An evening in Valencia....

October 2, 2011 1:18 AM

How can I enjoy evenings in Valencia not being a night person and not wanting to party or be very social?

I am planning on taking a mini break to Southern Europe of about 4-5 of days this week and go to a city with beach, culture and sunshine. I was thinking about Nice, Fr or Valencia, Sp (and Barcelona, but for many good reasons I won't go there now).

So far Valencia seems to be the winner. The catch, I am a northern European female traveling solo. My goal is not to meet lots of people or enjoy nightlife, but to relax, have some me-time and enjoy the city. How does Valencia matches my needs?

My question is especially about the evenings. Knowing that dinner doesn't really start before 10pm, and is a very social event, how can I best spend my evenings when I am by myself? For some reason, it feels a bit weird to go out and eat by myself that late. Any other tips to have a great time alone in Valencia? Tips about other cities which might meet my needs are welcome too.

posted by eau79 to Travel & Transportation around Valencia, Spain (4 answers total)

Best answer: I don't personally know Valencia all that well, but I don't think you shouldn't worry too much about finding stuff to keep yourself entertained until dinnertime — the upside to our ridiculously late eating habits is that most shops, museums, etc. stay open until quite late, often until 20:30 or 21:00, at which point it's about the right time to start thinking about dinner anyways.

As for recommendations: personally, I quite liked the Ubik Café on my last visit. It's a great place to chill out and spend a quiet afternoon, especially if you're a literary type.

Also, although I haven't been there myself, the City of Arts and Sciences is supposed to be pretty worthwhile. The aquarium is supposed to be particularly spectacular, although I've heard that admission is rather on the pricey side.

I'm sure someone with more local knowledge will be able to give you more ideas, but I wanted to throw in my two cents. Have a great time!
posted by doctorpiorno at 5:16 AM on October 2, 2011

Response by poster: Good point and thanks!!
posted by eau79 at 1:12 PM on October 2, 2011

Best answer: I loved Valencia and agree that the City of Arts & Sciences is a must.

There are a lot of tourists who visit right throughout the year and so places will be fine with you eating at whatever time you wish, most bars have a menu of raciones and tapas they serve all day.

I vote for doing the usual tourist things after a visit to the Tourist Office to gather up maps (people are really friendly when they see you wondering around with a map!) but do a bit of pre-planning via this site.

do yourself a favour and learn a few phrases of Valencians, like everyone else they're very proud of their language & culture. People will light up when you address them in this instead of Spanish, althouygh of course if you use Spanish people will still be friendly.

Go and browse through some department stores and large supermarkets, visit the Corte Ingles on c/ Pintor Maella and shop for some foodstuffs to take home. (Supermarket is always in the basement). Obviously there are sweet little shops & boutiques everywhere but it's nice to get a sense of the differences in department stores.
I personally always come home with Jamon, Chorizo, Paella Flavoring packets, and a few litres of Gazpacho. (Some Spanish friends groan when I tell them I found pre-prepared Gazpacho in a tetra-bric and then they tasted it!)

You have to try the Chocolate & Churros when you're there, I suggest breakfast.
Enjoy!
posted by Wilder at 10:18 AM on October 3, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips. Valencia is great!
posted by eau79 at 11:11 PM on October 7, 2011