FACT FILE

From the UK, easyJet flies to Valencia several times daily from Gatwick, whilst British Airways flies daily from Heathrow and Ryanair flies daily from Stansted. Ryanair also flies from Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester, and easyJet also flies from Belfast.

From Ireland, Ryanair flies from Dublin to Valencia.

From the US, there are no direct flights to Valencia, so you'll have to fly to Barcelona or Madrid and hop onto an internal flight there.

From Canada, your best bet is to fly via Barcelona or Madrid and then from there to Valencia.

You can search for the most convenient routes and the best fares at Skyscanner. Flight time is around 2 hours 30 minutes from London and Dublin. International flights arrive at Valencia Airport (VLC), 8km west of the city. The quickest way of travelling into Valencia’s Old Town is by metro, on either Line 3 or Line 5 (from the Regional Flights Terminal); tickets cost €2.10 for a single (for Zone A and Zone B), and the journey takes around 20 minutes. If you’re going to buy a Valencia Tourist Card, remember that it includes public transport from (and to) the airport.

VISAS AND PASSPORTS

For stays of up to 90 days, UK, Irish, US and Canadian passport holders do not require a visa to visit Valencia. If you’re a citizen of one of these countries, your passport needs to be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date you expect to leave Spain. Entry requirements do change, however, so check the latest on the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN VALENCIA

Aside from the inoculations that are part of the routine childhood immunisation programme in the UK (ie diphtheria, tetanus, polio), no immunisations are required to visit Valencia. Remember to check with your GP at least six weeks before you travel, and make sure you take out sufficient travel insurance for your trip; if you’re from the UK or Ireland, make sure you all carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), too, which (up until December 2020) will entitle you to reduced, or even free, medical treatment.

The most common problem is a possible upset tummy, the risk of which can be reduced by practising good hygiene (applying hand gel fairly regularly helps) and taking sensible precautions with food and water. In Valencia, tap water is fine to drink, but it’s chlorinated, so you may prefer drinking bottled water. If you do get diarrhoea, stick to plain rice for a few days and treat with rehydration salts.

If you have food allergies, it’s a good idea to carry a dietary card, which explains (in Spanish) the food(s) you’re allergic to and also reminds the chef that foods can be contaminated during preparation.

Summer in Valencia is hot – if you’re visiting then, protect yourselves from the sun and make sure that everyone drinks plenty of water.

You need to take the same precautions in Valencia as you would in any big city, and be wary of pickpockets, particularly in in busy tourist areas. It’s also best to avoid walking through the backstreets of the Barrio del Carmen and El Cabanyal districts late at night.

The majority of Valencia’s sights are condensed into the compact Old Town, or Ciutat Vella, which can be crossed on foot in less than 20 minutes.

Valencia is also an excellent city for cycling, with nearly 150km of cycle paths (known as carril bici in Valencian) and a growing number of ciclocalles, streets where bikes are given the right of way; You can download a handy cycle map, showing both of these, from the city’s tourist board website. Cycling is the best way to explore the Jardín del Turia and to get out to the City of Arts and Sciences, and you can follow cycle paths all the way from the Old Town to the city’s beaches; you can rent bikes for around €15 for the day from Valencia Bikes.

The quickest way to get to the beach is on the metro, either on the underground or the tram. Trams (Line 4 and Line 6) run from the Pont de Fusta, north of the Old Town, to Eugenia Viñes (for Playa de la Malvarossa) and Les Arenes (for Playa de las Arenas); south of the Old Town, you can hop on the metro at À. Guimerà, Xàtiva or Colón and catch a Line 5 or Line 7 train to Maritím-Serraría and then a Line 6 tram from there to Les Arenes or Eugenia Viñes. You can download a useful “General map” that shows the metro system laid on top of city’s outline here. The metro is free for under-10s.

The only time you might need to use a bus is to get out to (or back from) the City of Arts and Sciences. Bus #15 runs here from Plaza del Ayuntamiento, at the southern end of the Old Town, whilst bus #95 runs alongside the Jardín del Turia from Plaza Porta de la Mar, on the eastern edge of the Old Town. Buses are free for under-6s.

The contactless Valencia Tourist Card covers the metro (including trams) and the city’s buses.