Free activities in Valencia: museums, beaches, festivals and more!

1. Picnic in the Jardines del Turia

Unwinding in nature is always good. Get some fresh air in the Turia gardens; 110 hectares full of trees and ponds. Find a spot to have a picnic, jog or bike through it, use the sport attributes, or sit down and meditate for a bit. Did you know that this urban park used to be a river before? It flooded in 1957, which was a tragedy to the city, so the riverbed was drained and they turned it into a park.

I moved here convinced I would spend every weekend at the beach. Half of them I spent in the Turia, having picnics with friends, but without the sand in my sandwiches.”

2. Swim at Malvarrosa beach

The beach costs nothing and it is about twenty minutes from the centre by tram. Malvarrosa is the wide, sandy beach with the promenade, Patacona just north of it is quieter, and behind both sits El Cabanyal with its tiled fishermen's houses. Locals swim from May to October and walk it all year, and when the coastline starts feeling familiar, the cultural day trips around Valencia pick up where the tram stops. 🌊

3. Walk around the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciènces

Walking through the complex is free, any day, any hour. The white buildings, the reflecting pools and the Umbracle, a 320-metre covered garden walkway with an open-air sculpture promenade, are open to everyone. The Oceanogràfic and the science museum are the paid part, so keep your camera out and your wallet closed.

4. Wander through the Mercat Central

Free to walk through, Monday to Saturday mornings. It is one of the largest fresh markets in Europe. The modernista ceiling alone is worth the visit. Go for the smell of the fish counters and the fruit stacked like artwork, stay because someone hands you a slice of something. One catch: it closes on Sundays, so make the plan on work- or Saturdays!

5. Stand in the middle of Fallas

This is a traditional experience that you don’t want to miss out on! It’s a spectacular street festival combining art, tradition, and satire. Held every March (for almost the whole month), enormous crafted sculptures called "fallas," fill the streets, captivating both locals and visitors. On the last day of Las Fallas, they burn the enormous sculptures during "La Cremà" and light up the whole sky with fireworks. Throughout the festivities, the city pulses with energy, featuring parades, music, and traditional Valencian costumes. Las Fallas offers an unforgettable immersion into the culture of Spain. 🎆

6. Climb the Torres de Serranos on a Sunday

Free on Sundays and public holidays, about two euros the rest of the week. You climb the steep medieval stairs of the old city gate and get the whole city and the Turia from the top. The same Sunday rule covers the Torres de Quart, the Gothic silk exchange La Lonja de la Seda, the Roman ruins under the Almoina and the Museu Faller, so one Sunday morning can cover several. Our tip: opening hours can vary by season, so check before you go.

If a Sunday like that sounds better than reading about it, our jobs in Spain page shows what vacancies are open at the moment.

7. Street art in El Carmen

Free, and it changes. The streets around Carrer de Moret and Plaça del Tossal are covered in murals by Valencian artists, painted over often enough that the same walk looks different a few months later. Start anywhere in the old town and follow whatever catches your eye.

8. Get lost in Ruzafa

Walking Ruzafa costs nothing, though the terraces will get you eventually. This is a creative neighbourhood the city eats and drinks in, full of independent shops, galleries and a covered market of its own. In March it also builds the most ambitious Fallas sculptures in Valencia, which is worth the detour on its own. Into thrifting? Ruzafa is your paradise. Browsing costs nothing, walking out empty-handed is the hardest part.

9. Museu de Belles Arts

Free every day it opens, which is every day except on Mondays. This is one of the most important art museums in Spain. Inside, you’ll find works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco, plus a whole room of Sorolla's sunny beach scenes. Look up when you arrive: the tiled dome is typical Valencian architecture and easy to spot from the Jardines del Real.

10. Step into the Centre del Carme

Free entry, no ticket needed. A 13th-century cloister turned into a contemporary art centre, with quiet courtyards in the middle of the busiest neighbourhood in the city. Two more while you are at it: the Museu de Prehistòria is free, and the IVAM, the modern art museum, opens for free on Sundays and for a few hours on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons.

11. Join a free walking tour

Free to join; the guides work on tips, so if you can, bring five euros per person if the tour was any good. Routes run daily through the Ciutat Vella, the street art quarter and the old town, and two hours in your first week saves you a month of wondering what that building was that caught your eye.

12. Go to a language exchange evening

Free to join, you do pay for your own drink. Bars across the centre and Ruzafa host them every week, you sit at a table swapping Spanish for English, German or Dutch, and nobody checks your level at the door. This is the one on the list that turns a city you live in into a city you know people in. 

13. Catch Jardí Electrònic in the park

Free entry, you only pay for what you drink. Our tip: bring your own drinks, it’s allowed! It is an afternoon of fun electronic music that lands in the Turia or another city park roughly once a month, put on with support from the city council, running from late afternoon into the evening. Local DJs, picnic blankets, no queue and no guest list!

Valencia does not need your money

Discovering Valencia will not break the bank. Most of the best happens outdoors, on a Sunday, or in a bar where the only cost is your own drink, which is exactly why people who come for a year tend to stay longer. Still deciding between cities? Our comparison of Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid helps, and if you want more than a weekend of this, have a look at living and working in Valencia and make the city your new home. 🌞