PARKS
The Botanic Garden
Situated near the Torres de Quart, the Botanic Garden is one of the most important green areas, from a biological point of view, in Valencia. Part of the University of Valencia, it contains a large range of rare and endangered species of Mediterranean flora. Due to its calm ambience and its educational purpose, it is a perfect place to go with children.
El Jardín de las Hespérides
Close to the Botanic Garden is the Jardín de las Hespérides, a small public garden. The name of the garden recalls Greek mythology: during the 12 labors of Hercules, the hero has to steal golden apples from the Hesperides. The garden, divided in two main parts, serves as a stage to narrate this Greek myth, while also paying tribute to Valencian agriculture, with many citrus fruit trees and the acequias.
El Parque de Orriols
Located in the neighborhood of Orriols, a walk around this park lets visitors discover a lesser known district of the city. Here you will find a gardened area, in the shape of an L, full of banana trees, Japanese cherry trees, cypresses, white mulberries and Japanese Acacias. The big playground is perfect for kids, and the exercise area includes a public swimming pool.
El Jardín de Polifilo
The Jardín the Polifilo, in the neighborhood of Beniferri, is another example of a garden conceived both for agrarian purposes and to tell a story. In this case, the garden recreates The Dream of Pholiphilus, a romance from the 15th century by Francesco Colonna. To reproduce the romantic atmosphere of this medieval drama, the park is separated in three main squares, each with different inspirations.
Los Jardines de Viveros
Conceived as the royal gardens of the city, from the period of the Arab conquest until its downfall in the 14th century, nowadays the Jardines de Viveros are some of the biggest public gardens in Valencia. Rebuilt and expanded over decades, they don’t have a main attraction, but by walking around various charming areas can be discovered: the ruins of the ancient palace, a pond with ducks and swans, and a big green area to walk around.
Los Jardines de Monforte
The Jardines de Monforte is a small, green spot very close to the big Jardines de Viveros. It is an intimate garden with French neoclassical inspiration mixed with a Mediterranean touch. Despite its small size, it is divided in different areas: at the entrance, different sculptures and a geometrical shape garden can be found, at one of the sides, there is a bench area covered by a colorful arch of flowered trees, and at the back there is a pond and a little hill.
El Parque de la Rambleta
Situated in the south of the city, this park was created along the ravine, or rambla, that was used as one of the main systems of irrigation in this area. Following this preservation of the local agrarian heritage, the park uniquely recreates different agricultural habitats. There is an aquatic garden, a Mediterranean garden, a ravine garden, a palm grove and a garden screen.
El Jardín de Ayora
The Jadín de Ayora, situated next to the Ayora metro station, is a perfect example of a private garden from the 19th century. Built by an aristocratic Valencian family, the garden has retained much of its old grandeur.
El Jardín del Turia
This is one of the biggest gardens in the city, and also the one with the most peculiar story behind it. Everyone that visits Valencia for the first time is confused by the fact that this is a city with a river but no water, just trees and buildings. After the 1957 Valencia flood, it was decided to re-route the river, so the old bed of the river, no longer of any use, was converted into a big park.
El Parque de Cabecera
This park is located at one end of the Parque del Rio Turia, at the outskirts of the city. It is divided into three main areas: the Lookout Hill, the Riverbank Woods, and the Bioparc. From atop the hill, there is a beautiful view of all of the park and part of the river bed.
MUSEUMS
IVAM
The Ivam, L’Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, is the most important institution of modern and contemporary art in the city of Valencia. The building holds various temporary exhibitions and two permanent shows of the work of two big Spanish artists: the abstract sculptor Julio González and the Impressionist painter Ignacio Pinazo. As a center of exhibition and study, the IVAM tries to make us reflect, with their displays, on the ideas and the aesthetics discourses that have appeared in the art world from the avant-garde period until the most recent contemporary times.
MuVIM
The MuVIM, the Museu Valencià de la Il·lustració i la Modernitat, was created in 2001 as a space to host two main concepts: the illustration period and the influences of this enlightened age in the present. Over the years, though, this idea has evolved, and now this concept is mainly covered by its permanent exhibition: ‘The adventure of thought’. The rest of the rooms in the museum have started a more heterogeneous approach to art.
