Day 17 ·
Calatrava, the Turia, the market and paella at La Pepica
Valencia · Spain · 3 min read
Valencia's big day: the City of Arts and Sciences early, the Turia garden on foot, the Central Market and La Lonja, paella by the sea at La Pepica, El Cabanyal and agua de Valencia at Café Madrid.
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City of Arts and Sciences
Ninety minutes around the outside: L'Umbracle, the pools and a loop around the Palau de les Arts. Before 9:30 the water is still and you get the full reflections.
Our guide Worth it as an architecture walk, free and before 10:30. The paid interiors are optional, and the Oceanogràfic needs half a day on its own. Read the full guide - 2
Turia Garden and Gulliver Park
Three kilometers on foot along the old riverbed, from the l'Assut de l'Or bridge to the Pont del Real. After 20 minutes the 70-meter Gulliver comes into view.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it, and it's free: it's the best way to get from the City of Arts and Sciences to the center. Think of it as a walk that links places, not as a monument. Read the full guide - 3
Central Market of Valencia
Forty minutes, two slow laps and a look up at the dome. Just for snacking: the paella was two hours later.
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 (Silk Exchange)
Our plan had it marked as closed by mistake. On Tuesdays it is open from 10:00 to 19:00 for €2, so the half hour of "free time" became the visit.
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
La Pepica
A 14:00 reservation in the inside dining room, the one with the photos of Hemingway and Ava Gardner. An hour and a half at the table and a 15-minute grace period.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it for the history, the dining room and the sea 50 meters away, as long as you order paella valenciana. If you care more about the perfect paella than the place, go to Casa Carmela or El Palmar. Read the full guide - 6
The beach in front of La Pepica
A few minutes with our feet in the Mediterranean after the paella. In May the water is around 17–18 °C.
Our guide Yes, as the finale to the paella: a few minutes with your feet in the water. For a full beach day, Patacona, to the north, is calmer. Read the full guide - 7
El Cabanyal
The old fishermen's quarter, with a different tiled facade on every house. Route: Doctor Lluch, Pescadors, Reina and Escalante to the Mercat del Cabanyal.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it: there's no other neighborhood like it in Spain, with a different tiled facade on every house. It's a living neighborhood, not a museum, so walk it slowly and quietly. Read the full guide - 8
La Pilareta
After resting at the hotel, a second round of clochinas in El Carmen. The season is short.
Our guide Yes, it's worth it, especially from April to August, when clochinas are in season. It's a bar for 30–45 minutes at the counter, not for a long dinner. Read the full guide - 9
Café Madrid
Where agua de Valencia was born in 1959. Last stop, five minutes from the hotel.
If we had to pick a single day to understand Valencia, it would be this one. Calatrava’s city of the future, a river turned into a park, one of the prettiest markets in Spain, paella by the sea and a fishermen’s quarter covered in tiles, all walkable or a short taxi away.
Why we planned it this way
The City of Arts and Sciences goes first because its best moment is early: before 9:30 the water in the pools is still and the buildings reflect in full, and around 11 the groups arrive. We got there by taxi at 8:45 and walked around the outside. We had ruled out the Oceanogràfic back home: it takes half a day.
From there we walked back through the Turia garden, the riverbed the city turned into a park after the 1957 flood. It is three kilometers and ends seven minutes from the Central Market. We visited at 11:15, with time to spare before it starts closing.
Here we had a correction. The plan, written as if it were a Monday, said La Lonja was closed. We checked the day before: on Tuesdays it is open from 10:00 to 19:00. Since it is across from the market, the half hour the plan had left free became the visit.
The paella was at La Pepica, booked in April for 14:00 in the inside dining room. After that, the beach and El Cabanyal, which is right next to it.
What to know before you go
The taxi to La Pepica leaves from the Plaza de la Reina and takes about 15–20 minutes. After El Cabanyal we went back to the hotel to rest for an hour: by then we were at ten kilometers on foot. The night was short on purpose, with clochinas at La Pilareta and agua de Valencia at Café Madrid. We had already seen the sunset at the Torres de Serranos on Monday, and on Wednesday at 9:06 the Euromed to Barcelona was leaving.
What we booked and tasted
Central Market of Valencia
Order A slice of jamón ibérico, some olives and a fresh-squeezed orange juice
The market is the appetizer, not lunch. €5–8 per person is enough.
La Pepica
Order Steamed clochinas or gambas al ajillo while the paella valenciana with chicken, rabbit, green beans and garrofó cooks; at the end, ask for the socarrat
It opened in 1898 facing the sea and cooks each paella to order. We booked in April; you have to order the paella as soon as you sit down because it takes 40–45 minutes.
La Pilareta
Order Steamed clochinas again, esgarraet with toasted bread and the house white wine
The same bar as the day before, open since 1917. Before 19:30 there is still room at the bar.
Café Madrid
Order A pitcher of agua de Valencia: cava, orange juice, gin and vodka
Constante Gil invented it here in 1959. You order it by the pitcher to share.
Hotel City of Arts and Sciences
About €8–10. Ask to be dropped off "at the Umbracle" and save your legs for the walk back along the Turia.
Plaza de la Reina La Pepica
About €12–15. Tell the driver "La Pepica, Passeig de Neptú".
El Cabanyal Hotel
About €10–12. After lunch and almost ten kilometers on foot, an hour of rest.
What we learned
Tips
- At La Pepica, a reservation doesn't mean the paella is already going. Order it when you sit down: it takes 40–45 minutes and you have the table for an hour and a half.
- At the Central Market, the juices at the first stalls cost more than the ones farther in. Walk 30 meters before you buy.
- If it rains, the Museu de les Ciències (from €9.90) replaces the walk outside; the market and La Lonja are indoors.
Do
- Go up to the Umbracle, which is free: it gives you the best photo of the whole complex.
- Walk El Cabanyal slowly and photograph the facades straight on. Calle de la Reina has the longest stretch of tiles.
- Pack your bags that night if you have an early train the next day.
Don’t
- Don't pay for the Oceanogràfic if you only have one day: it costs €35.90 to €43.05 per person and needs three hours at least.
- Don't have lunch at the market if you have paella at 14:00.
- Don't order paella for dinner or as a single portion. In Valencia it is a lunch dish and meant for sharing.