Budget · 3-hour walk · Valencia
Valencia's old town in three hours
The market, the silk exchange, the cathedral that claims the Holy Grail, and the gate the city was entered by.
Valencia's old town, Ciutat Vella, is small enough to cross in twenty minutes and dense enough to fill a morning. This route goes in the order the city does its shopping: the central market first, while the stalls are full, then the silk exchange opposite, the cathedral and its bell tower, and out through the medieval gate to the old riverbed that is now a park.
The route, stop by stop
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Mercado Central
One of the largest food markets in Europe, under an iron and glass dome finished in 1928. Go before noon on a weekday; it is closed on Sundays.
40 min here Walk here → -
La Lonja de la Seda
The silk exchange, a late-Gothic trading hall built between 1482 and 1548 with twisted columns like palm trees. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1996.
30 min here Walk here → -
Plaza de la Virgen
The square on the site of the Roman forum. The Water Tribunal, which settles disputes over irrigation, has met at the cathedral door here every Thursday at noon for centuries.
15 min here Walk here → -
Catedral de Valencia
A side chapel holds an agate cup the cathedral calls the Holy Grail. The bell tower, the Miguelete, is 207 steps up for the best view of the city.
40 min here Walk here → -
Torres de Serranos
The 14th-century gate in the old city wall, built to impress whoever came in by the road from the north. You can climb it, and the old riverbed park starts at its feet.
20 min here Walk here →
More walks in Valencia
More in Valencia
Every walking route in Valencia, the full Valencia guide for where to stay and what a day costs, or walks in other cities.