When you are going to Valencia you probably would visit the beach. With more than 300 sunny days in this Spanish city it is perfect to have a beach day (if you are lucky you can still lay on the beach in October and November!). The most beautiful beach in Valencia is Las Arenas, which consists of three beaches: Las Arenas, La Patacona and La Malvarrosa.
Las Arenas
This amazing beach with gold-brown sand is 1200 metres long and is very wide. There is a lot to do at this beach besides sun bathing; there is a boulevard with many restaurants, there are shops and (sports)facilities. Playa Las Arenas is according to locals the most beautiful beach in Valencia. The beach of Las Arenas starts with Las Arenas, followed by La Malvarrosa and La Patacona.
Did you know that the actual name of Playa Las Arenas is Playa del Cabanyal? People call it Las Arenas, because in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21th century the bath house ‘Las Arenas’ was very popular. Mostly rich people came here to relax. Nowadays this bathhouse became a five-star hotel ‘Las Arenas’ and the bathhouse is still there!
Another funny fact is that Las Arenas has a third name; Playa de Levante. It is named after the wind that is coming from the city to the beach.
As said, the beach of Las Arenas starts at the beginning of the harbour, where you also find the America’s Cup and many bars and restaurants. Las Arenas became more popular when the first (and only) beach club in Valencia was settled in 2016; Marina Beach Club. If you walk through, you walk over the boulevard, which is called Paseo Neptuno. You walk along several restaurants (such as Vivir sin Dormir) and a few shops (as ALE-HOP). Most of the time you spot beautiful sand artworks, but keep in mind that the artists expect some money if you take a picture. Las Arenas ends at the five-star hotel.
Another fact that makes the three beaches more special than other Spanish beaches is that the beach is around 60 metres wide! This has the advantage that it is not extremely crowded, but you can imagine that it will be busy in summer months.
The other beaches
Las Arenas is followed by La Malvarrosa and is a bit longer than Las Arenas, namely 1,800 metres. The beach is named after the neighbourhood behind the beach, which is also called La Malvarrosa. Earlier, this beach was used for fishery. This beach ends at Casa-Museo Blasco Ibañez.
The last part of Las Arenas is La Patacona. It is a small beach with a few restaurants, such as La Más Bonita and La Girafe. This beach is seen as a fancy beach and is used by surfers. La Patacona is becoming more and more popular.
Beaches in the surroundings of Valencia
The city Valencia has only three beaches, but Valencia is also a region; Comunidad Valenciana. In this region you find a few coasts, as Costa de Azahar (coasts of orangeblossom) and the Costa Blanca, so there are many beaches! Beaches nearby the city of Valencia are Port Sa-Playa and El Saler, which you can reach with public transport of by bike.
Port Sa-Playa looks a little bit like Venice (Italy), because of the many coloured houses and is hereby also called Little Venice. You will also spot many boats and yachts. El Saler is a popular beach for locals and is located behind the dunes.
Costa de Azahar is about 120 kilometres long and has many beaches and bays. It is recommended to go by car, because this coast is part of Castellón and Valencia, so it is a little further away from the city of Valencia. The Costa Blanca, which is 250 kilometres long, is part of province Alicante (with cities as Benidorm, Calpe and Jávea).
Besides all these beaches, there are more! In Oliva, 80 kilometres south from Valencia, you find Playa L’Aigua Blanca. This beach is quiet and located behind the dunes. Another beautiful beach nearby Gandia (70 kilometres south from Valencia) is Playa de Gandia and has a blue flag (which means that this beach meets many criteria about cleanness and safety, read more at the bottom of the page).
Is distance not a problem? 120 kilometres from Valencia is Jávea (Alicante) located. In Jávea you find Playa de las Granadella. This beach is in a bay, the sea has crystal clear water and the beach is only 10 by 160 metres, so on a quiet day it can feel as a private beach!
Blue flags
As said, a beach gets a blue flag when it meets criteria about cleanness and safety, but also about the quality of the beaches and harbours. Valencia is the region in Spain with the most blue flags in the country! Spain is since 1987 number one with the most beautiful beaches and it is determined every year if a beach can keep its blue flag or not. The region of Valencia has more than 100 blue flags and has hereby the most beautiful and cleanest beaches of Spain.
Not a fan of beaches, but more of crystal clear water?
If you want to avoid the crowded and touristic spots in Valencia, or when you just love nature it is recommended to visit Montanejos. There is not a real beach in Montanejos, but this little village, less than a two hours drive from Valencia, has more than fifty hot springs with crystal clear water. Even though there is no beach, you can still relax at the water. You can reach Montanejos by bus or by car (if you have one) and there is a lot to do, as walking and hiking, but maybe the most amazing thing is relaxing in the (around) 25 degrees Celsius water. Read more about beautiful Montanejos at this page.
