Spain · Self-guided walk
Valencia in one walk 8 sights, 40 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Valencia Old Town: 8 sights on one 2.5 km loop, about 40 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 2.5 km, a loop
- Time
- about 40 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Llotja de la Seda
- Steps
- on Carrer de Pere Compte Mestre de la Pedra
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Valencia walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Valencia, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Llotja de la Seda
the start · inside open Mon–Sat 10:00–19:00, Sun 10:00–14:00
When silk made this city rich, this is where the money changed hands. Go into the great hall and look at what holds the roof up. I am not telling you what they are doing. Then look at the tower and wonder what it was for. Silk, by the way, is not food. I checked.
Next: Mercat Central, 210 m, about 3 min, along Carrer de Palafox.
2. Mercat Central
about 3 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Sat 07:30–15:00, Sun closed
A market hall, open since 1928. By a long way my favourite building in the city. Look at the very top of the domes. Somebody keeps watch up there. I am not telling you who. I once tried to move in here. They noticed.
Next: Palau del Marqués de Dosaigües, 460 m, about 7 min, along Carrer de Palafox, Carrer del Trench, Carrer dels Drets, Carrer de l'Abadia de Sant Martí, Carrer de la Cultura, Carrer del Poeta Querol.
3. Palau del Marqués de Dosaigües
about 10 minutes of walking from the start
Stand at the front door and give it time. It needs it: every inch is busy. Two stone men on it are hard at work. I am not telling you at what, but the name on the house is a clue. Inside waits a ride grander than most houses. The whole front looks edible. It is not. I asked.
Next: Basílica de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats, 510 m, about 8 min, along Carrer del Poeta Querol, Carrer del Marqués de Dosaigües, Carrer dels Castellvins, Carrer de la Mar, Carrer dels Cabillers, Carrer de la Barcella.
4. Basílica de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
She sits on the square that was once the Roman forum, and the city has a pet name for her. Not a grand one. A fond one. Once a year the square gives her a present so big it needs a crew. I am not telling you what. I can tell you it is not edible, which I hold against it.
Next: Catedral de València, 40 m, about 1 min.
5. Catedral de València
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
The Seu has a bell tower called the Micalet, named after its own bell. Once a week, at noon, a meeting gathers at one of its doors, out in the open, whatever the weather. And somewhere inside sits a very famous cup. I am not telling you whose. I asked whether it takes soup. Apparently not.
Next: Corts Valencianes, 200 m, about 3 min, along Plaça de la Mare de Déu, Carrer de l'Herba, Carrer de l'Historiador Chabàs.
6. Corts Valencianes
about 21 minutes of walking from the start
Lawmakers argue in here these days, which seems a waste of good stone. Before them it was a 15th-century home, and the household who kept it was famous far beyond this street. I am not telling you how famous. Later it did a humbler job for a while. That part I like best.
Next: Torres dels Serrans, 300 m, about 5 min, along Carrer de la Unió, Carrer dels Franciscans, Carrer de Nàquera.
7. Torres dels Serrans
about 26 minutes of walking from the start
The big gate on the edge of the old riverbed, where the garden runs now. From the front it is two stone lumps with a mouth between them, which I find very relatable. Walk through to the other side before you decide what it is. The front and the back do not agree. It has also looked after some very valuable guests. I am not telling you which.
Next: Església de Sant Nicolau, 530 m, about 8 min, along Plaça dels Furs, Carrer de Palomino, Carrer de la Mare Vella, Carrer del Portal de la Valldigna, Carrer de les Salines.
Lunch break
Mestizo, Carrer del Portal de la Valldigna 9, about 0 m off the route, open Mon–Fri 09:30–15:00, Sat–Sun 09:30–16:30.
A café on Carrer del Portal de la Valldigna, in el Carme. More on what to eat in Valencia.
8. Església de Sant Nicolau
about 34 minutes of walking from the start
King James I founded the congregation here in 1238. Step inside and look up: the reason to come is over your head, and there is a lot of it. A man who knows ceilings better than most gave it a very big nickname. I am not telling you which. It is the only ceiling I have ever wanted to eat more than the floor.
Back to the start: Llotja de la Seda, 260 m, about 4 min, along Plaça del Forn de Sant Nicolau, Carrer de les Danses.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Valencia.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 188 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Valencia Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.