Cost per day · Spain
Valencia on $35, $110 or $300 a day
How much does Valencia cost per day? Budget travellers get by on about $35 a day, mid-range trips run around $110, and luxury starts near $300 — accommodation, food, transport and activities included.
That makes Valencia the 42nd cheapest of 100 cities for a mid-range trip — see all 100 ranked.
Spain's third city, and the home of paella, sits between a Gothic old town and a long city beach. A dried-up river became a nine-kilometre park running to Calatrava's white City of Arts and Sciences, and in March the whole city sets fire to itself for Las Fallas.
Valencia is cheaper than Barcelona for the same mix of old town, beach and food. The Turia gardens, the beach and most churches are free, a menú del día lunch is about €13, and a bike costs a few euros a day.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
A guided walk through the Lonja, the "Sistine Chapel of Valencia" and the Holy Grail chapel
Get tickets on Tiqets →Rice fields and a flat-bottomed boat on the lagoon where paella began
Get tickets on Tiqets →A private collection of contemporary art in a restored old-town palace, guided
Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
Beside the Torres de Quart, with a roof terrace over the old town
Colourful hostel steps from the Central Market and the Lonja
Simple modern hotel near the Turia gardens and the Colón shopping streets
Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Old town and the market ~$35
Day 2: The Turia on two wheels ~$30
Day 3: Beach day ~$35
The Central Market's bars do the best cheap lunch in the city. Museums are free on Sundays and many on Saturday afternoons. Eat paella at lunch — Valencians consider it a midday dish.
Mid-range is a boutique room in the Ciutat Vella or Ruzafa, the Oceanogràfic and the science museums, a boat on the Albufera lagoon at sunset and paella where it was invented.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
Rice fields and a flat-bottomed boat on the lagoon where paella began
Get tickets on Tiqets →Oceanogràfic, Hemisfèric and the Science Museum on one skip-the-line ticket
Get tickets on Tiqets →Europe's largest aquarium, with belugas, sharks and a dolphin show
Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
Big, quiet four-star near the Palau de la Música and the Turia park
Smart four-star on Gran Vía Marqués del Turia, a short walk from everything
Two nineteenth-century mansions joined around a courtyard, with a spa
Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Gothic to modernista ~$120
Day 2: City of Arts and Sciences ~$150
Day 3: The Albufera ~$130
Book the Oceanogràfic for the morning and walk the rest of the City of Arts and Sciences after. Go to El Palmar on the Albufera for the paella, not the beachfront. For Fallas, book a year ahead.
Luxury Valencia is a palace hotel in the old town, a private sail along the coast, a tasting menu from one of the city's starred kitchens and a vineyard day in Utiel-Requena.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
A private collection of contemporary art in a restored old-town palace, guided
Get tickets on Tiqets →Calatrava's opera house, inside and out, with the guide's access
Get tickets on Tiqets →A sailboat of your own out of the marina, with drinks as the sun goes down
Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
Modernista building with a garden, opposite the Turia and the Fine Arts Museum
A restored palace built over the Moorish wall, its ruins visible in the rooms
The historic bathing house on Malvarrosa beach, rebuilt as a resort with a spa
Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Valencia in style ~$600
Day 2: Wine country ~$650
Day 3: At sea ~$700
The Caro Hotel sits on a Roman wall. Ricard Camarena and Quique Dacosta (down the coast in Dénia) are the two tables worth planning around. A private balcony during the Fallas mascletà is the city's most coveted seat.
About Valencia
Mediterranean: long hot summers (28–31°C, humid), mild sunny winters (12–17°C). Autumn brings occasional heavy storms (the gota fría).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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| 12° | 13° | 15° | 17° | 20° | 24° | 27° | 27° | 24° | 20° | 15° | 12° |
| 4d | 4d | 4d | 5d | 4d | 2d | 1d | 2d | 4d | 5d | 5d | 5d |
| low | low | high | mid | mid | high | high | high | high | mid | low | low |
Compact and flat — the old town is walkable and the Turia park makes cycling easy, with Valenbisi bikes everywhere. Metrovalencia reaches the airport and the beach, and trams run along the seafront.
A travel eSIM gets you online the moment you land in Spain — data plans start at $4 — no roaming bill, no queue for a local SIM, and nothing to swap in and out of your phone. Install it before you fly.
The old town inside the vanished walls: the cathedral, the Lonja and the Central Market, with El Carmen's bars and murals in its western half.
Best for midrangeSouth of the station, the city's food and nightlife quarter, built around its own market. Lively until late, with good-value rooms.
Best for budgetThe old fishing village by the beach, its houses faced in coloured tiles. Old taverns, a short walk to the sand, and fast-changing.
Best for budgetThe Ensanche's smart grid near the Colón market, with modernista façades, designer shops and calm streets near the Turia.
Best for luxuryAlong the Paseo Marítimo: the paella houses, beach clubs and seafront hotels. Twenty minutes by tram from the old town.
Best for midrangeThe south end of the Turia park around Calatrava's buildings. New, spacious and quiet at night; close to the port and L'Hemisfèric.
Best for luxury- ✓Eat paella at lunch; Valencians rarely order it for dinner
- ✓Scrape up the socarrat, the crisp rice at the bottom of the pan
- ✓Try an esmorzaret, the mid-morning sandwich and beer break
- ✓Book a balcony or arrive early for the 2pm mascletà during Fallas
- ✓Use the bike lanes in the Turia, not the footpaths
- ✓Greet with "bon dia" in Valencian if you want a smile
- ✗Call a seafood rice with chorizo "paella" in front of a Valencian
- ✗Expect dinner before 9pm
- ✗Leave bags on the sand while you swim
- ✗Walk through town in swimwear away from the beach
- ✗Book Fallas week at the last minute; prices triple
- ✗Stir the paella once the rice is in
Travel Insurance for Valencia
Travel insurance is strongly recommended for any trip to Valencia. Safety is rated Very safe. Pickpockets work the Central Market, the cathedral square and the beach promenade; keep phones off café tables. — even in safe destinations, unexpected medical emergencies or trip cancellations can be costly. Make sure your policy covers emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, trip cancellation, and emergency evacuation.
Visa note: Schengen area — visa-free for 90 days for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports; ETIAS pre-authorisation applies from its rollout.. Some countries require proof of travel insurance as part of the visa application.
Get travel insurance for Valencia →FAQ: Valencia Travel Questions
Is Valencia safe to visit? ▾
Very safe. Pickpockets work the Central Market, the cathedral square and the beach promenade; keep phones off café tables.
When is the best time to visit Valencia? ▾
March for Las Fallas (book far ahead), April–June and September–October for warm beach weather without the August heat. Mediterranean: long hot summers (28–31°C, humid), mild sunny winters (12–17°C). Autumn brings occasional heavy storms (the gota fría).
How much does a trip to Valencia cost per day? ▾
- budget: $35–$60/day
- midrange: $110–$180/day
- luxury: $300–$600/day
Do I need a visa to visit Spain? ▾
Schengen area — visa-free for 90 days for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports; ETIAS pre-authorisation applies from its rollout.
How do I get around Valencia? ▾
Compact and flat — the old town is walkable and the Turia park makes cycling easy, with Valenbisi bikes everywhere. Metrovalencia reaches the airport and the beach, and trams run along the seafront. Valencia has a metro system. Taxi base fare ~$4. Day pass ~$5.
Is tipping expected in Valencia? ▾
Tipping is modest: round up or leave 5–10% in a sit-down restaurant if service was good. Nothing is expected at a bar.
What currency is used in Spain? ▾
The local currency is EUR, and the official language is Spanish, Valencian.