joaquín Sorolla station
Direct AVE from Madrid Chamartín in 1 hour 54 minutes. From here, a ten-minute taxi to the hotel to drop off the bags.
- 3
Central Market of Valencia
On Mondays it is open until 15:00, so it was just a quick look before closing. The full visit was saved for Tuesday morning.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it, for the building and for the real market that starts after the first 30 meters. Go in the morning and use it for snacking, not for lunch. Read the full guide - 4
La Lonja de la Seda (outside only)
Across from the market. Its Monday hours were unclear, so today just the facade, and the real visit on Tuesday.
Our guide Yes: for €2 you see the best Gothic civic building in Spain. It's small, so arrive knowing what to look for and give it half an hour. Read the full guide - 5
El Paeller Valencià
A rice lunch on Calle dels Cavallers. The rice is cooked to order: expect a 20 to 30 minute wait.
- 6
Plaza de la Virgen
The Turia fountain, the Basilica of the Virgin and the cathedral's Apostles' Door, all on one square.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it, and it's free: it's the most beautiful square in Valencia. Come for the buildings and the history, not the terraces, which charge you for the view. Read the full guide - 7
Valencia Cathedral and the Miguelete
First the 207 steps of the Miguelete, while our legs were fresh, and then the Holy Chalice and the Goyas. Shoulders and knees covered.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it: for about €13 you get the Holy Chalice, two Goyas, frescoes that were hidden for 330 years and the best view of Valencia. Climb the Miguelete first. Read the full guide - 8
Horchatería Santa Catalina
Horchata with fartons in an early 19th-century horchatería, tiled from floor to ceiling.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it for a first horchata, for the tiles and nearly two centuries in the same spot. You pay more than in Alboraya; if you become a fan, have your next one there. Read the full guide - 9
El Carmen and the Torres de Quart
Calle dels Cavallers to the Torres de Quart, from 1444, with the cannonball marks from the Napoleonic siege of 1808. Then clochinas at Bar Pilar, the Plaça del Tossal and the murals on Calle Beneficencia.
- 10
Torres de Serranos from the Turia
The north gate of the city wall, from 1392, at sunset from the Turia gardens and the Pont de Fusta. Free; the sun set at 21:10 and afterward they light up the towers.
The day started in Madrid and ended in Valencia. We had breakfast on the terrace at Café de Oriente, checked out and took the Cercanías to Chamartín for the 11:30 AVE. By 1:24 in the afternoon we were in Valencia, and ten minutes of taxi later we were dropping our bags at the hotel.
Why we changed it that same day
On May 25 we caught a mistake: the plan for this day was written as if it were a Sunday, with Sunday hours. It was a Monday. The original plan had us rushing to La Lonja before it closed, but its Monday hours are uncertain: the official tourism website says it opens and other sources say it doesn’t. Since it is definitely open on Tuesday, we moved it to the next day and that Monday we only saw it from the outside.
The Central Market went the other way. It is closed on Sundays, but on Mondays it is open until 15:00. We got there close to closing time, so it was just a quick look; the full visit was also saved for Tuesday.
What we did add was a rice dish. The paella valenciana was already booked at La Pepica for the next day, so for this lunch we picked El Paeller Valencià, in El Carmen, with the idea of ordering a different rice: del senyoret, a banda or negre. And without the rush to La Lonja, the afternoon was relaxed.
The rest of the afternoon
Next came the Plaza de la Virgen, the cathedral and the Miguelete, a horchata with fartons at Santa Catalina and a walk through El Carmen to the Torres de Quart, with a stop for clochinas at Bar Pilar.
We saved the sunset for the Torres de Serranos. The climb closes at 19:00 and may not open on Mondays, but the view from the Turia gardens and the Pont de Fusta is free and doesn’t depend on that. The sun set at 21:10, so we needed to be there from 20:30. We locked it in for Monday and left Tuesday without a sunset, because on Wednesday at 9:06 our train to Barcelona was leaving.
What we booked and tasted
NH Collection Valencia Colón
Ten minutes by taxi from the AVE station, fifteen on foot from the historic center and five from the Estació del Nord, where our train to Barcelona left from.
Café de Oriente
Order Toast with tomato and ham, café con leche and fresh-squeezed orange juice
Two minutes from our Madrid hotel and with the Royal Palace as a backdrop, to say goodbye to the city without rushing.
El Paeller Valencià
Order A rice dish other than paella valenciana: arròs del senyoret, arroz a banda or arroz negre
The paella valenciana was already booked at La Pepica for the next day. It opens on Mondays from 12:00 and is on the way to the Plaza de la Virgen; plan B was Los Gómez, on Calle Correos.
Horchatería Santa Catalina
Order Cold horchata natural and two fartons for dunking
Valencian horchata is made from tiger nuts, not rice like the Mexican kind. Horchatería El Siglo, across the square, closed in 2014: if someone recommends it, it is gone.
Bar Pilar (La Pilareta)
Order Steamed clochinas, esgarraet and a caña
Open since 1917 in El Carmen. Clochinas, the small Mediterranean mussel, are only in season from April to August; you eat them standing at the bar.
Sol Madrid Chamartín
Cercanías C3 or C4. The ride is included with the AVE ticket (Combinado Cercanías). We got there with 50 minutes to spare.
Madrid Chamartín Valencia Joaquín Sorolla
Direct AVE in first class (Elige Confort), with a meal on board. We booked it through Trainline.
Valencia Joaquín Sorolla Hotel in the Ensanche
About €8–10. With suitcases, a taxi is the most practical option.
What we learned
Tips
- La Lonja's Monday hours are uncertain: the official tourism website says it opens and other sources say it doesn't. On Tuesday it is definitely open from 10:00 to 19:00.
- The Central Market closes at 15:00 and the stalls start packing up from 14:30. If you arrive after 14:00, there is only time for a quick lap.
- At the cathedral, entry with audio guide (€10) and the climb up the Miguelete (€3) are paid separately.
- Sunset at Serranos doesn't depend on the tower being open. Set yourself up in the Turia gardens or on the Pont de Fusta between 20:30 and 20:45.
Do
- Check the day of the week for each plan before you head out. One of our days slipped through written as if it were a Sunday.
- Run your hand over the cannonball marks on the Torres de Quart: almost nobody stops there.
- Get to Bar Pilar before 19:00 so the clochinas haven't run out.
Don’t
- Don't eat paella on the Plaza de la Reina: menus with laminated photos and someone at the door calling you in are the giveaway.
- Don't order paella valenciana two days in a row. If you have the big paella the next day, order a different rice.
- Don't count on climbing the Torres de Serranos in the evening: the climb closes at 19:00 and may be closed on Mondays.