Valencia

How many nights will you be spending at your destination, and at what time of year?

I have been to Valencia though I stayed in the old sections nearer the university. It is flat and I think walkable, but sometimes as an able person, we have different perceptions of a place. The large ring garden that is the old river is actually below ground level. I don't recall whether all access is ramped. You may want to Google 'Valencia accessibility. There are cobblestones and deep curbs like many cities. Google Street view may give you a better perspective for the newer part of the city. The subway is u dwrgeound, but there should be buses. It is possible to walk everywhere, but may become tiring.

Thank you so much for your responses Acraven and MariaF. I'll probably be able to stay 5 nights, fingers crossed.
Your experience of valencia is really helpful, thanks. The knowledge/awareness of cobbles, lowered areas and so on is a good insight to have, and yes, I'll definitely look into accessibility regarding the areas I hope to explore- good advice! I know I'll come up against some issues wherever I go but hopefully with planning and reading up, plus lovely people like you giving me your insights, I can minimise these. Take care

I've only been to Valencia once, and for less than 5 days. I liked the city and think if can work well for you if you're looking for time to experience being in a foreign city more than for traditional sightseeing. There are more sights to see in Barcelona, but it's much more touristy and expensive than Valecia.

We were in Valencia in March 2023 for four nights and I have mobility issues. Access to Turia gardens is not necessarily easy. While there are ramps at some places they can be rough, uneven flagstones and difficult to walk on. The gardens themselves were a bit hit and miss in terms of attractiveness. Some sections are just soccer fields and as it is below the level of the surrounding city you don't get views of the city from the gardens.

The beach is not in the city. You will need to catch a metro or bus for 15 minutes and then walk. The sand was a very unappealing dust colour and there were few trees to provide shade.

We are 59 and 73 and felt safe in Valencia. As small cities go we did not enjoy Valencia as much as Malaga, Zaragoza or Salamanca. Zaragoza was our favourite but it has a river rather than a beach. The beaches at Malaga were much nicer than Valencia and are right in the city, and apart from the fortress on the hill, I found Malaga more walkable as a mobility challenged person. Malaga also has excellent galleries and museums.

You don't mention language but Valencia has its own language that can make communication more difficult. We stayed in a four star hotel and the wait staff at breakfast had very limited English. In Malaga, English is much more widely spoken.

Gosh, Aussienomad and Acraven, thank you! I'm so glad I posted my question as your insights have really given me pause for thought and I'm definitely going to rethink my choices. Valencia I'm sure can be lovely, but for a precious first trip after so long and possibly my last, it doesn't sound the best choice!!! So many reasons you've mentioned are red flags ...maybe amber ones! But accumulate to make me feel inclined to research and change my choice. I couldn't be more grateful.

Aussienomad, I'm so sorry you are also restricted and impacted by health issues. Having health and love is everything isn't it!? I hope you have some lovely trips planned yourselves Craven and AN. Take care lu x

The coastal cities (Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, etc.) tend to be more temperate than the inland cities. Zaragoza, for example, can be miserably hot in the summer. Seville and Cordoba are notoriously hot. So time of year matters a lot--at least to me. It's hard to enjoy exploring a city if you sort of dread going outdoors between 11 AM and 5 PM.

I did like Malaga, which also isn't terribly expensive.

If budget is a concern, I'd encourage you to check airfares to see what cities are viable arrival and departure points for you, from the financial perspective. From my origin (Washington-Dulles), Madrid and Barcelona are usually much, much cheaper than the alternatives, and sometimes I can find a non-stop flight at a decent fare. Any other city would require a connection, as well as more money. If your trip is going to be short, I wouldn't want to have to spend a lot of hours on a train or bus to get to my ultimate destination. If I were taking a short trip to Spain, I'd limit my destination(s) to places easily reached from Madrid or Barcelona sijnce those are my affordable destination airports.

If yours is a summer trip, do give a thought to the weather. The Wikipedia entries for most cities include a climate-summary chart that's good for comparing cities. For making a final decision (and to help with my packing list), I like to look at the actual, historical, day-by-day weather data available on the website timeanddate.com. Here's a sample, for Malaga in May 2022: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/spain/malaga/historic. Use the Search box near the upper right to change the city and the pull-down box just above the graph to change the month and year. Do check multiple years, because there can be considerable variation.

Last November, we did 14 nights in Spain, 5 in Barcelona, 4 in Valencia and 5 in Madrid. Barcelona and Madrid were obvious no-brainer must do's. Valencia turned out to be very enjoyable surprise. For me, it was the highlight of the trip. It is smaller, flatter, cheaper, less crowded, more laid back with less crime than the other two, by far. Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain. However, the old town is very compact. There are lots of historical sites, things to see or do. You can view the Holy Grail or the "Sistine Chapel of Valencia". They have a great Central Market. We never took a taxi, bus or metro the whole time we were there. We stayed in the Venecia Plaza Centro which is located at a beautiful pedestrian square, beside the city hall (free to visit) and a short walk to the train station.

Turia Gardens is the former river bed which has been converted to a park that runs from one end of the city to the other end. The change in elevation is maybe 15-20 meters. You can either take stairs or ramps to go from the street level to the Turia Garden level. Once you are at that level, the park is flat. Lots of greenspace, soccer fields, basketball courts, walking paths and bike lanes. My wife (who can't ride a bike solo) and i rented a single speed tandem bike and had no problem riding down or up a ramp. We rode from the old town to the City of Arts and Sciences which is a very impressive modern site.

I suggest you view a few youtube videos of Valencia before you make up your mind. We had 4 nights. It was the most relaxing part of our trip. Yet, there was so much to see, do and eat that we never even made it to the beach. You won't regret it.