BIKE RIDES & BIOSCIENCES
MORNING
You’re hopping on a bike today and cycling the length of the family-friendly JARDÍN DEL TURIA, a magnificent stretch of shady cycling tracks and tree-lined paths that runs for 9km along a former riverbed. Catch the metro to Túria Station and pick up your wheels from Valencia Bikes [open daily from 9.30am | bike rental costs €10 for 4 hours, €15 for 24 hours, children’s bikes are half price when rented with an adult’s]. You can access the gardens just across the road from their office on Paseo de la Pechina and follow a route that curves around the Old Town and down to the City of Arts and Sciences. The cycle path runs beneath orange trees and palms, past fountains and ponds and under a variety of bridges – look out for colourful Puente de las Flores, covered throughout the year in over 10,000 flowers. Most kids will want to stop along the way at PARQUE GULLIVER, an inventive play park where they can scramble over and around a 230ft model of the title character from Gulliver’s Travels; Gulliver looks like he’s just been washed up on the shores of Lilliput, with his hair and clothes cleverly sculpted into ramps and slides and his arms and legs “tied down” with cargo netting [note that the park is closed between 1.30 and 5.30pm in July and August].
AFTERNOON
From Parque Gulliver, it’s just 1.5km further (about 5.5km in total from Valencia Bikes) to Santiago Calatrava’s CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES (Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias in Spanish, Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencian), a dazzling collection of enormous, futuristic-looking buildings whose wacky shapes are reflected in a series of pools. Pedal past the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, an opera house that looks like an enormous cycling helmet, to the a refreshingly hands-on MUSEU DE LES CIÈNCIES PRÍNCIPE FELIPE [open daily until 7pm, till 9pm in July and August | €8, under-12s €6.20, under-4s free, combined ticket with Hemisfèric €12/€9.30]. Designed to resemble a whale skeleton, this science museum is one of the highlights of the “city”, with exhibits that look at the development of language and how chromosomes work among other things and a space simulator (additional cost) that will give your kids a good idea of what zero gravity feels like.
After you’ve been round the science museum, lie back (literally) and watch a space film or natural-history documentary on the vast screen that’s inside HEMISFÈRIC [screenings roughly hourly until 8 or 9pm; check the programme here | €8, under-12s €6.20, under-4s free, combined ticket with the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe €12/€9.30], a planetarium and 3D IMAX cinema whose shape, naturally, represents a huge eye. You can spend your time before or after the show wandering through the tropical gardens that grow beneath the arches of the UMBRACLE or zorbing on the complex’s main pool [daily until 7.15pm | €5]. Despite being one of the most popular attractions in the City of Arts and Sciences, the expensive OCEANOGRÀFIC is best avoided – unfortunately, beluga whales are kept in captivity here and the aquarium continues to hold dolphin shows several times a day.
When you’re ready to tear yourself away from the City of Arts and Sciences, hop back on your bikes and make the 6.5km cycle back up from the Jarín del Turia to Valencia Bikes office on Paseo de la Pechina [closes at 8pm].
TOP TIP If you wanted to get up close-up with animals, then a much better alternative to Oceanogràfic is the brilliant BIOPARC [open daily from 10.30am to 7.30pm | €23.80, under-13s €18, under-4s free], a conscientious African wildlife park where rivers, trees and ditches are used to enclose the animals rather than cages. Giraffes, meerkats and hippos are among the species that roam Savannah, Equatorial Forest, Wetlands and Madagascar. Talks and activities are scheduled, the most interesting of which are Good Morning Lemurs, when they’re first let out for the day (10.30am) and the elephant feeding session (1pm). BIOPARC is a 10-minute walk from Nou d’Octubre metro station.
WHERE TO EAT
On a leafy square near the Mercado Central, in the southern half of the Old Town, this charming Italian restaurant, is known for its winning combination of consistently good food and very friendly service. The shared antipasti is delicious, and the fresh pasta dishes include a hearty lamb ragu and homemade gnocchi, but most children will find it hard to look beyond the variety of delicious wood-fired, thin-crust pizzas, ranging from Frutti di Mare (garlic and seafood) to a meat-laden Cannibale. It’s smart but cosy inside, or you can dine al fresco and let your kids play in the park directly opposite while you take a breather between courses – portions are on the large side. It’s a 10-minute walk from Xàtiva Station.
THE LIJOMA LOWDOWN
VALENCIA INSIGHTS
Delve deeper with our tips on what to read before you go, foods and drinks your kids must try, and some key cultural advice
OUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO STAY IN VALENCIA
From beachfront apartments to hotels in the Old Town – our pick of the most memorable places for families to stay in Istanbul
NEED TO KNOW
WHEN TO VISIT VALENCIA
A handy overview of Valencia’s weather and climate throughout the year, with recommendations for the best time to visit
VALENCIA ESSENTIALS
Pre-trip practicalities, including getting there, visas and passports, health and safety and how to get around