Fine Arts Museum of Valencia (San Pio V)
This third museum shows unique pieces of art on its walls, very different from the previous ones. This is a fine arts museum, and its collection contains different artworks from the Romanic period until the Renaissance. El Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia stands out for gathering many pieces of medieval art from different churches and convents from all around the region, and also diverse artworks of some of the most prominent painters from the Baroque and Renaissance periods, like Van Dyck or Goya.
‘González Martí’ National Museum of Ceramics and Sumptuous Arts
El Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Santuarias ‘Gozález Martí’ is the only national museum in the city of Valencia, as most of them are in the capital, Madrid. The Palace of the Marqués de dos Aguas, a very unique and special Rococo palace, serves as a location for this museum. It houses different collections on ceramics and decorative arts. Some of the most prominent are the different examples that show the way in which the material and its decoration are done by the local artisans, but it has also different national and international examples.
Del Carmen Cultural Center
Located as its name indicates in the centric and historical neighborhood of El Carmen, Del Carmen Cultural Center holds the headquarters of the regional association of museums. Its building is a beautiful and recently restored convent, so the edifice and especially its two old courtyards are by themselves a very good reason to visit this institution. It doesn’t have a permanent collection and the exhibitions that it hosts are quite heterogenic.
Municipal Museum of Natural Sciences
Located in the middle of one of the most beautiful gardens in Valencia, los Jardines de Viveros, the Municipal Museum of Natural Sciences is one of the few museums on this list not focused on art. As its name suggests, this is an institution dedicated to the natural sciences. The museum explores the progress made in the field from the Renaissance until the middle of the 20th century, emphasizing the contribution made by the most prominent Valencian scientists.
Museum of Prehistory and Ethnology Museum
The Museum of Prehistory and Ethnology Museum share the same building, el Centro Cultural de la Beneficiencia, the old Charity House in Valencia. As the Museum of Prehistory has run the majority of excavations in various sites around the Valencian area, its collection is formed by the spoils discovered during the works. It serves both as a preserver of the diverse prehistoric objects as well as a tool to educate on this period of history and it’s also a perfect location to take kids.
Bancaja Cultural Center
The only private institution in our list, the Bancaja Cultural Center is a property of the Bancaja Foundation, owned by one of the biggest banks in Spain, Bankia (first Bancaja). It’s located in a classical building in the center of Valencia, the headquarters of their cultural action in the city.
MARKETS
The Central Market
A visit to this market is one of the top food experiences in the city, and the impressive art nouveau building itself is worth checking out, too. Colorful Mediterranean fruit and veg is piled high in stunning displays, countless rows of jamons hang above the heads of stallholders, and the aroma of fresh bread, coffee and oranges hangs in the air.
Ruzafa Market
To the south of the Old City you’ll find the trendy Ruzafa neighborhood. You can’t miss the curious market building – once a drab concrete rectangle, now decorated in all the colors of the rainbow. Inside there’s plenty of color, too. Though this market is much smaller than the central market, it’s said to have a more traditional feel.
Rojas Clemente Market
If you fancy checking out a small market with a very local feel, this is an easy-to-find, central spot (not far from the Central Market) that’s great not only for fresh food, but for its lively surrounding cafés, which use market produce for hearty, traditional tapas and breakfasts.
El Cabanyal Market
While you’re visiting the charming old fishermen’s quarter of El Cabanyal, behind the city beach, take the chance to visit the small, lively neighborhood market and pick up some of the freshest fish around. Of course, it’s not just seafood on offer – you can also find the same great-quality fresh meat, fruit and veg that Valencians expect to find at any local market hall.
El Rastro
A slightly different kind of market, start your Sunday morning in style with a stroll through this vast, weekly, outdoor flea market. Similar markets can be nothing but mounds of bootleg “designer” clothing, but there’s no such problem here as vendors need to be licensed. Dig around for some local treasures: ceramics, fans, traditional wooden toys and even the occasional antique Valencian tile can be unearthed among the jumble of household clutter and VHS tapes.
Colón Market
Fans of architecture and fancy food will love this spot. This beautiful market building south of the Old City district is no longer a working food market; the old stalls have been replaced with rows of chic cafés, craft stalls and a pop-up event space hosting bands or photo exhibitions. Downstairs you’ll find an upmarket deli selling all kinds of amazing charcuterie, cheese, wine and olive oil.
