WHEN TO VISIT VALENCIA

Summer (June to mid-September) in Valencia is hot, with daytime temperatures averaging around 33 degrees Celcius in July and August but generally feeling hotter in the Old Town due to the high humidity – although the sea breeze helps when you’re down at the beach. August is the hottest month of the year, when many locals leave town for cooler climes and some restaurants and shops close for the duration. Despite this, summer is high season, with accommodation at its most expensive.

Spring (March to May) is the best time to visit Valencia, with warm weather and fewer crowds, making the Easter Holidays and May half term a great time for an extended stay in the city; the celebrations of Semana Santa (Holy Week) in the week leading up to Easter are interesting if solemn, but fun more in the fishing district of El Cabanyal. Autumn (mid-September to November) is also good time to visit, with temperatures in October averaging a balmy 25 degrees Celcius (hotter than May) and the sea at its warmest. It can be rainy, though, especially in October and November. Luckily, these two periods constitute Valencia’s shoulder season.

Valencia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, so winter (December to February) is fairly mild, with temperatures averaging around 16 degrees Celcius in December and February, when the city’s almond and orange trees start to blossom. It’s too cold to visit the beach or to swim, though, and this is still very much Valencia’s low season, with shorter days and restricted opening hours at a lot of attractions.