Valencia is getting a more and more popular holiday destination every day. Popular for a city break, as well as a long summer holiday. The fact is that Valencia has all you need: a old and new area, a natural park called Turia, that has a length of 9 kilometres, the best tapas and paella restaurants, surrounded by charming villages for a day trip, and not to mention, an extensive beach. It is also a great city for a holiday with kids. Valencia has plenty of places of interest where your children can also have a great time. Keep reading because we will tell you all about the best activities in Valencia with kids.
The best activities in Valencia with kids
Valencia is the perfect destination to travel to with kids. It is located on the coast and is a large city with many natural parks. Besides that, it’s also a very clean, safe and green city, the locals are very friendly and the weather is nice almost all year round. Are you going to Valencia with kids? These are the 10 best activities to do with the whole family.
Turia Natural Park
After a serious flood in 1957, the Turia river was drained and a 9 km long park was created: the Jardines del Turia. There are many sports facilities in the park, as well as walking and running trails, bike paths and playgrounds. Spend a day with your kids in this beautiful park, enjoy a picnic on the grass, rent a family bike and discover the park, let the children play at one of the many playgrounds or go play mini golf. Also a great plan for kids is visiting the Gulliver Park, which is located within the Turia. This is a huge playground with slides where children have fun, for free. They can climb over the giant Gulliver while you are watching them from one of the picnic tables. The Gulliver park is open from 10 am to 8 pm.
Oceanogràfic
Oceanogràfic is the largest aquarium in Europe, with more than 45,000 animals of 500 different species, spread over different parts of the world. In the weekends, children can take a look behind the scenes with the caretakers, and they can even learn how to train dolphins. There is also a dolphin show every day. In addition, there is an underwater restaurant where you can eat something. A ticket for kids aged 4-12 is 22.30€ and an adult ticket 29.70€. You can buy tickets online here.
Mercat Central
Mercat Central is the biggest covered fresh market in Valencia where they sell delicious and fresh products, it’s even one of the largest markets in Europe. Think of fresh juices, vegetables and fruit, the Spanish hams, cheeses, all paella ingredients and other tasty things. It can be very crowded, but definitely worth a visit. Not only the tasty food looks beautiful, but the construction of the hall is also impressive to see. The market is open from Monday to Saturday, from 7:30 am to 3 pm.
Cabecera Park
Parque de Cabecera is located at the end of the Turia Park. It is a somewhat quieter park that can be divided into four parts: the Bioparc, La Montaña Mirador, the Bosque de la Ribera and the Parque de Atracciones. The Bioparc is the zoo, la Montaña Mirador is a small mountain of about 15 metres high, that gives you a nice view of the park. El Bosque de la Ribera is a forest where you will find the most beautiful trees. And finally, el Parque de Atracciones, is a lake where you can rent pedal boats in the shape of a big swan. Perfect for kids!
Bioparc
As we said before, Bioparc is a zoo located in Parque de Cabecera. The Zoo is perfect for all ages, and also highly recommended with small children. The park is beautifully landscaped and is in the top 10 best zoos of TripAdvisor worldwide! The Zoo takes you into the world of wild African animals, you can attend different shows and in Madagascar the sloths hang around freely. It looks like you are walking in the wild nature!
Hop on Hop off Bus
Also fun for children, is to make a tour with the tourist bus. Sit down in the double-decker and discover all the sights of the city. The bus runs different routes, both through the city and along the harbour and you can hop on and hop off as often as you want. There are 3 different routes and all last 90 minutes in total. If you want to change the route, you can do so at the stops of Plaza de la Reina and San Pio V. For a day ticket for an adult you pay 17€ for children aged 7 to 16 10€ and children up to and including with 6 years can drive along for free.
Albufera
Do you want to escape the city and enjoy relaxation? Then go to Albufera! Albufera is a natural park with the largest lake in Spain. You can take a boat tour on the lake and through the reeds. You will also pass the village of El Palmar and the ‘Barracas Valencianas’, the typical triangular houses. The park can be reached by bus 25 from the city, or you can take the green route from the tourist bus. This means that everything is included: the bus back and forth, and the half-hour boat trip. Tickets are available here.
The City of Arts and Sciences
A visit to Valencia isn’t complete without having seen these beautiful buildings. The City of Arts and Sciences is the modern part of Valencia. The complex consists of 6 parts including the aforementioned aquarium and Museo de las Ciencias, which is certainly worth a visit with kids. It is the science museum of Valencia where fun workshops for children are given, and the fun thing is that the children are allowed to touch everything. That’s something different than in other museums! Here we’ll tell you all things to do in the City of Arts and Sciences.
Beach
What cannot be missed on our list of activities in Valencia with kids is the beach. The beach of Valencia consists of the beaches Playa de la Malvarrosa and Playa de Las Arenas, that have a length of 7 kilometres together. On the promenade there are nice restaurants where you can have a drink or eat something. On the beach there are beach huts where you can buy drinks and ice creams, there is the possibility to rent beds and umbrellas and there are shower and toilet facilities. In addition, local people like to play volleyball on the beach, and sometimes they held volleyball competitions here.
Looking for a holiday home near the beach in Valencia? Click here!
Mestalla stadium
Mestalla is the stadium of FC Valencia, and the oldest stadium in Spain. For small football fans among us, a tour of the stadium is a perfect activity! You can take a look in the changing rooms, sit on the VIP stand and of course, get on the field! Who doesn’t want that? Children up to 5 years get free entrance, other tickets are 10.80€ per person.
Will a trip to Valencia with kids be fun with these activities? Besides these activities, gastronomy is also important. Find the best restaurants in Valencia according to Tripadvisor. And if you have any tips about other fun activities to do in Valencia with kids, we would love to hear it!
