Ciutat Vella

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/6

Where it sits

The circle is Ciutat Vella and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Mercado de Colón11 min walk913 m
• The Turia Gardens13 min walk1.1 km
• Authentic paella16 min walk1.3 km
• A night out in Russafa22 min walk1.8 km
• The City of Arts & Sciences9 min taxi3.0 km
• The Oceanogràfic10 min taxi3.5 km
• El Cabanyal13 min taxi4.2 km
• El Cabanyal & Malvarrosa (beach)13 min taxi4.2 km
• Malvarrosa Beach13 min taxi4.5 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 2.The Central Market — One of Europe's greatest food markets, in a gorgeous modernista hall of iron and stained glass — a thousand stalls of Valencian oranges, jamón, seafood, spices and cheese, with a bar or two to eat at. Come hungry in the morning; it's a feast for the eyes as much as the stomach.
• 3.The Cathedral & Miguelete — Valencia's cathedral claims to hold the true Holy Grail in a side chapel — climb its octagonal Miguelete bell tower for a rooftop view over the whole old town and out to the sea. A blend of Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque, on a lovely plaza that's the heart of the medieval city.
• 7.La Lonja de la Seda — A masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and a UNESCO site — the 15th-century silk exchange, with a magnificent hall of soaring spiral columns like a stone forest, testament to Valencia's golden age as a Mediterranean trading power. Small, cool and quietly breathtaking; cheap to enter.
• 8.El Carmen & Plaza de la Virgen — The oldest, most atmospheric quarter — a maze of medieval lanes, street art, hidden squares and tapas bars around the lovely Plaza de la Virgen with its fountain and basilica. Wander it by day for the history and by night for the buzz; the beating heart of old Valencia.
• 12.Horchata & fartons — Valencia's own refreshment — a cold, sweet, milky drink pressed from tiger nuts (chufa), served with sugar-glazed finger pastries called fartons to dunk. A local ritual on a hot afternoon; the horchaterías of the old town and the village of Alboraya are the classic spots.
• 15.The Serranos Towers — The mighty 14th-century gate towers that once guarded the northern entrance to the walled city, still standing over the Turia park — climb them for a fine view over the old-town rooftops. The grandest surviving piece of Valencia's medieval walls, and free on Sundays.