Valencia with kids: our plan for little explorers

Valencia has a secret that parents discover quickly: it is a big city that feels like a small one. Everything is flat, you get around by bike, the beach is at the end of the tram line and, right through the middle of the city, an old riverbed turned into a garden serves as a giant playground. Here is our plan for two or three days, built around one big visit and some free time each day — the only rule that really works with children.

Day 1 — The Turia gardens and Gulliver the giant

Start by hiring bikes (or bringing your own) and ride along the Turia gardens, the former riverbed transformed into a park more than nine kilometres long that crosses the whole city. Cycle paths, playgrounds, football pitches, fountains: you will stop every ten minutes, and that is exactly the point.

The highlight is Gulliver park, between the Ángel Custodio and Reino de Valencia bridges: a 70-metre Gulliver lying on the ground, tied down by the Lilliputians… who, here, are the children. They clamber over his arms and slide down his hair and clothes, which have been turned into slides. Opened in 1990 and reopened after renovation in November 2022, it is free, with shorter winter hours (until late afternoon) and extended evening opening in summer.

Tip: go in the morning or late afternoon in summer. At midday the slides heat up in the sun and shade is scarce.

Day 2 — Sharks, belugas and science experiments

Gulliver park is very close to the City of Arts and Sciences. That’s where the day’s big visit happens:

• The Oceanogràfic, Europe’s largest aquarium, with its shark tunnel and belugas: a guaranteed childhood memory. Allow 3 to 4 hours. Everything is in our Oceanogràfic guide.
• The Museu de les Ciències, entirely hands-on, ideal from age 6-7 and perfect on hot or rainy days.

In between, the outdoor walk between the pools is free. Our article on the City of Arts and Sciences helps you choose the right combo tickets.

Day 3 — Bioparc, then the beach

Bioparc Valencia is not like other zoos: it is built on the idea of ‘zoo immersion’. Instead of visible fences everywhere, it recreates African landscapes — savannah, Madagascar, equatorial forest and wetlands — where you feel you are sharing the ground with the animals. The Madagascar lemurs always steal the show.

In the afternoon, head for the sea. Malvarrosa beach is a big city beach of fine, gently sloping sand, backed by a promenade lined with rice and seafood restaurants. The children build sandcastles and the parents try paella in its home region: everyone’s happy.

Tips from parents

Stay near the Turia: you’ll be able to reach most activities on foot or by bike.

Take a Spanish-style siesta in summer: between 2pm and 5pm, head back for a rest or enjoy the air-conditioned museums, then go out again when the city wakes up.

One big ticket a day. The Oceanogràfic, Bioparc and the science museum are three major visits: doing them back to back guarantees a grumpy end to the holiday.

Heading south next? Our big guide to days out with kids on the Costa Blanca takes over, from Benidorm to the Costa Cálida.