8 Free Things To Do In Valencia

Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, has a lot to offer. And compared to the biggest cities in Spain, Madrid and Barcelona, it’s unbelievable how budget-friendly Valencia is. There are many amazing, free things to do in Valencia. It’s a great place to experience that travel and sightseeing don’t have to be expensive.

You can discover many beautiful things by just wandering through the city, which is always free. But if you want to know some specific Valencian free things to do keep on reading.

Valencia is known to be the birthplace of paella and a great place to try some, or even better yet, make a delicious vegan paella yourself. So eating paella should definitely be on every what to do in Valencia list, but it’s not one of my recommended free things to do in Valencia since you won’t get it for free anywhere.

Go On Top Of Quart Towers

Valencia used to be surrounded by a city wall. There were 12 gates to enter the city, nowadays only two gates remain fully intact: the Serranos Towers and the Quart Towers. You can climb both, the more popular one is Serranos Towers. It gives you a view of the city and of Túria park. The entrance fee for the Serranos Towers is €2. However, visiting Quart Towers is free! It gives you a great view of the city underneath you. But in my opinion, the most stunning view is of the tower itself and that’s the same at both towers. So you might as well save your money and visit Quart Towers.

Check Out La Lonja De La Seda From The Inside

La Lonja de la Seda is also known as the Silk Exchange in Valencia. The gothic style civil building is a UNESCO world heritage site and a popular tourist attraction. So, I could not believe that that is one of the free things to do in Valencia. Admission for La Lonja De La Seda is completely free, you only have to pay a few Euros if you want an audio guide, but that’s optional.

It’s located in the city centre, opposite the central market in Valencia, which is also worth checking out but more fun if you got some money to buy treats. The entrance is at the back side, the staff only want to know where you’re from and then you’re set to go inside. The highlight is the Sala de Contratación, where the banking transaction used to be conducted.

Check Out The Amazing Street Art At El Carmen

Do you like street art? Then el Carmen is the neighbourhood to go to. Admiring street art is one of the free things to do in Valencia. You can find street art anywhere in Valencia but the best pieces are in el Carmen. You don’t even need to go to a specific street, just wander around the area and keep your eyes open. 

You can even make a fun game out of it, there is one graffiti ninja popping up everywhere in the city, try to count how many you can find. Find out how the ninja looks and how many I managed to find on my unusual things to do in Valencia list.

Check Out The City of Arts and Science

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is considered one of the 12 treasures of Spain. The most impressive thing is just to marvel at it from the outside, you don’t have to go inside if you don’t want to. The museums are impressive pieces of modern architecture. Just walking around the city of Arts and Science I felt like in a Science fiction world! That’s one of the best free things to do in Valencia.

I also recommend entering the science museum, they have a few exhibition pieces in the lobby. You can check them out without having to pay. There are also some exhibition pieces about space next to the L’Umbracle, a beautiful garden you can enter for free which you should not miss at the City of Arts and Science.

Go For a Walk In a Riverbed Turned Park 

You can not miss Turia Garden when you’re in Valencia. With a 9 km length, it’s one of the largest urban parks in Spain. The park is located in a former riverbed. The river got rerouted in the 1950s because of a devastating flood. And in 1986 the park was opened to the public. The park is crossed by 18 bridges from different time periods.

Now it’s a popular place for countless outdoor activities like going for a walk or a run, having a picnic, going for a bike ride, or playing football (soccer if you’re American 😉 ). So whichever activity you choose do it in Turia park and enjoy this free thing to do in Valencia.

Located within the Park is Park Gulliver, which you can also see for free. It’s a gigantic lying statue of Gulliver turned into a climbing frame. It’s on my unusual things to do in Valencia list.

Relax At The Beach

A day at the beach is always a fun free thing to do. The beach is easy to get to by public transportation or by bike, or you can take a long walk there. At the beach, you can relax with a book or go for a swim almost all year round. I visited Valencia in late November and still saw people swimming (while I watched them in my thick hoodie). It’s also really nice to go for a walk next to the beach or on the harbour. There’s even the very nice vegan restaurant Mestiza close to the beach. Watch out for the opening times though, they close in the afternoon and stop serving food some time before they close.

Go To a Free Museum

Valencia has a couple of free museums to offer. The most unusual one is the CCCC (Centro del Carmen de Cultura Contemporánea). It’s free to visit and you can find different contemporary art pieces. You can admire sculptures, paintings, and furniture and you can even try talking with a plant!

Don’t miss out on going to the toilet in the museum. It was designed by a famous street artist from Valencia as part of an exhibition about climate change.

The museum is just opposite the cat house of Valencia, make sure to check if you can spot it.

Marvel at the Valencia Station North

If you arrive by train to Valencia you can count yourself lucky because the train station looks so beautiful! And if you didn’t arrive by train, go to the train station anyway. The outside is already stunning but it gets better on the inside.

When I visited the train station there was a small, temporary art exhibition inside. The highlight where the colourful tiles on the wall though and not the art pieces, so don’t worry if there’s no exhibition when you go. Speaking of tiles, check if you can find your language on the wall. There are mosaic tiles spelling “Pleasant Journey” in multiple languages. And with that. I wish you a pleasant journey to Valencia!