When you go to an unknown city and your visit only takes a few days, you don’t want to waste time on bad places. You want all your activities to be succes! But what are the best restaurants, clubs or stores? Once Upon a Bike selected the best hotpots for you, to make sure you will have a great time. Below you can find our favorites, differing from cute bistros to trendy shops.
Mercado de Tapineria
Mercado de Tapineria, a hidden square between the small streets of the historic center of Valencia, is an innovative market concept. Every two weeks the market transforms, everything changes from the products that they sell to the decoration fitting to the theme. This gives new brands and companies in Valencia the opportunity to reach brand awareness.
El Mercado de Tapinería is located between the squares Guillen del Rey and Cobertizo de Santo Tomás and between the church Santa Catalina and the cathedral of Valencia. In May 2013 the market opened its doors with three commercial premises that organize different events and two gastronomic organizations for food and drinks. At Bar&Kitchen (one of the two gastronomic organizations) you can enjoy the Urban Picnic every Friday. This is a live cooking show where the best rice, paellas and traditional dishes of the area are being cooked. At La Bernarda (the other gastronomic organization) you can find a menu with the most delicious classic tapas of Spain. The Ephemeral Stores is a commercial premise where they organize different activities, talks, presentations, workshops, showrooms and events every week. Within the innovative project Market Tapineria you can also find Pez Globo. Here you can find a wide selection of products with retrovintage style: deco, toys, accessories, furniture, electronic devices, etc… A whole series of objects that you can’t find elsewhere. Definitely a hotspot worth to visit!
Location
Carrer de la Tapineria 15
46001 Valencia
Website
L’Umbracle
L’Umbracle is one of the most famous open-air discos of Valencia. While dancing in the late hours you can watch the sky full of stars. It’s a beautiful nightclub with lounge areas, purple lights, palm trees and a wonderful skeletal construction. The nightclub is part of the ‘Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias’, and is only opened in the summer months from 00:00 to 7:00. Good to know is that the Spanish people start to party at about 2:00/3:00. Under this open-air disco you can find another disco named MYA. This nightclub is open all year.
But L’Umbracle is not only a nightclub. On the other side of the nightclub you can find a garden with flowers and trees. There are 99 palm trees, 78 mini palm trees and 62 orange trees. The story behind this garden is pretty funny, because L’Umbracle was actually meant to be a park for the people of Valencia. Plants over the skeletal construction should create shade for the hot summers. Unfortunately, the designers have not thought out idea. Because the summers here are so hot, the plants burned and didn’t get enough water. A shaded area was therefore never created.
Location
Avenida del Saler 5
46013 Valencia
Opening hours
Thursday to Saturday: 00.00-7.30
Website
Valor
For the chocolate lovers, Valor is the place to be. Already over 130 years, Valor has been making the best chocolate. The history of Chocolates Valor started in 1881, with Valeriano López Lloret as founder of a beautiful adventure. Now 136 years later they sell their chocolate in more than 45 countries around the world. They even won a very special price. In 2011, Chocolates Valor received the “2011 European Candy Kettle Award”, one of the sector’s most prestigious awards. If you want to know more about their history, you can visit the chocolate museum in Villajoyosa. The entrée is for free.
Do you like to taste one of the delicious chocolates of Valor? In Valencia you can find two ‘Chocolerías Valor’, one in the center on Plaza de la Reina and one at ‘El Corte Inglés’, in the opposite of La Ciudad the Las Artes y Ciencias.
Location
Plaza de la Reina 20
Avenida de Francia – Pintor Maella 37
Website
Jardines de Monforte
Do you like to stay in a quiet place, hearing the birds sing and feeling the hot sun in your face? And do you like nature, flowers and green? Then you have to visit one of the most beautiful secret parks of Valencia: Jardines de Monforte. It’s a secret place because the park is surrounded by walls and a small city hall. Therefore you may search a while, but that’s definitely worth it! The beautiful garden has a neoclassical style. It covers an area of 12,000 m2 and is designed into three parts. You can find several ponds, pergolas, palm trees, citrus and orange trees and statues. In 1941 the park was declared a national artistic park.
Location
Carrer de Monfort 1
46010 Valencia
Openings hours
Spring-Summer (21 of March till 20 of September):
Monday to Sunday: 10.30-20.00
Autumn-Winter (21 of Septermber till 20 of March):
Monday to Sunday: 10.30-18.00
Radio City
Radio City in an alternative bar where they organize different performances, such as live music, flamenco (every Tuesday) and expositions. In 1979 Radio City opened its doors in the old center of Valencia in the neighbourhood El Carmen. It opened its doors as a juice bar. Little by little it became a place for artists. Also nowadays you mostly find alternative people in this bar. Also nice to know: if you are someone who likes to sing or make music, every Thursday Radio City organizes an Open Mic evening. Every music lover is welcome!
Location
Calle de Santa Teresa 19
46001 Valencia
Opening hours
Monday to Sunday: 23.00-4.00
Website
Gnomo
If you are a person who likes practical, elegant products with a sense of humor, then Gnomo is the right place to visit. Gnomo is a pretty new shop in the neighbourhood Ruzafa. In 2010 the friendly couple Esther Martín and Álvaro Zurzuela opened the doors of Gnomo. It’s a modern shop that offers elegant furniture to small trendy gadgets, jewelry and books.
Location
Calle Cuba 32
Valencia
Opening hours
Monday to Saturday: 11.00-14.00 and 17.00-21.00
Website
America’s Cup
Are you going to visit the beach of Valencia? Then you do not only have to visit the bars and restaurants at Passeig de Neptú. If you walk a little bit further you can find the beautiful complex Veles e Vents. Here you can find a lot of restaurants with great terraces with lounge areas. The place was actually designed for a sail competition, because America’s Cup is a sail competition in America. In 2003 they decided to organize the competition in the country of the winner of the competition. Valencia was one of the four finalists, and because the perfect climate of Valencia they choose Valencia. Especially for this event Valencia built the Veles e Vents.
Location
Marina Real Juan Carlos I
Muelle de la Aduana
46024 Valencia
Website
Tip! Travel from spot to spot with the Valencia Public Transportation Card! With this card, you can travel for three days unlimited by bus and train during your stay in Valencia. It even includes a private transfer from the airport!
